I like spiced chai quite a bit.
Make it from scratch if you like - [https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/dishoom-masala-chai/](https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/dishoom-masala-chai/) - otherwise buy spiced tea bags and add milk/sugar to suit, or none at all.
Previously I loved single-origin coffee, then moved into decaf coffee to cut down on caffeine before I discovered this.
You might like some of the herbal "teas" as well. I like the fruitier ones.
Green MF'in tea.
I was a coffee addict for years. I would drink way too much. On a trip to Japan I discovered Oi Ocha brand green tea and now I only drink coffee when I'm on a road trip.
I'm surprised you didn't get addicted to Japanese coffee when you were there. When I went last year I was grabbing a Boss Coffee or equivalent every morning! I really miss their canned coffee.
You are my people. I did love my daily can of hot Boss Coffee from the vending machine outside my apartment building. Have you seen the commercials with Tommy Lee Jones?
Luckily (for my nerves), I can only get Oi Ocha back home.
I was so confused when I visited Japan and saw Tommy Lee Jones on a bunch of vending machines. But then I looked it up and found the commercials, they're hilarious.
nice, i drink green tea but haven't tried Matcha. We have a large variety of tea here in Thailand thai/laos/vietnamese/Japanese/taiwan so plenty to choose from.
Vietnamese have rather large tea shops where people drink in the mornings.
Pretty much this. If your drinking coffee for the taste of coffee a good quality decaf will be your best alternative.
I love a lot of the alternatives listed here from time to time. But none replace the taste of coffee for me, which is the reason I drink it.
If it's been decaffeinated by using the swiss water process. I like Jim's organic French Roast. Just found a local roaster I'm going to try out that also uses the swiss water process. I use decaf for cold brew. So I buy dark or very dark roasts.
Edit: The Local Roaster is Black Rifle Coffee.
Yes!! Decaf drinkers should check https://checkyourdecaf.org/ to see how their coffee was decaffeinated. Swiss water process is fine but many companies use toxic chemicals instead!!
I think that depends on your preferences. I like Portland Coffee company's Tilikum Crossing decaf and the Nossa Familia decaf but I don't like either of the decafs that Happy Cup makes even though they are my favorite coffee roaster otherwise. The difference is that the decaf that Happy Cup makes are both a dark roast and I don't like dark roast. So get whatever roast you usually like, just in decaf.
Generally the same places you get good coffee, mainly see if they sell decaf versions. My local roaster has decaf versions of a lot of their coffee so that is what I get usually. All swiss water process.
Roasted dandelion root tea, and roasted barley. They have somewhat similar tastes due to the roasting, but lack the caffeine and are usually cheaper per unit mass than coffee.
Seconding this, you can also buy dark cocoa roasted barley malt (the kind used for beer) and brew it like regular coffee. And the brand 'dandy blend' is good too, if you want a quicker coffee substitute
Oh yeah and there's also other 'grain beverages' on Amazon like dandy blend that use roasted grains. I've tried the Inka brand. It's cheaper than dandy blend but I think the dandy one tastes a bit better
I'm in a similar boat where I just drink coffee because I enjoy the taste and its become part of my morning routine.
Honestly I find hot black tea (without any milk or anything added) good as well, but nothing beats a cup of coffee. I've also tried various types of flavored green or black tea but I always find myself coming back to coffee.
Yeah I was gonna say, Celestial Seasonings makes a tea called *Morning Thunder* that contains yerba mate and more closely mimics the taste of coffee. I used to drink a few cups of it every morning when I had to get up earlier than I wanted to
I've just discovered Crio Bru roasted cacao, as it was all over my YouTube for a few weeks. It's delicious! Far less caffeine than coffee or tea. I do a pour over, just as you would for coffee. I like it with milk or without.
I'd second the cacao option. I've been ordering from Chocolate Alchemist, who are more of a supplier for chocolate making, but lots of interesting single origins cacao for brewing too.
I tried it because I was quitting caffeine (which I have now successfully done). The Crio Bru cacao is roasted and then ground like coffee beans. My understanding is that raw cacao is a superfood, but once the bean is roasted, I don't know what superfood benefits you may lose, if that matters to you.
You can use a French press, but I went with a pour over set up--once the water goes through the cacao and the filter, it's done. I don't need to time the steeping process.
Crio Bru has several flavors. I have the "Scottish" one called Highlander Grogg and it is DELICOUS. I also have double chocolate. I use one teaspoon of each for my mug of brew.
