5 Delicious Coffee Alternatives
Coffee is very acidic, and if you’ve ever been a regular coffee drinker, you know how the high caffeine content can give you the jitters then make you crash. It’s altogether hard on your system…not to mention, coffee makes your teeth yellow, and gives you bad breath. Gross!
That said, drinking coffee can be a tough habit to break, and who doesn’t enjoy sitting down with a hot, flavorful beverage? Luckily, there are lots of yum alternatives to traditional coffee. These won’t taste like coffee, but they are hot and soothing and nice to sip on. Give ‘em a try:
1. Kukicha Tea
This one is very healthy. Try it alone, or sweetened with a little brown rice syrup. You can also make it medicinal by using it in my Cure-All Tea (p. 90 in The Kind Diet).
Try Eden’s Kukicha tea.
2. Mugicha (Barley) Tea
Roasted barley has a delicious flavor in tea. When I drink it, I put a barley tea bag in my mug and simply refill it with hot water all day. You can add brown rice syrup for a sweet, superhero treat.
Bird Pick sells roasted barley tea as does Goldmine Natural Foods.
3. Genmaicha (Brown Rice) Green Tea
Genmaicha is quite delicious. It is roasted brown rice tea. But beware, all green teas have caffeine. I have on a rare occasion sipped on some green tea, but I am not a caffeine fan at all. If you love green tea, though, this is a good one.
Try Eden’s Genmaicha.
4. Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate is an antioxidant-rich tea grown in South America. It’s super yummy. I used to drink this with Woody and Laura all the time. Laura makes a mean Yerba Mate latte! You can have it cold or hot with soy or rice milk and maple syrup. Yerba Mate gets me super spazzy from the caffeine, so I don’t drink it anymore, but boy I used to enjoy some sips of that with my pals. It’s not superhero, but if you’re looking for a healthier caffeine fix, this is a better option than coffee!
Try organic Yerba Mate by Guyaki.
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5. Choffy, Teechino, or Pero
All three of these brands are natural coffee substitutes made with chicory, cinnamon, and a variety of other spices. If you really miss the flavor of coffee, give one of these a try. If you’re looking to go superhero, one of these could be a good first step toward weening yourself off of caffeine. Real Food Daily serves Teechino with steamed soy, rice, or hemp milk (you get to pick). It’s so nice with a big piece of chocolate cake. When you feel rebellious! Although the chocolate cake will be almost the same as the caffeine because of the cane sugar and caffeine in the chocolate. But heck, it’s more fun than coffee!
Try Choffy, Teeccino, or Pero.
Any of these coffee alternatives can go in a mug or in your to-go cup while you’re running errands or heading to work. And if you must drink coffee, I have heard that straight espresso is a better choice than coffee. Sounds a bit suspicious, but I do enjoy a sip of espresso about two times a year. And I mean A sip – I couldn’t order one and drink the whole thing myself. I just bum a sip off of whoever is drinking that delicious-smelling after meal beverage.
Do you know of any yummier hot drinks?
Share them in the comments below!
Photos: Flickr / George
23 comments
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I have not tried this yet but it was passed along to me as a potential coffee alternative - might be worth a try. http://www.coffeegoldorganic.com/ -
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I love English Breakfast tea! I used to drink coffee everyday but now I go for the English Breakfast or a Chai and they work every time. -
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A tasty alternative is roast whole corriander seeds. Grab a handful, and dry roast them in a pan on a stove top. Roast them just a few mins giving them a shake so they get evenly roasted. This does not take long. Next you boil them up in water and add milk (or alternative) and your choice of sweetner to taste. Yummy and very good for you. Also very cheap!!!
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I have decided to go cold turkey on this one. From now on I am going to replace a coffee with a bottle of water and see how I get on. I cant get better and cheaper than water, so this feels like a no brainer to me, not to mention how good water is for the skin (some water!) I am always saying to my family that these kind of addictions are all in the mind, even when I hurt myself by accident or others hurt themselves by accident I say "its all in the mind, its all in the mind", to help overcome it, it eventually works. I thought I had control over my body, clearly I forgot about coffee and maybe coffee fooled me into thinking I just liked the taste and that I wasnt addicted. Clearly I am as I have about 3 coffees a day. Going to see how the new water diet pans out! x -
I love Yannoh (instant) by lima, it tastes much better than coffee, with rice milk or pure.
