NOTES ON 'COFFEE' FROM THE KENTUCKY COFFEETREE (GYMNOCLADUSDIOICUS, FABACEAE)

2004·5.3 MB·English

by  John P Spaeth

NOTESON"COFFEE"FROMTHEKENTUCKYCOFFEETREE
(GYMNOCLADUSDIOICUS,FABACEAE)
JohnP.SpaethandJohnW.Thieret
DepartmentofBiologicalSciences
NorthernKentuckyUniversity
HighlandHeights,Kentucky41099,U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
Theroasted/groundseedsoftheKentuckycoffeetreeiGymnocladusdioicus,FabaceaeJwerespar-
inglyusedinpioneertimesasasubstitutelorarabicacoffee.Preparationofthebeverage,opinionson
itssmellandtaste,toxicityoftheplant,andhistoryandpresent-daystatusofthisuseoftheseedsare
discussed.
RESUMEN
LassemillasdelcaledeKentucky{Gymnodadusdioicus,Fabaceae)seusaronenlostieinposdelos
pioneroscornounsustitutodelcafe.Sediscutelapreparaciondelabebida,opmionessobresudory
sabor,toxicidaddelaplanta,historiayestatusactualdelusodelassemillas.
INTRODUCTION
TheassertionthattheroastedandgroundseedsoftheKentuckycoffeetree
(Gymnodadusdioicus(L.)K.Koch;Fabaceae)(hereafterKCT)canbebrewed
intoacoffee-likebeverageandthattheKentuckyandTennesseepioneersmade
suchabeveragefromthemisrepeatedfrequentlyinAmericanandevenEuro-
peanliteratureonNewWorldediblewildplants(e.g.,Allen&Allen1981;Bean
1973;Browne1857;Fernald61Kinsey1958;Loudon1838;Loz1890;Nicholson
1883;Peterson1978;Rogers1905;Sargent1889;Saunders1920;Vannorsdall1958;
Wampler2000).Mostofthereportsarequitedefiniteconcerningthepioneers:
yes,theseedswereindeedsousedbythem.Some,though,areabituncertain,
e.g.,"Pioneersmayhavemadeacoffeesubstitutefrom[the]seeds"(Stacy1992).
Braun(1961)notedthatthemakingof"coffee"fromtheseedsinKentuckywas
intheBluegrassregion,wherethetreeisascommonasorevenmorecommon
thaninmostotherplaces.
TheKentuckycoffeetreerangesfromNewYorktoSouthDakota,southto
Virginia,andOklahoma(Little1977[rangemap];Spaethn.d.).Itsseeds(Fig.1)
arebornemlarge,woody,brownpods(legumes)(4.3)12-16.5(25?)cmlong,4-5
cmwide,and1-2cmthick.Thepodsremainonthetreethroughoutmuchof
thewinter;atadistancethetreeappearstohaveaflockofbirdsamongitsleaf-
lessbranches.Eachpodcontainsafleshypulpinwhichareembedded1-9dark
olivebrown,hardseeds1.1-2cmlongandwideand0.6-1.3cmthick.Theseeds
arerockhard—"adamantine,"asRogers(1905),withbutslighthyperbole,well
SIDA21(1):545-356.2004
346 BRIT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
#
•
,Sh
Fig.1.Kentuckycoffeetree[Gymnodadusdiokus).Left,pods.Lowerright,seeds(aU.S.pennyincludedforsizecompari-
son).Upperright,groundseeds,the"coffee."
describedthem.Later,Rogers(1917)wrote:"Howthepioneersevercrushed[the
seeds]isapuzzletoallwhohavetriedtobreakonewithanutcracker."
LivingintheBluegrassregionandhavingaccesstoanamplesupplyofthe
seeds,wedecidedtoexperimentbypreparingapotabledrinkfromthem.Next
weinvestigatedthematteroftoxicityofKCTandthehistoryofbeverageuse
oftheseeds.Resultsofourtrialsandstudiesarereportedhere.
THE"cOFFHF"
Wefoundonlyfourrecipesforroastingtheseeds.Oneinternetsitesuggested
roastingacupofseeds,onelayerthick,inanovenfor30minutes(Rolen200f).