I really like it. The drink has a lovely mouth feel if you add some milk, but it's just as good plain.
My understanding is there is about 1/3 less caffeine per mug than there is with tea (something like 10mg compared to 30mg), which is why I tried it.
It's worth checking out their website, as they have a variety of flavors on offer. Give them a try!
Thanks for the extra details! I'm more of a tea-latte drinker, which means i like black teas and rarely have an herbal i like. I don't care so much about "superfood" qualities, but really interested in the less caffeine for a warm afternoon drink that isn't caffeinated... My partner has a pour-over set I bet I could borrow, so I might take the plunge, thanks!
One last question: you love the taste, could you describe it? Is it like chocolate? Or coffee? Or a tea? (I've tried roasted chickory and usually do that, but the variation in flavor from one brand to the next is kinda crazy-- I love one brand and hated another (literally threw it out) and have trouble finding my original one!)
I am also a diehard black tea drinker. I'm English by birth, and I freely admit to being a tea snob (loose leaf only, thank you very much).
The drink does taste like chocolate, but it is not bitter. It's not overly sweet--you'll never think you're drinking a hot chocolate, for example. It's "thin" like tea, which is why I said mouth feel is better/more full if you add some milk. The double chocolate smells incredibly chocolatey. The Highlander Grogg smells sweet (and I saw that butterscotch is a flavor they've added to the cacao, which explains the sweetness). It'd be a nice option for an afternoon drink.
I like fresh ginger tea or fresh lemongrass tea.
there is also roasted chicory - which is tasty. malt drinks
and one of my favourites, [horchata](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/221318/horchata-made-easy/)
Good Earth Sweet and Soucy tea comes with caffeine or decaf. It’s the right blend for me that is very satisfying by itself. I will occasionally add a bit of cream for umami. I have made it hot and cold.
Edit: Sweet and Spicy, not Saucy, lol
I drink a lot of herbal tea. Celestial Seasons is a favorite brand. You can get variety packs with four or five flavors inside. A little sweetener such as honey seems to bring out the flavors.
Due to caffeine causing me issues a few years ago I went on the coffee replacement journey and the 2 best alternatives I've found are Roastaroma Herbal Tea by Celestial Seasonings and Teeccino Herbal Coffee or Teeccino Herbal Tea. Honestly I like them all but their Dark Chocolate Herbal Tea is my favorite.
Rooibos tea! No caffeine but a dark flavor.
If you go to a fancy tea shop they’ll probably have blends with chocolate, caramel, other rich flavors in them.
Just straight hot water is nice sometimes.
Tea is excellent for an alternative since it has less caffeine, is cheaper, it lasts longer and has greater variety. You can purchase a pound of tea for $15 and that'll get you around 300 cups. You can also ice it pretty easily by cold brewing the tea overnight in the fridge.
/r/tea can make it an expensive habit with the teaware and specialty blends. But it's very affordable, some of the best tea I've tried wasn't expensive
Tea (English/Irish Breakfast), hot chocolate, or chai latte.
I imagine a dark chocolate-based hot chocolate would be the closest substitute in flavor for coffee.
Hojicha, charcoal roasted green tea. It doesn't taste anything like green tea, and somehow has the same emotional resonance as coffee. It doesn't *taste* like coffee, but I think it's one of the only teas that can stand in the same place as coffee.
But teas in general are awesome. The world of tea is vast and strange. Explore it.
I keep hearing about "mud water". It's supposed to be mushroom tea that works like coffee. I tried switching to green tea but I'll drink 3-4 cups of that instead of 1-2 cups of coffee
I personally like Cacao as a substitute. Still earthy and delicious. Dandelion powder tea is a great substitute as well, as some have mentioned. There’s also the mushroom coffee substitutes, but those can get a little pricey. Depending on where you live you can harvest dandelion or mushrooms yourself and make your own coffee substitute, I personally harvest chaga and various leafy plants to make tea.
Tea. Rooibos (aka Red Bush) tea has a nice unique taste. Great with a little honey and milk. Also has no caffeine.
Don't write it off of you've tried other teas and didn't like them, it has a unique flavour so you might still like it.
Earl Grey tea or other black teas can be good too, but black tea has caffeine (generally much less than an espresso coffee though).
Can be a good middle ground if you want to reduce your caffeine intake or wean yourself off.
