The smell of acorns in the morning?

I've been reading and seen videos on youtube for a couple of years ,were people are talking about acorn coffee and how tasty it is, but I've always been a little doubtful towards it sence all the tannin in them.

But last week I decided to try to make some to see what all the fuzz was all about.

So a quick search through the internet led me to a couple of recipes so I made the best I could with what I found and here is how I did it. 


(I have to say that I did a batch before this one and I just boiled the acorns one time and it was horrible haha.)

Step 1. 
Gather the acorns.

A handful of acorns, luckily acorns are easy to come by here in Sweden!

It's best to pick them up from the ground when they are brown,
 Beware of hungry squirels and damaged or maggot eaten acorns this will make next step much easier.
(If it's damaged by a maggot there is a black hole on the shell. )

Step 2.
Sorting out the nuts.

Grab your partners pink bowl and go a head.

Take a bowl or two and start going through the acorns to make sure you don't any maggot eaten acorns in your coffee. 
(I washed them before to make it a little bit easier for myself to spot the holes in the shell)

Step 3.
Deshelling

I swear, you will hate acorns for a while after this.

This step is the most time consuming of them all. 
Lets enter a journey of never ending nut cracking and peeling.
I found it easier to slice them in half with a knife and then peel out the nut with another knife or my finger nails, do whatever that makes it easier for you. 
(Make sure to look for maggots or rutten acorns. Have fun, haha)

Step 4.
Chop/slice them up. 

It´s just like chopping onions, just a little bit harder.

Just go on and slice them or chop them into smaller pieces this will make next step a little bit
easier on you. 

Step 5.
Boiling.

I was so excited to se how much tannin it would
come from these.

Put all your acorns in a pot and drench them in water then bring the water to a boil and keep them boiling for a couple of minutes depending on the amount you collected.

I didn´t save the water but you can see how much
tannin the acorns released after just one boil!

Drain the nuts from the water and make sure to wash the nuts before you put them back in the pot and repeat the processes of boiling them and draining them 4-6 times before you´re done.

If you are out in the woods doing this, then you could put the acorns in a bag in a river/creek with flowing water for 24h.

This process gets rid of all maggots and pulls out the tannin from the acorns which will make them safe to consume. 

(It does smell alot so make sure your fan is on or open a window or two! If you want to dye some natural materials like cord, rope or leather then pure the boiled water into another pot and save it for later. 

Step 6.
Roasting.

 I painted our bedroom as I roasted my acorns,
multitasking is my thing! haha

(If your in no rush, let the acorns air dry for a couple of days in a dry room. I left mine over night.)

Take a frying iron and start to roast them on medium heat, make sure to stir so you don´t burn them.

If you want to roast them in the oven then.
Preheat your oven to 180°c (350°f).
Spread your acorns on a oven trey and begin to roast them in the oven.
Make sure to stur the acorns as you roast them so they don't burn.

(They should look like dry nuts and a little darker in the color without getting burnt when they are done.)

Step 7.
Grinding.

How it came out after a few seconds in the
coffee grinder.

Grab your coffee grinder if you have one or just use a blender/mixer of some kind to grind up
your acorns. 

If you´re doing this in the woods, then sanitize two rocks with boiling water, a flat one and one that is rounded then just go a head and mash your acorns with the rounded rock on the flat one.

(It should be a little bit thicker than pregrind coffee when you´re done.)

Step 8. 

Boil yourself a cup of acorn coffe/tea andjust enjoy!

Enjoying myself a glas of fresh acorn coffee.

If you have a coffe press then use it as you would with regular coffee, grab 2-3 tables spoon for a cup and wait 5-10 minutes before drinking.

Alternative, use a cloth tea bag and put it in boiling water for 5 minutes before pouring yourself a freshly made, cup of acorn coffee.

(You can get an allergic reaction from acorns even if you aren't allergic to nuts. Try to put some on your lip or tounge before you start drinking it.!)

Hope you enjoy this recipe and try it out it´s free! 

/Andy