Notemperaturewasspecified,and30minutesdidnotseemtouslongenough
foranytoxinspossiblypresentintheseedstodissipate(see"Toxicity"below).
Anothersource,whichwefollowed,gavemoredetails:BrillandDean(1994)
suggesteda"safe"waytomakeKCTcoffee:baketheseedsma"coveredroasting
pan"at300°Ffor3hours(similarinstructionsareinBrill120021andPhillips
119981althoughPhillipssuggested350°F).
On5Aug2003,weput30seedsintoeachoffourPyrexjarslabeled1,2,3,
and4,respectivelyOnelayerofseedscoveredthebottomofeachjar.Thejars
SPAETHANDTHIERET,NOTESON"COFFEE"FROMTHEKENTUCKYCOFFEETREE 347
wereroastedat150-Cfe300°F).Duringtheroasting,theroomhadatfirstan
aromaofpeanutbutterJar1wasremovedafter2.0hours,jar2after2.5hours,
andjar3after3.0hoursbywhichtimefouroftheseedshadburst("popped").
Bythetimejar4wasremoved(3.5hours),theroomhadanaromaofsomething
burning;IIseedshadpopped.
Thenextstepwastoestabhshamethodofbreakingtheseeds,whichwere
stillrockhard.Withoutacorngrinderavailable(andfearthatifwedidhave
one,theseedswouldbreakthegrinder),weusedpliersandamortarandpestle.
Theseedswerefirstcrackedopenone-by-onewiththepliersoverthemortar
Astheywerecracked,mostshatteredorexplodedsothecrackingwasdone
underacloththatcoveredthemortarTheywerethencoarse-groundwiththe
pestle,pulverized(Fig.1)inacoffeegrinder,andplacedbackintotheirrespec-
tivejars,whichwerecoveredinplasticwraptoretainfreshness.Thereappeared
tobenorelationshipbetweentheeaseofcrackingtheseedsandtheroastingtimes.
Tomakethe"coffee,"oneheapingteaspoonfulofgroundseedswasplaced
in^/4ofacup(=175ml)ofboihngwater(Thisprobablywouldhavebeenthe
methodusedbypioneers.)Thegroundswerestirredandallowedtosettletothe
bottom.Twentypeopleweregrantedtheopportunitytosmellandtastethis
historicaldrink;theirresponsesarclistedinTable1.Nooneclaimedtoenjoy
thetasteortheexperience.Allagreedthatanoverpoweringandpersistentaf-
tertasteremained.
Whenthe"coffee"wassweetenedwithsugar,thebrewbecame"morepal-
atable."Thefourparticipantswhotasteditrateditas"acceptable,""likesweet-
enedtea,""stillratherunpleasant,"and"couldgetusedtoit."Thegeneralcon-
sensuswasthatKCT"coffee"isnotdestinedforsupermarketshelves.Alotof
work,withlittlepay-off,goesmtoroastmgandgrindingtheseeds;thismaybe
whysomeliteratureratesthebrewasapoorsubstituteforcoffee.Thesecond
authorofthepresentpaperdrankabout1/3cupofsweetenedKCT"coffee"ev-
erydayfor2weeks,hopingthat,withfamiliarity,theflavormightimprovefor
him;Itdidnot.
Yet,incontrast,someindividualsratethebeveragemorehighly.Brill(2002)
calledit"theworld'sbestcaffeine-freecoffeesubstitute";hiswife,too,Kkesthe
drmk(Brill,pers.comm.,Oct2003).Phillips(1998)wn-otethatthebeansmake
"adecentcupofcaffeine-freecoffee."Thebrewhasbeendescribedalsoas"pal-
atableandwholesome"(Thwaites1905).
TOXICITY
Anyonewishingtoprepare"coffee"fromKCTseedswillprobablyhavesome
interestinreportsoftheplantstoxicitytovariousorganisms.KCThaslong
Tabu-1.OpinionsofthetasteandsmclIof"coffee"brewedfromground,roasted
seedsofKentuckycoffeetreeina20-persontaste/smelltest,October/Novem-
ber2003,NorthernKentuckyUniversity.Identicalopinionswereexpressedby
348 BRIT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
severalparticipants.