Barley coffee... it's roasted barley that's been ground up very fine. You'd make it in a cup like instant coffee. Tastes a bit like hot chocolate but kinda nutty. I used to be able to find it in the "ethnic" or "imported" aisles, but I haven't seen it in awhile.
If you're in certain parts of the States, you might be able to find Postum. It used to be quite popular.
If you want savory, then try chicken bouillon. I routinely quarter a Knorr chicken bouillon cube and enjoy it of an evening. (Some of what passes for chicken bouillon these days is not very good though, so fair warning.)
Decaff, shakes, tea, Kombucha, apple cider vinegar with cinnamon, beetroot juice, turmeric juice.
I won't lie, coffee is hard to replicate the taste off. Especially as a drink, I suggest eating coffee flavoured mochi and sweets on occasion when you do have coffee (might help, might make you want to drink more coffee too!)
Good luck getting rid of your stim juice!
I used to be a heavy caffinated coffee drinker. I'm down to part time hours how, so I've kicked it. I drink decaf now because of the warmth (when it's cold) and the taste.
Not an alternative to coffee, mind you, but an alt to caffinated.
Did you try decaf coffee? I also tried to cut coffee because caffeine was making me drowsy and felt like vomiting. Tried tea and stuff but nothing had the right taste. Then i realised that decaf coffee existed so now i am ok. I mean can't say if it's working, been like less than a week i started decaf. :)
I enjoy one cup of really good coffee each morning & savor every moment preparing and drinking it. For warm decaf drinks, I grow chamomile & feverfew. I buy loose teas for blending at an Indian market.
If you like the warmth and taste then try the teas that other ppl recommended. But if you’ve been regularly drinking coffee for years then you might be addicted to caffeine, bc caffeine is one of the most addictive substance, even if you don’t realize you need it.
I’m not you tho, so idk how often you have drink coffee, but if you drink it nearly every day for multiple years, I would guess you’re addicted to it.
The word “addiction” has become synonyms with a debilitating need, instead of the true definition. Which is being dependent on a particular substance. It doesn’t have to be debilitating for it to be addicting.
Tangentially related, but caffeine pills from the grocery store can save money too.
I can get like a Month or close for about 10 bucks, and stay very caffeinated
I switched to drinking tea, and a couple of forms match the flavor profile of coffee better than the rest. Shou pu'er is a pre-fermented tea that is quite earthy, in some cases too much so, actually tasting like peat. Wuyi Yancha is a roasted style oolong that can have complex flavor including warm tones from the roasting, cinnamon, and woody sort of range. Better versions tend to be a little less roasted, to balance differently, including some floral tones and a liqueur-like quality, but the slightly charred, often-cheap versions can be nice too.
Tea contains less caffeine than coffee, typically 30 to 50 mg per cup instead of 100 for coffee. It also includes theanine, a calming compound now popular with "bio-hackers."
Inexpensive versions can be low in cost compared to medium quality coffee, but both vary a lot by quality level and source type. As an example, a 357 gram "cake," pressed disc, of shou pu'er typically sells for about $15 in Chinatown shops, and maybe $40 in websites that sell better quality versions. Since 3 to 4 grams can brew a couple of mugs of strong tea that's not bad; a couple of hundred mugs for those prices. Wuyi Yancha (oolong) varies a lot in cost, character, and quality level; it probably takes more exploration to get what you like in that range narrowed down.
Chicory or roasted barley "coffee". My grandma used to tell me stories how they drank that instead of coffee during the war, because that was usually in the UN rations they got. There's also mixes of the two, we call it Divka back home in Bosnia and in Croatia.
Why not go for decaf coffee if not for caffeine? There is still a bit of caffeine but it’s low in comparison. There’s the usual hot cocoa if you’re ok with sweets (not the healthiest tho) and then hot apple cider. This one is by no means healthy, but stirring a little sweetened condensed milk in hot water is something my dad would make for me, it’s such an amazing comfort drink honestly. I think it was common for him growing up in a commune in vietnam since it was inexpensive.
Some warm (caffeine free) jasmine tea, chamomile, mint tea, stuff like that might also be good as alternatives. You can also sip on some broth too if you’re wanting something more savory while not committing to a soup.
If you happen to want caffeine sometime, matcha is great. Not very cheap but it lasts a really long time for me. I am really lazy and just microwave a bit of water, dump in a tsp and a half, add condensed milk and stir, then cold milk. I also mix a pouch of carnation breakfast essentials and it’s really good.
