Acorn Coffee Prepared Using an Ancient Recipe in Astravets
Acorns can be used to prepare soup, dumplings, pancakes, and even kissel. The most labor-intensive step is to extract the kernels from each acorn.
The Astravets District Library has a special feature — acorn coffee. It's prepared according to an ancient recipe passed down by a local resident. Times.by visited the Astravets region, found the keeper of the ancient recipe, and tasted the acorn coffee. By the way, it's not that difficult to make yourself. The main thing is to know where to gather acorns and what to do with them next.
The recipe was given to the library by Ialanta Valuevich — a local historian, former rural librarian, and a native of Astravets district. She now lives near Minsk but periodically visits her hometown.
She was born and raised on a farm near the village of Spondzy. One of her vivid childhood memories is the aroma of acorn coffee her mother brewed.
"In the 1960s-1970s, there were no luxuries; acorn coffee was a common drink, but I loved it very much. It seemed special to me. I remember my mother initially bought acorn coffee. A 200g cardboard box cost, I think, 12 kopecks. The drink was delicious and aromatic. When brewed with milk, the taste was wonderful. Barley coffee was called "Druzhba" (Friendship), but this was just acorn coffee," recalls the interviewee.
Then it disappeared from sale, and young Ialanta even became sad. But her mother found the recipe that her own mother and grandmother used to make coffee, and the family started making it themselves.
There were many oak trees around Spondzy, and raw materials were plentiful. Acorns were fed to pigs, children played with them, and in September, they were always harvested to later prepare the delicious drink.
Not far from Ialanta Frantsauna's house in Spondzy stands a 200-year-old oak tree.
"There is probably not a single adult oak tree that doesn't bear scars from lightning. These trees absorb the impact during a thunderstorm," the interviewee points to the trunk where marks are visible. "On my farm, all the oak trees were scarred. But the oak is famous for more than just that. During the hungry war years, bread was baked from acorn flour — it was nutritious, and coffee was brewed from acorns, which gave strength."
Acorn coffee remains her favorite drink to this day. In September, she gathers the fruits to last for the whole year.
"This is my special thing. It's a pity that acorn coffee is a rarity today. I tried to find it at Kamarouka market in Minsk — I heard it could be found there, but I didn't. I looked on marketplaces — there are occasional offers, but you need to carefully examine what kind of coffee it is. And it's not cheap. After all, it's manual labor," Ialanta says.
She is glad that acorn coffee is now prepared at the Astravets Library. And she hopes that someone will eventually become interested and organize its production, as there are enough oak trees in Belarus — it's no coincidence that this very plant can be seen on the coat of arms of Astravets, and images of branches, leaves of this tree, or acorns are present on the coats of arms of a number of Belarusian cities, towns, and districts.
"Acorn coffee is not only delicious but also healthy. It improves the work of the cardiovascular system, positively affects the condition of the skin and gums, and has a beneficial effect on the digestive system and male potency. This drink does not contain caffeine, but there's no need to overdo it — three cups a day are enough. Children can also drink it," says Ialanta.
Times.by also visited the Astravets District Library.
"Ialanta Valuevich handed over her family coffee recipe to the library about 20 years ago. For a long time, it was simply stored in a folder. It was remembered 10 years later when a "Festival of the Oak" was organized in the district. The librarians offered their unique feature — acorn coffee," says bibliographer Inha Shlykovich.
The first tasters were the residents of Astravets — and they liked the drink. Since then, acorn coffee has been an indispensable attribute of all significant events in the district.
Five years ago, when the library moved into a new spacious building, the idea arose to equip an improvised cafe. The district executive committee supported it. Thus, a cozy corner for meetings and tastings appeared.
If an organized group of tourists visits the library and librarians are notified in advance, they make their signature acorn coffee.
Transforming an acorn into an aromatic drink is a painstaking process. It all begins in September when acorns ripen on oak trees. All library staff participate in the collection. They even filmed a video about it and posted it on TikTok.
They are collected manually and only from branches. Those that have already fallen are not taken — they might be worm-eaten. For ripe acorns, the cap should easily detach from the fruit.
"There are many oak trees in Astravets and the district, but not all are suitable. You should only choose trees that grow in ecologically clean areas — away from roads and crowded places. We already know such places. The staff of the bibliobus, which serves remote villages, helps," Inha Shlykovich explains.
The collected acorns are dried naturally. Then begins the most labor-intensive stage — extracting the kernels from each acorn, like from a nut.
These kernels are cut into small pieces and dried slightly in the oven. Then — they are roasted in a dry pan, carefully watching to ensure they don't burn.
And finally, grinding. Some use a mortar, as in ancient times. But the pieces are very hard, requiring considerable effort, so it's better to grind them in a coffee grinder. The resulting powder (similar to regular ground coffee) is a ready base for preparing the drink.
However, you can also not grind them: if the pieces are small enough, they are brewed whole.
According to the ancient recipe preserved in the library, coffee was brewed in ovens — in clay pots or cast-iron pots. It was poured with cold water, placed in the oven, and after several hours, the ready drink was taken out.
"In modern homes, there is no oven, so we pour the ground coffee into a thermos, add boiling water, and leave it for at least two hours," Inha Shlykovich shares the secret with Times.by. "Only this way can the flavor be fully revealed. We tried simply pouring boiling water, and it didn't turn out the same at all. And brewed in a cezve — that's also not the same taste."
The interviewee offers a taste. She opens the thermos — and the air fills with a soft coffee aroma. The drink is oily due to the oil content in the acorns. The richness of the taste and color depends on the degree of roasting of the acorns. At the library, the powder and drink had a delicate, nutty color.
We don't add sugar and cream to fully savor the drink: it reminded us of a mix of barley drink with regular coffee.
"According to reviews, some taste chocolate in the coffee, others find the taste woody, and some say it resembles a barley drink," the bibliographer recounts. She herself perceives a nutty taste.
The library compiled a booklet that includes not only the recipe for acorn coffee but also a method for preparing a less intense coffee drink. Additionally, it contains recipes for acorn soup with milk, acorn dumplings with lard, rich acorn flour pancakes, and even acorn coffee kissel.
The method for preparing the flour itself is also in the booklet, marked "Leningrad Blockade recipe." It was found online.
The recipes are quite simple: even someone who rarely cooks can manage them. All that's left is to wait for September and gather the acorns.