Taste Smell
Akintomud Earthy
Horrible Chocolaty
Fruity Stalecoffee
Alittlebitlikecoffee Hintofmocha
Whybother? Chocolatecoffee
Likecoffeewithatouchofchocolate Low-qualitycoffee
Likeespresso Likebakerschocolate
Bitter
Likemocha
Likebargaincoffee
Three-day-oldbrewedcoffee
Notworththeeffort
Hintofsour
Reallybad
Badaftertaste
Pungent
Notatalllikecoffee
beenknowntopossesspoisonousproperties,bothlorlivestockandhumans,
thoughitisbynomeansatoxicplantofmajorsignificance(Kingsbury1964).
Thetoxinappearstobewatersoluble;intoxicationofHvestockhasbeenre-
portedaftertheanimalsdrankwaterintowhichKCTpodshadfallen.Anex-
tractfromtheleavesissaidtopoisonffies(Bronaugh1991;Chesnut1898;
Millspaugh1887),areportthatshouldbeinvestigated.Toxinsarefoundinall
partsoftheplant,especiallyfreshgrowth,andcancause"stomachandintesti-
naldisorderswithdiarrhea,vomiting,irregularpulse,andcoma"(Hardin&
Arena1974).Foroveracenturythispoisoninghasbeenattributedtothealka-
loidcytisme(e.g.,Chesnut1898),butthepresenceofthiscompoundhasnever
beenconfirmedinKCT.Unusualaminoacidsandanalkaloidarereportedfrom
theseeds(Southon1994),butthesecompoundsarenotlikelytobeoftoxico-
fogicsignificance(Burrows&Tyrl2001).
Onesdesiretotrymaking"coffee"fromtheseedswouldprobablybetem-
peredbystatementssuchasthefollowing:"Onlyafewcasesofhumanpoison-
inghavebeenreportedIromeatingtheseedsorusingthemtomakeacoffee
spuebcstteidtuttoep"r(oSdtuecpehetnosxic19e8f0f)e.ct"s.".(.cLhaemwpien&goMnceCoarntnwfo98[5s)e.ed"sE]awtionugldthenosteebdes"exo-r
"chewingoneortwo"would,olcourse,bemostunwisebecausetheyaresohard;
chewingthemwouldbelikechewingsmallrocks.
Itappears,though,thatthereisprobablylittletoworryaboutwiththe"cof-
fee.""Thetoxinisheatlabile"and"[theseeds]arcnotttxxicwhenparched"(Bur-
SPAETHANDTHIERET,NOTESON"COFFEE"FROMTHEKENTUCKYCOFFEETREE 349
rows&Tyrl2001).Neverthelesswedonotrecommendthe"coffee"untilmore
isknownaboutthepoisonouscompoundsintheseeds.
HISTORY
Pioneertimes
TheearliestappearanceofthenameKentuckytitalicsours]coffeetree—asop-
posedtosimplycoffeetree—wehavenotedisinanApril1785entryinoneofthe
dKieanrtiuesckoef[Gsieco]rcgoeffeWeastrheieng..t..o"n(:Jac"kPsloannt&edT..w.oehigihgt1n9u78t)s.fArcocmoraditnrgeetcoaHlilleldatnhde
Fountain(2003),theKentuckycoffeetreewas
promotedbyearlylanddeveloperswhowarnedtogetsettlersouttothe"iarwest"(whichincluded
Kentuckyatthattimej.Coffee,apopularbeverage,wasexpensiveandhardtoImdawayfromcoastal
ports.LanddevelopersadvertisedKentuckyasaplacewhereatreegrewwithbeansthatcouldbe
roastedandbrewedtomakeafinecofleesubstitute.Althoughdrinkable,thebeveragewasnosubsti-
tutelorcoflee,andtheearlysettlersquicklydroppeditassoonastherealthingbecameavailable.
Wewereunabletoverilythisaccountmspiteofextensivesearchingoilitera-
tureandinternet.