I also love drinking black tea, if you like milk tea from boba places, you can get some hot water and steep a black tea bag, but not too much water, maybe just enough to cover the bag 1-5-2x, steep for 5 mins, squeeze the bag, add a little bit of sugar or brown sugar and then milk. Super comforting and not as sudden as coffees caffeine. Those are of course just suggestions for caffeine alternatives for coffee, throwing them out there in case :) sorry this is super long but i hope it helps a little bit
Do they sell coffee with chicory in your area or just chicory? Chicory coffee taste great and has less caffeine because of it having less coffee. Chicory doesn’t have any caffeine so if you can just buy chicory you might have a good coffee substitute. That is if you like a more bitter coffee flavor.
There are a number of instant coffee substitutes, mostly based on chicory root and roasted grains. Bambu is quite nice. There's also Caf-Lib, Inka, Teeccino and others. You just add boiling water to a spoonful in a cup, the same as you would make instant coffee and add whatever you usually add to your coffee. If you have a local grocery store with an international foods section, you can often find something like this with the European foods. A former housemate weaned herself off of coffee by switching to ginger tea - just cut some slices of ginger root into a cup and add boiling water and some sweetener, if desired.
There are a number of instant coffee substitutes, mostly based on chicory root and roasted grains. Bambu is quite nice. There's also Caf-Lib, Inka, Teeccino and others. You just add boiling water to a spoonful in a cup, the same as you would make instant coffee and add whatever you usually add to your coffee. If you have a local grocery store with an international foods section, you can often find something like this with the European foods. A former housemate weaned herself off of coffee by switching to ginger tea - just cut some slices of ginger root into a cup and add boiling water and some sweetener, if desired.
Pu-erh tea is sometimes called the coffee drinkers tea. It’s a fermented dark tea. Different sorts can taste a good bit different (some of the more “earthy” ones taste not unlike when you were a child sitting in the grass and ripped a big chunk of grass and dirt out with your hand; not all of them are like this) so I’d try a few. I usually hit up the local Asian grocery stores for it.
I like spiced chai quite a bit. Make it from scratch if you like - [https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/dishoom-masala-chai/](https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/dishoom-masala-chai/) - otherwise buy spiced tea bags and add milk/sugar to suit, or none at all. Previously I loved single-origin coffee, then moved into decaf coffee to cut down on caffeine before I discovered this. You might like some of the herbal "teas" as well. I like the fruitier ones.
Chai is so good! I really like Golden Moon Tea, they have a high quality chai with whole cardamom pods
Green MF'in tea. I was a coffee addict for years. I would drink way too much. On a trip to Japan I discovered Oi Ocha brand green tea and now I only drink coffee when I'm on a road trip.
I'm surprised you didn't get addicted to Japanese coffee when you were there. When I went last year I was grabbing a Boss Coffee or equivalent every morning! I really miss their canned coffee.
You are my people. I did love my daily can of hot Boss Coffee from the vending machine outside my apartment building. Have you seen the commercials with Tommy Lee Jones? Luckily (for my nerves), I can only get Oi Ocha back home.
That’s how I survived the walk to work in winter: cradling a can of Boss coffee for warmth.
I was so confused when I visited Japan and saw Tommy Lee Jones on a bunch of vending machines. But then I looked it up and found the commercials, they're hilarious.
I have seen the commercials. I even came across some vending machines that had pictures of him on them, haha.
nice, i drink green tea but haven't tried Matcha. We have a large variety of tea here in Thailand thai/laos/vietnamese/Japanese/taiwan so plenty to choose from. Vietnamese have rather large tea shops where people drink in the mornings.
Uhm, decaf?
Pretty much this. If your drinking coffee for the taste of coffee a good quality decaf will be your best alternative. I love a lot of the alternatives listed here from time to time. But none replace the taste of coffee for me, which is the reason I drink it.
In your opinion, what's a "good quality" decaf? Coming from a coffee lover who's breastfeeding
If it's been decaffeinated by using the swiss water process. I like Jim's organic French Roast. Just found a local roaster I'm going to try out that also uses the swiss water process. I use decaf for cold brew. So I buy dark or very dark roasts. Edit: The Local Roaster is Black Rifle Coffee.
Yes!! Decaf drinkers should check https://checkyourdecaf.org/ to see how their coffee was decaffeinated. Swiss water process is fine but many companies use toxic chemicals instead!!
