Orchard Training Homeschool Garden Club - Coffee

It's time to tend to the vegetable garden, arranging the plants in tidy rows with aspirations for a plentiful harvest or even a "Best in Show."

In January, we began discussing foods that cannot be grown in the United Kingdom. We identified 12 such foods, and throughout the 12 months of 2025, we will examine each one individually.

1.     Tea

2.     Coffee

3.     Chocolate

4.     Pineapple

5.     Mango

6.     Avocado

7.     Vanilla

8.     Banana

9.     Oranges

10.  Black pepper

11.  Cinnamon

12.  Turmeric

We will examine them from various curriculum perspectives, such as the environmental angle—considering air miles, the geographical aspect—tracing the original source, and through historical inquiry—exploring what we used before this food arrived in the UK. Lastly, from a Design and Technology perspective, we'll imagine scenarios where we choose not to buy that food or can no longer purchase it: how might we replace it in recipes? We will then test some favorite recipes using substitutes that we could grow in the Orchard Training Homeschool Garden.

May is the ideal season for dandelions, which is convenient as we will be studying its roots alongside chicory as a coffee alternative. Dandelion 'coffee' has a long-standing tradition in the UK as a caffeine-free coffee replacement. We will investigate how ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Indians, and Arabian physicians used this root.