TheearliestlinkwehavefoundbetweenKCTseedsandthe"coffee"isin
JohnFilson'sThediscovery,settlementandpresentstateojKentucke[sic](Filson
1784):"Thecoffee-treegreatlyreseml^lestheblackoak,growslarge,andalso
bearsapod,inwhichisenclosedgoodcoffee."Thisstatement,however,does
notinspireconfidencethattheauthoractuallypartookolthe"goodcollee""en-
closed"inthepodsorthatheknewoftheseedsbeingthebasisforthedrink.
InPioneerh/cinKentut??y178,5-1800(Horine1948)aletterisquotedfrom
KentuckypioneerDanielDraketohisadopteddaughterthatisdefiniteonthe
useoftheseedsforabeverage:"[Wegathered]thosewildfruitswhichwereso
precioustousmtheabsenceofthecultivated.Someofthemwereiorimmedi-
ateuse,orlittlethoughtofexceptbythechildren;othershadamoreperma-
nentvalue,andwerestoredforwinter....Amongthelatter,grapes,nuts,crab
apples,andoccasionallythehardseedsofthecoffeetree,...ofwhich,bywayof
changefromBoheatea[Cartielliasinensis),wemadeasubstituteforcoffee."This
report,evenintheabsenceofanyother,wouldseemtoverifythepre-1800use
ofabeveragemadefromtheseedsoi KCT.
Bakeless(1965)wroteaboutthecomplaintsofamanwho,duringthe1780s,
wasaguestatoneofthe"dreadful"hovelsprovidingfood,drink,andbedto
Kentuckytravellers:
Nothingtoeatbutbearmeatand'corn-mealdodgers.'Andnothingtodrinkbutwhisky...andcoffee
'composedofanarticleihatgrewsomeeighthundredoronethousandmilesnorthofwherecotlee
tree[Coffeaarabica]everdidgrow.'Thisbeveragewasbrewedfromthepod[sic]oftheKentucky'cof-
feetree.'Theresultingfluidwasdescribedbyacharitablegeographeroftheperiodas'notunlike
coffee'Anothertraveler,stillmorecharitable,describeditas'apodinwhichisgoodcoffee-seed.'
Michaux(1817;Frenchversion1812)wrotethat"thenameofcoffeetreewas
350 BRIT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
giventothisvegetablebytheearlyemigrantstoKentuckyandTennessee,who
hopedtofindinitsseedsasubstituteforcoffee:butthesmallnumberofper-
sonswhomadetheexperimentabandonedit,assoonasitbecameeasytoob-
tainfromtheseaportstheCoffeeoftheWestIndies"(seealsoKeeler1900).
This,too,hastheringofareliablereport.
Theextentof useoftheseedsforabeveragerecordedbyMichauxdiffers
muchfromthatgivenbyothers.Saunders(1920)wrotethat"acenturyagosuch
useofthemwasquiteprevalentinwhatwasthenthewesternwilderness,and
travelers'diariesofthetimemakefrequentmentionofthepractice."Medsger
(1972)wrotethat"thepioneersapparentlymademuchuseoftheseedsofthis
tree,whichwereroastedandground,thenusedasasubstituteforcoffee."Ac-
cordingtoClute(1943),KCT"coffee"was"often"resortedtoVvdienthesupply
ofarabicacoffeewasexhausted.Wehavemadeawidesearchthroughthelit-
erature—literallymanyhundredsofsources—andhavefoundnothingthatcor-
roboratesthesestatements.Michaux,webeheve,wasrightinhisassessmentof
theIrequencyofuse.
ItisperhapsindicativeofthemjrcquencyofuseofKCT"coffee"thatPorcher
(186.3),inhisCivilWareraResourcesofthesouthernfieldsandforests,didnot
mentionG.dioicuseventhoughhelistedvariouscoffeesubstitutes.Thetrees
rangedoesextendintothefarnorthernpartoftheareacoveredinthebook
(Little1977;Spaethn.d.).Perhaps,too,arabicacoffee,mspiteofwar-induced
scarcity,wassufficientlyavailablesothatsubstitutesweregenerallynotim-
portant;Dick(1974),inhisbookonthe"southernfrontier,"mentionedthat"by
1840blackcoffeewascomingintouseasabeverage."Loudon(1838)notedthat
theuseofKCTseedsfor"coffee"hadlongsincebeendiscontinued.Wilson(1905)
notedthatthe"coffee"usehad"longsinceceased."A1902paperonKCTdidnot
mentionthe"coffee"eventhoughitconsidered"economicuses"(Anonymous
1902).Gibson(1913),describingthe"coffee"asl^lackandbitterandnotingthat
"alittleofitwouldgoalongwaywithamoderncoffeedrinker,"wrotethat
"whentheKentuckianswereabtetoprocurecoffeetheyletthewildsubstitute
alone."