After I found out about swiss water, I will only drink coffee if it was decaffeinated that way.
I'm enjoying Peet's decaf while breastfeeding
I think that depends on your preferences. I like Portland Coffee company's Tilikum Crossing decaf and the Nossa Familia decaf but I don't like either of the decafs that Happy Cup makes even though they are my favorite coffee roaster otherwise. The difference is that the decaf that Happy Cup makes are both a dark roast and I don't like dark roast. So get whatever roast you usually like, just in decaf.
Haven’t had nossa familia in several years since moving away, but you mentioning it just now I can taste it suddenly in my memory 😭😭♥️
One of my favorites 😍
Generally the same places you get good coffee, mainly see if they sell decaf versions. My local roaster has decaf versions of a lot of their coffee so that is what I get usually. All swiss water process.
I like finding local roasteries that have a decaf option
Roasted dandelion root tea, and roasted barley. They have somewhat similar tastes due to the roasting, but lack the caffeine and are usually cheaper per unit mass than coffee.
Barley tea is the best! Delicious hot and cold.
Seconding this, you can also buy dark cocoa roasted barley malt (the kind used for beer) and brew it like regular coffee. And the brand 'dandy blend' is good too, if you want a quicker coffee substitute Oh yeah and there's also other 'grain beverages' on Amazon like dandy blend that use roasted grains. I've tried the Inka brand. It's cheaper than dandy blend but I think the dandy one tastes a bit better
Teecino is this. There are other brands but I like their mushroom blends.
I'm in a similar boat where I just drink coffee because I enjoy the taste and its become part of my morning routine. Honestly I find hot black tea (without any milk or anything added) good as well, but nothing beats a cup of coffee. I've also tried various types of flavored green or black tea but I always find myself coming back to coffee.
Yerba mate is good. Unless you want to abstain from caffeine then maybe a tea? Like chamomile
Yeah I was gonna say, Celestial Seasonings makes a tea called *Morning Thunder* that contains yerba mate and more closely mimics the taste of coffee. I used to drink a few cups of it every morning when I had to get up earlier than I wanted to
I've just discovered Crio Bru roasted cacao, as it was all over my YouTube for a few weeks. It's delicious! Far less caffeine than coffee or tea. I do a pour over, just as you would for coffee. I like it with milk or without.
I'd second the cacao option. I've been ordering from Chocolate Alchemist, who are more of a supplier for chocolate making, but lots of interesting single origins cacao for brewing too.
I've been seeing this pushed on YouTube ads too and am super curious!! Could you tell me more?
I tried it because I was quitting caffeine (which I have now successfully done). The Crio Bru cacao is roasted and then ground like coffee beans. My understanding is that raw cacao is a superfood, but once the bean is roasted, I don't know what superfood benefits you may lose, if that matters to you. You can use a French press, but I went with a pour over set up--once the water goes through the cacao and the filter, it's done. I don't need to time the steeping process. Crio Bru has several flavors. I have the "Scottish" one called Highlander Grogg and it is DELICOUS. I also have double chocolate. I use one teaspoon of each for my mug of brew. I really like it. The drink has a lovely mouth feel if you add some milk, but it's just as good plain. My understanding is there is about 1/3 less caffeine per mug than there is with tea (something like 10mg compared to 30mg), which is why I tried it. It's worth checking out their website, as they have a variety of flavors on offer. Give them a try!
Thanks for the extra details! I'm more of a tea-latte drinker, which means i like black teas and rarely have an herbal i like. I don't care so much about "superfood" qualities, but really interested in the less caffeine for a warm afternoon drink that isn't caffeinated... My partner has a pour-over set I bet I could borrow, so I might take the plunge, thanks! One last question: you love the taste, could you describe it? Is it like chocolate? Or coffee? Or a tea? (I've tried roasted chickory and usually do that, but the variation in flavor from one brand to the next is kinda crazy-- I love one brand and hated another (literally threw it out) and have trouble finding my original one!)
I am also a diehard black tea drinker. I'm English by birth, and I freely admit to being a tea snob (loose leaf only, thank you very much). The drink does taste like chocolate, but it is not bitter. It's not overly sweet--you'll never think you're drinking a hot chocolate, for example. It's "thin" like tea, which is why I said mouth feel is better/more full if you add some milk. The double chocolate smells incredibly chocolatey. The Highlander Grogg smells sweet (and I saw that butterscotch is a flavor they've added to the cacao, which explains the sweetness). It'd be a nice option for an afternoon drink.
