Chicory which has the Latin name Cichorium intybus is a plant belonging to the family of daisies. Chronic plants usually have bright blue flowers, although there is a yellow or pink. This plant has many uses, especially as a staple food for ruminant livestock. This plant is a wild plant that lives on the edge of the road in its home region of Europe, as well as in North America and Australia where the plant is naturalized.
The Chicory plant has been cultivated since ancient Egypt. Medieval monks also plant these plants and when coffee is introduced to Europe, the Dutch assume that cikori gives a delicious extra nuance to coffee drinks.
In the United States, chicory roots have long been used as coffee substitutes in prison. In the 1840s the port of New Orleans was the second largest coffee importer after New York. Louisiana people began adding chicory roots to coffee during a blockade by a union ship during the American civil war that broke access to New Orleans harbors, creating a tradition for them.
Chicory flowers are often the inspiration for the romantic concept of the Blue Flower. It is believed to also be able to open locked doors, based on European folklore.