Brew

Coffee. It seems you either love it or you don't like it at all. I've liked coffee since I was quite young. I felt that at times I was drinking too much. I even quit totally for a time but I just could never find a satisfactory substitute. Postum, a grain beverage, didn't seem to satisfy. I'm not big on tea, herb or otherwise. A little is fine but not as a regular, daily drink.

A few months ago I was reading a book, I believe a western. The characters had run out of coffee and they were using roasted chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) as a substitute. I mentioned that to Darryl. I believe he did a bit of research and he decided to try them. He had been roasting his own coffee beans in a hotair popcorn popper so he used it to roast some chickpeas. He gave us a cup of his brew and it wasn't bad. So, we purchased some garbanzos and began roasting and brewing up some "chickpea coffee." I found that we like a blend, about 3 parts chickpeas and 1 part coffee. It certainly doesn't contain a lot of caffeine and is quite a bit less expensive.

Chickpeas are very high in protein content and are used in many ways. They are used even for many medicinal applications--bronchitis, constipation, diarrhea, dypepsia, flatulence, snakebite, sunstroke and warts to name a few. WARNING: numerous articles state that chickpeas have been used for hundreds of years as an aphrodisiac.

Enjoy a cup!