Yannoh is an old macrobiotic drink, made of barley, rye, chicory and acorns! -
I enjoy drinking green tea because of its many health benefits. Grean tea prevents cavities, very high in antioxidants, and has a little caffeine to get me going in the morning. I wrote some great vegan recipes at http://www.vegansgoraw.com/
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"Rooibos Masala Chai" by Blue Lotus Chai. I just bought some at my local Portland Veg Fest. It's so delicious! It's a powder that dissolves in hot water (I add non-dairy milk). All organic. Though I admit I haven't quit coffee all together, I love this in the morning and don't miss my coffee in my morning routine. They have "Original Chai" flavor and "Mint" chai as well. bluelotuschai.com -
What is wrong with coffee/caffeine ? I love coffee and the caffiene buzz I get in the morning, it is very euphoric for me. I drink fair trade organic coffee purchased at the Berkeley Bowl, which is totally sick for organics and non-gmo foods, boom!
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With all due respect (trust me I love coffee myself but I've recently quit) coffee is bad for you :( I hate to say it because it's so delicious but it's sprayed with more pesticides than any other agricultural plant on the planet, and these chemicals are absorbed by your body and are harmful… roasted coffee contains 826 chemicals. 21 have been tested on lab rats and 16 out of the 21 cause cancer. It's also incredibly acid-forming in the body so it can throw off your PH and it also can cause a vitamin B deficiency... something vegans and vegetarians may already have issues with... if you have to drink it, drink organic :) Everything in moderation! I just bought some Teecino tonight after reading this article earlier... it's interesting but not too bad!
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I am having a cup of Dandyblend right now. Excellent coffee substitute. can buy from Amazon.com
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This post couldn't have come at a better time! I am desperately trying to kick coffee. Barley tea has been delicious so far... -
I have to agree with Gina - coffee has as many pro as cons. Tea ALSO stains your teeth and frequently has caffeine and your chocolate cake has WAY MORE sugar and fat (and usually eggs and butter). I feel that keeping consumption to a minimum (I drink one iced coffee every morning but no other caffeine for the rest of the day.) and preferably decaf. As for the coffee breath, I use all natural hazelnut coffee lib balm and a coffee hair shampoo bar, I smell of coffee even if I don't drink it - coffee drinkers LIKE the coffee smell. And, using my all natural tooth powder immediately after coffee and regular cleanings has kept staining to a minimum. Please don't hate the coffee.
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digamos yo tomo mucho te no tomo leche y hay tes que son muy beneficiosos para el cuerpo humano -
I don't drink coffee anyway, but I do think I drink too much caffeine sometimes - I drink a LOT of tea and iced black tea is my go-to soda craving substitute. Any good herbal, caffeine free drink ideas I should try? -
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Thank you for the suggestions. I've tried Yerba Mate before. It's yummy. However, I feel the overwhelming benefits of drinking coffee far outweigh the risks. It's no secret that coffee is one of the most prominent antioxidants, along with tea and dark chocolate. Coffee has been scientifically proven to decrease risk of numerous diseases such as Alzheimer's, gallbladder diseases, liver diseases,diabetes, Parkinson's and several types of cancers. I'll take the yellow teeth & coffee breath if it means reducing the risk of all of the above and then some. Thankfully I have teeth whitening strips and breath mints. I'll continue to enjoy my daily decaf soy latte and take in far more good than bad. -
Thank you for posting this Alicia. I just picked up some samples from this years DC GreenFest this past Sunday. Here are some of the brands and flavors and all are organic:
Yogi, warm and spicy-sweet, Chai Rooibos
Equal Exchange Fairly Traded, English Breakfast black and mint green
Choice, decaf green and black Masala Chai
RUNA (no tannins) mint guayusa and cinnamon-lemongrass guayusa -
S. Asnes, et al....
I TOTALLY AGREE.....I HAVE 1 (sometimes 2) CUPS OF BLACK freshly-ground 8 O'CLOCK DECAF JAVA EVERYDAY, AND I AM EXTREMELY HEALTHY! EXERCISE, EAT RIGHT, WEIGHT UNDER CONTROL FOR OVER 3 1/2 YEARS...
I, TOO, WILL NEVER GIVE UP COFFEE--NO REASON TO IMHO.
TY-K :-)) -
I'm sorry Alicia but I have to disagree on this one. I keep reading study after study (from various periodicals) that say, coffee isn't as harmful as once believed. I wish I could remember all the sources but I cannot.
I don't care what the naysayers say, I will never give up coffee - never.
Just my two cents.
:-) -
Fall is the perfect time for homemade chai tea! This morning's combo: 10 cups water, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, anise stars, black peppercorns, vanilla beans, saffron, orange zest, cumin seeds. Bring to a boil and then cover/simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the heat off and add three tablespoons of black tea. Steep for five minutes. Strain and enjoy with non-dairy creamer and brown rice syrup. YUM!
Angela
www.veggievinyasa.com
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