KentuckyandTennesseewerenottheonlyplaceswherethisbeveragewas
tried.ThomasNuttall(1821)apparentlyhaddrunkthe"coffee":mearly1819he
wroteintherecordofhisjourneyintotheArkansasTerritory,"Amongthetrees,
westillcontinuetoobservethecoffee-bean{Gymnoehiduscanadensis),now-
loadedwithlegumes,theseedsofwhich,whenparched...produceasubsti-
tuteforcoffeegreatlyinferiortotheCichonum[chicory]."Atthatwriting,he
wasneartheconfluenceoftheOhioandMississippirivers.Andinsouthwest-
ernIowaduringthewinterof1819-1820,KCT"coffee"wasdrunkbymembers
ofS.H.Long'sexpeditiontotheRockyiVlountains(Thwaites1905).
SeedsofKCTwerenottheonlycoffeesubstituteusedineadyKentucky
SPAETHANDTHIERET,NOTESON"COFFEE"FROMTHEKENTUCKYCOFFEETREE 351
Anotherreportonthepioneers(Goode1989),fromanareaofthestateinwhich
KCTislackingorexceedinglyrare(Little1977),statedthatgroundparched
cornsweetenedwithhoneymadea"reasonablytastysubstituteforcodee."Other
substitutesincludedparched"tubers,"rye,wheat,acorns,beans,chestnuts,
chicory,chinquapins,cotton,grapes,peanuts,Englishpeas,persimmons,okra,
sorghum,sugarcane,"Irish"andsweetpotatoes,anddandelion—andeven,m
desperation,woodshavings(Anonymousn.d.;Howard1975;March2000;Mitch-
ell1991).
WritingaboutpioneerKentucky,Cotterill(1917)mentionedthat"Teaand
coffeewerereservedforthesickandwereconsideredasamarkofeffeminacyif
takenbypeopleingoodhealth."Wasthis,inadditiontothescarcityofarabica
coffeemthoseearlytimes,maybeonereasontoseekacoffeesubstitute?
Onemightwonderwherethepioneersgottheideaofpreparingabeverage
fromtheseseeds,whichseemtoustobeamostunlikelysource.Theseedscer-
tainlydonotlooklikethe"beans"ofarabicacoffee,andthetaskofpreparing
themforbrewingisdaunting.Thepioneersmighthavelearnedtheprocessfrom
NativeAmericans;Smith(1928)reportedthattheMeskwakiIndianscooked
theseedsandthengroundthemandboiledthemtomake"coffee."TheseIndi-
ans,however,wereinWisconsin,notKentucky.ButperhapssomeKentucky
tribesknewoftheuseandsharedtheinformationwiththepioneers.Indiansof
theMissouriRiverregion(Gilmore1991;Moerman1998)knewofKCTbutap-
parentlydidnotmakeabeveragefromtheseedsalthoughtheyroastedandate
theseedsandprepareda"food"fromthepoundedseeds.AccordmgtoPhillips
(1998),"theroastedbeansareareasonablygoodnut,especiallywhensaltedor
soakedinsaltedwaterandre-baked."Weinferthattheroastingtime,though
notstated,isaboutV2to1hour
Itisalsopossiblethatsomepioneersfamiliarwitharabicacoileebutsuf-
feringcoffeedeprivationsimplytriedtomakeabeveragefromKCTseeds,pro-
ducingabrew^thattheylikedandaboutwhichtheyspreadtheword.
