Many of us begin our day with the same ritual: drinking a cup of aromatic and tonic coffee. But, unfortunately, not everyone can afford it because of problems with blood pressure. It turns out that there is a good alternative to this invigorating drink - acorn coffee. How to cook it - this will be discussed in our article.
Acorn Coffee
Such coffee is a wonderful energetic, has a taste and a pleasant aroma, reminiscent of coffee, sometimes with the smell of cocoa. With proper preparation, it does not differ much from the ground coffee we are used to. Some gourmets claim that it is somewhat similar to barley coffee.
A special difference from other similar drinks is a bit of bitterness and a slightly astringent taste. Serve this drink can be as a standalone drink, but it will be tastier if you add milk, sweeteners and other ingredients. 
Collection and preparation of raw materials
The first step in preparing this delicious drink is to collect and harvest the acorns themselves.
We recommend you read about how to plant acorns.
When and where to collect acorns
Oak fruits are harvested after ripening, in September-October, when they are generously scattered under the oaks in parks or oak forests. Acceptable acorns are usually brownish or yellowish, not wormy, with a cap that should be easily separated.
Important! You can not make a drink of green fruit in order to avoid severe poisoning. If you collect unripe fruits, they will not reach the desired state and become a health hazard product.
How to select high-quality fruit
A simple way to check the quality of oak fruit is soaking it in water. Some time after soaking, acorns that have emerged need to be thrown away, and those that have sunk to the bottom will be suitable for harvesting raw materials.
If the fruits were not collected personally, and purchased on the market, then you need to take into account one factor: at what time of year they are sold. If earlier than the usual time of collecting raw materials, the fruit or not ripe, or harvested in the past year. It is clear that such acorns are not suitable for the preparation of drinking.
Did you know? The largest monument to an acorn, 3 meters high and weighing more than half a ton, stands in the city of Raleigh in North Carolina, USA.
Step by step recipe for making coffee drink
The process of making a drink from dried oak fruit is the same as preparing it from coffee beans. 
For one portion of the invigorating drink you will need:
- 1 or 2 teaspoons of dried fruit powder;
- 100-150 milliliters of boiling water;
- 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar or its substitute (to taste);
- Cream, milk, spices - by preference.
Read the rules of planting red oak.
Preparation of acorns
The next step after soaking and selecting suitable fruits is drying them. They need a little dry in a natural way and clean from the shell. Crush the extracted hearts into small pieces with a sharp knife, spread them out on a baking sheet in one thin layer and allow to dry for 40 minutes in a preheated oven to 200 degrees.
Properly dried raw material turns brown. Also pay attention to the fact that the stage of roasting acorns directly affects the taste of the final product. If the fruit is burnt, the coffee gets a bitter and unpleasant taste. 
Acorns must undergo heat treatment, otherwise you can seriously poisoned.
Ground coffee making process
Now you can grind the finished mass on a coffee grinder or grind it in a blender, and then pour it into a sealed ceramic or glass dish. You do not need to immediately harvest a large amount of coffee powder, because during long-term storage it will lose its taste or deteriorate.
How to make coffee from acorns
Preparing coffee in this way:
- Dry raw materials need to fall asleep in a coffee maker or a Turk based on the number of servings.
- Add sugar or its substitute, if necessary.
- Powder pour boiling water or cold water.
- Put on the fire, and, stirring, bring to a boil, but do not digest.
- Leave to infuse for a couple of minutes.
- Pour into coffee cups.
Still such coffee can be steamed with boiling water right in the cup, although this procedure is not considered a full brew. Any method of cooking - an amateur.
What is the combination of drink
The fact that you can add milk and cream to the acorn product has already been mentioned above. These additives make the taste of the tart drink softer. Gourmets also love to complement this coffee with the taste of various aromatic spices.
These ingredients are added after brewing, so that high temperatures do not destroy the essential oils that make up their composition. The most favorite spices for many connoisseurs of such coffee are clove blossoms, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
The taste of acorn coffee may differ each time due to several factors: the amount of raw materials put into the Turk, the degree of its roasting, and also due to various additional seasonings.
For those who prefer a drink with a special peppercorn, you can add black pepper peas. In this case, it is better to put the spice during the cooking itself, since this is the best way to extract its best properties. 
Another original additive to coffee from acorns is table salt.
This version of coffee is prepared in this way:
- In Turk, you need to pour 1 teaspoon of powder and add a pinch of salt to it.
- Pour cold water and put on fire. Do not boil, but only bring to a boil. With this brewing, a thick froth appears at the drink.
- At first, gently put the foam removed with a spoon into the coffee cup, and then carefully pour the drink itself.
- Sugar can not add.
What is the use?
Acorn coffee is very useful and has many healing properties, so it can be used at different ages without harm to health.
Did you know? Acorns are not only used to make coffee. They make cereals and flour from them, from which they then bake cakes and bread, or make porridge.
Now a small list of healing qualities inherent in this drink:
- It tones and refreshes due to the presence of useful substances and minerals in fruits.
- Because of its astringent qualities, it is indispensable for toothache and gum disease.
To eliminate toothache in traditional medicine, they also use chamomile, agave, black cohosh, dodder, medunitsu, medical wormwood, rokball and double-leaved lupus.
- Calms the heartbeat, and does not provoke the development of hypertension.
- It is useful for asthma attacks, coughing, bronchitis, in both adults and children.
- Normalizes the stomach and intestines.
- Eliminates allergic reactions in children.
- It can be used as a prophylactic against childhood rickets.
- Beneficial effect on the work of the genitourinary system.
- It has beneficial properties that are valuable for patients with nervous diseases.
- It lowers blood sugar levels, so it is useful for people with diabetes.
Eating blueberries, Jerusalem artichoke, cilantro, beans, leek, tomato, asparagus and white beans also helps to reduce blood sugar levels.
- Differs antiedematous, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effects on the body.
- Due to the presence of quercetin is an antioxidant.
- Despite the high level of carbohydrates, the drink can be used by people suffering from obesity.
Possible harm and contraindications
Coffee drink from acorns, as well as the use of natural coffee, should not be too abused. It can drink no more than 5 cups per day.
Important! Drinking from acorns is a heavy product for digestion, so it should be used carefully by people with digestion problems.
It has already been emphasized that the prepared product from raw fruits is toxic, since quercetin contained in large doses in green acorns is very harmful. Therefore, before use, it is desirable to soak the acorns and fry them.
Although there are no contraindications for the use of acorn drink in childhood, it is not recommended to give it to children under the age of three. Pregnant and lactating women need to consult a doctor before drinking acorns. 
Summing up the above, we can conclude that this useful drink is best consumed in small doses, taking it carefully and watching the reaction of your body.
