Walking through the Lithuanian and Latvian countryside, you can often see the common chicory (Cichorium intybus) on the roadsides. The perennial herbaceous plant of the daisy family Asteraceae with blue flowers can reach a height of 1.5 m. The plant has a thick root, which is traditionally used to make a coffee-like beverage in the Baltic States. The root was dug up, fried, ground, poured with hot water, and then coffee was made from it. It is believed that chicory coffee originated in the 18th century in France, as a substitute for coffee in times of shortage of coffee beans. Today, there are still farms in Latvia and Lithuania that produce delicious decaffeinated chicory coffee. In folk medicine, chicory root is used to stimulate appetite, treat liver and gallbladder diseases, and also as a diuretic and mild laxative.