KCT"coffee"duringtheCivilWar
DuringtheearlydaysofNovember2003weweretoldbyaCivilWarhistory
buff(whowishestoremainanonymous)thathehadheardfromaCivilWar
re-enactorthat,duringthatwar,quitelimitedusewasmadeofKCTseedsas
"coffee."Thetasteofthe"coffee"wasreportedlysobadthatitmadehardtack—
thoseplainflour-and-waterbiscuitsthatwereoftenmoldyorinfestedwith
maggotsandweevils(Billings1887)—seemgoodbycomparison.InherCivil
Warplantsandherbs,Mitchell(1996)notedthattheseedsarethebasisfora
"coffee,"areportapparentlybasedonAnonymous(1995).Butshegavenoindi-
cationthattheywereactuallyusedforthatpurposeduringthewaralthough,
ofcourse,theycouldwellhavebeen.Arabicacoffeewasapparentlyafavorite
non-alcoholicbeverageofsoldiers("howdeliciousthearomaofit,andhow
352 BRIT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
readilyeachmandisposedofaquart"[McCarthy1882]).Althougharabicacof-
feewasavailableatleastsomeofthetime(Locke1870),itssupplyinthesouth
wassometimesuncertainbecauseof thevicissitudesofwaronlandandthe
Lincoln-orderedblockadeofsouthernportsfromVirginiatoTexas.
TheGeorgeRogersClarkconnection
IngoingthroughhundredsofKCTwebsiteswecameupononefromStorm
Lake,Iowa,acitythathasa"treemuseum"mwhichvarious"historic"treesare
planted(Anonymous2003b),amongthema"GeorgeRogersClarkKentucky
Coffeetree."Thetextconcerningthetreeisasfollows:"DuringtheCivilWar,
GeorgeRogersClarkattemptedtodevelopacoffeebeantreetoreplaceregular
coffeewhichwasunavailableduringthattime.Howeversincethecoffeewas
notpleasanttothetaste,theprojectfailed."Isthisstatementcredible^'Certainly
notinthetimingofCkark'sposthumousinterest;hediedm18f8.Onewonders,
too,howonecould"develop"atreeduringtheshorttimespanoftheCivilWar
Butwedecidedtoinvestigatefurther
WedirectedaquerytoStormLake,hopingtolearnthesourceoftheirKCT.
WeweregiventhenameofanindividualinLouisville;latercheckingshowed
thatheandanotherpersonwereinvolvedinaheritagetreeprogramandthat
oneofthemisdeceased.Twoletterstothefirstmanhavegoneunanswered;we
suspectthathe,too,hasdied.
WelearnedthatClarkdidsendKCTseedstoThornasJeffersonatMonti-
cello.Indeed,intheKentuckylegislation(Anonymous2003a)thatestablished
G.dioicusasthestatetreeofKentucky(S.B.150,approved8Mar1976;laterre-
scinded),oneofthe"whereas's"isthis:"WtlEREAS,in 1783GeneralGeorge
RogersClarkdidsendseedsoftheKentuckycoffeetreetoThomasJeffersonat
MonticelloandwhichseedsproducesIsic]treesstillgracingthegroundsof
Monticello."Inaletterdated4Dec1783JeffersonwrotetoClark:"Wereceived
hereaboutaweekagoyourobligingletterofOct.12.1783,withtheshellsand
seedsforwhichwereturnyouinanythanks"(Jefferson2003).Onecanbutas-
sumethatamongtheincludedseedswerethoseofKCT.(Asanaside,thisletter
istheonemwhichJeffersonaskedClarkifhewouldliketolead[anexplora-
tionparty]intothecountryfromtheMississippitoCalifornia.)
WefoundabriefquotesaidtobefromClark'sOctober1783lettertoJeffer-
son:speakingofKCT,Clarkwrote"Itmakesbeautifulshadeandwethinkit
willflourishwithyou"(Anonymous2003a).DidClarkalsomentioninthelet-
terthe"coffee"useoftheseedsofthetree-'InquiriestotheJeffersoncollection
atthePrincetonUniversityLibrary(LindaMonaco,pers.comm.,16Oct2003)
andtotheMonticelloLibrary(BryanCraig,pers.comm.,16Oct2003)elicited
theresponsethattheletterisapparentlylost.
FinallywewerereferredtoapersonsaidtobeknowledgeableaboutGRC's
SPAETHANDTHIERET,NOTESON"COFFEE"FROMTHEKENTUCKYCOFFEETREE 353
correspondence:JuliaParke,formerdirectoratLocustGrove,Clark'sLouisville
home.InanOctober2003telephoneconversationwithher,thesecondauthor
wastoldthatshehadknownofthe12Oct1783letterandthatyes,GRCdid
mentionintheletternotonlythehorticulturalpossibilitiesofthetreebutalso
theuseofKentuckycoffeetreeseedsfor"coffee."ThustheStormLakereportof
Clark'sinterestinKCThadbeensomewhatexonerated.
CURRHKTUSEOFKCT"COFFEE"
Inanarticleonvariouswild-growmgsubstitutesforarabicacoffee,Serlin(1977)
wrote,"Alllastwinter,alongtheRambleinNewYorkCity'sCentralPark,I've
seenpeoplepinchingcoffeecostsbyscuffingthroughfallenleavesforprecious
podsunderastandofKentuckyCoffeeTrees."InOctober2003,wonderingabout
thefrequencyofsuchforagingbyNewYorkers,wetelephonedStevenBrill,well-
knownauthorandeducatoronthesubjectofwhldedibleplants.Hetoldusthat,
inhisyearsofvisitingCentralPark,theonlyforagershehadseenwerethose
accompanyinghimonhisfieldtrips.
Accordingtosomeoftheseforagers,theseedsapparentlycanbeusedasa
chocolatyseasoningincakesandcookies(Brill&Dean1994).Oneseedadded
tocarob-flavoredicecreamcanmaketheproduct"tastemorelikechocolate
thanever"(Brill2002).
Wecheckedwithseveralmorepeopleknowledgeableaboutthesubjectof
ediblewildplants.NoneknewofanyonewhohadpreparedadrinkfromKCT
seeds.
OtherthanthereportsofBrill(2002),Brill&Dean(1994),Phillips(1998),
andSerlin(1977)andtherecentbrewingof"coffee"fromKCTseedshereat
NorthernKentuckyUniversity,wehavelocatednoevidenceofsignificantex-
tantuseofthebeverage.Evenifcurrentedible-plantbooksmentiontheuse,we
suggestthatKCT"coffee"ismostlyacuriosityfromatimenowpast,beingin-
dulgedinonlybyanoccasionaloneofthoseindividualswhoeattheirway
throughthelandscape(oftenwithtastyrewards).Itposesnoseriousthreatto
MaxwellHouseorStarbucks.
CONCLUSIc:iN
LimiteduseofKCTseedsasacoffeesubstitutewasmadeinpioneerKentucky
andelsewhere.Itwouldappearthatthemanypost-pioneerreportsofaKCT-
seed-basedbeveragederiveultimatelyfromafewearlyaccounts;Drake's,Long's,
Michaux's,Nuttalls,andpossiblyClark's.TheKentuckycoffeetreeisofessen-
tiallynopresent-dayconcernasabeverageplant.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Wethankthefollowingforhelp:DavidM.Brandenburg,TheDawesArbore-
tum,Newark,OH;Steve"Wildman"Brill,Mamaronech,NY;KennethC.Carstens,
354 BRIT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
Murray State University, IMurray, KY; Bryan Craig, Library, Monticello,
Charlottesville,VA;JamesDuvall,BooneCounty(Kentucky)PublicLibrary;
JenniferGregory,Archives,SteelyLibraryNorthernKentuckyUniversity,High-
landHeights,KY;MiriamSteimtzKannan,BiologicalSciences,NorthernKen-
tuckyUniversity,HighlandHeights,KY;TheLloydLibrary,Cincinnati,OH;
PatriciaB.Mitchell,Chatham,VA;LindaN4onaco,ThePapersofThomasjeffer-
son,Princeton UniversityLibrary,Princeton,NJ;JuliaParke,Louisville,KY;
MaggieWhitson,NorthernKentuckyUniversity,HighlandHeights,KY;Den-
nisWorthen,LloydLibrary,Cincinnati,OH;andthe20braveindividualswho
tookpartinourtaste/smelltests.
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