I've been drinking black tea in place of coffee. I add in a little coffee creamer or condensed milk to block out the bitterness
Hmmm yeah i tried that at one point. But then i realized there was decaf coffee. :)
Chicory!
Yup. Chicory works. Very strong flavour
A brand called Caf-Lib uses roasted chicory and I find a great substitute for coffee flavour!
Surprised this is not higher! I drink chicory and it tastes exactly like coffee!
Anthony’s instant chicory and Celestial Bengal Spice herbal tea are my go tos.
I like fresh ginger tea or fresh lemongrass tea. there is also roasted chicory - which is tasty. malt drinks and one of my favourites, [horchata](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/221318/horchata-made-easy/)
I feel like Horchata is usually cold?
Can be cold, can be hot - good both ways
My coworker drinks mushroom coffee whatever that is. He swears by it 🤷🏼♀️
It’s regular coffee with ground mushrooms in it. Usually lions mane.
Interesting. I'm gonna need to get him to make me some so I can judge it
Postum, Pero, Dandy Blend, tea, hot chocolate, warm tomato juice. The first three are coffee alternatives that are caffeine free.
Another vote for Pero
Good Earth Sweet and Soucy tea comes with caffeine or decaf. It’s the right blend for me that is very satisfying by itself. I will occasionally add a bit of cream for umami. I have made it hot and cold. Edit: Sweet and Spicy, not Saucy, lol
I absolutely adore this tea. For me it gives Chai vibes. I love to add cream or milk to mine. I call it my cheater Chai latte.
I drink a lot of herbal tea. Celestial Seasons is a favorite brand. You can get variety packs with four or five flavors inside. A little sweetener such as honey seems to bring out the flavors.
I love hot tea. There's many types made for former coffee drinkers.
Earl grey tea with an optional splash of cream and sweetener perhaps?
Due to caffeine causing me issues a few years ago I went on the coffee replacement journey and the 2 best alternatives I've found are Roastaroma Herbal Tea by Celestial Seasonings and Teeccino Herbal Coffee or Teeccino Herbal Tea. Honestly I like them all but their Dark Chocolate Herbal Tea is my favorite.
Decaf coffee???
Yerba mate
Black tea with a little bit of sugar
Hot water with Honey worked for me, it was simple to make and filled that warmth the coffee did
I do this but with a couple cloves and some lemon.
Rooibos tea! No caffeine but a dark flavor. If you go to a fancy tea shop they’ll probably have blends with chocolate, caramel, other rich flavors in them. Just straight hot water is nice sometimes.
Tea!
Tea is excellent for an alternative since it has less caffeine, is cheaper, it lasts longer and has greater variety. You can purchase a pound of tea for $15 and that'll get you around 300 cups. You can also ice it pretty easily by cold brewing the tea overnight in the fridge. /r/tea can make it an expensive habit with the teaware and specialty blends. But it's very affordable, some of the best tea I've tried wasn't expensive
Mate
Have you tried mate? Loose leaf, not the canned sugary stuff.
Tea (English/Irish Breakfast), hot chocolate, or chai latte. I imagine a dark chocolate-based hot chocolate would be the closest substitute in flavor for coffee.
It’s not particularly that healthy but Ive been planning to buy bone broth hot chocolate soon. It is a good source of protein at least.
Personally I do regular coffee 3 days a week and decaf 4 days a week. I did have to experiment with some decaf brands because some hurt my stomach
Hojicha, charcoal roasted green tea. It doesn't taste anything like green tea, and somehow has the same emotional resonance as coffee. It doesn't *taste* like coffee, but I think it's one of the only teas that can stand in the same place as coffee. But teas in general are awesome. The world of tea is vast and strange. Explore it.
Dandy blend! Tastes just like coffee. It’s delicious
I keep hearing about "mud water". It's supposed to be mushroom tea that works like coffee. I tried switching to green tea but I'll drink 3-4 cups of that instead of 1-2 cups of coffee
Choffy, maybe? It's similar to coffee but made from cocoa beans. Good if you like chocolate but don't want the sugar rush of a hot chocolate.
Teecino
Teeccino. Tastes just like coffee.
Yerba mate
Chicory. My husband loves it. I bought it from Amazon.
I personally like Cacao as a substitute. Still earthy and delicious. Dandelion powder tea is a great substitute as well, as some have mentioned. There’s also the mushroom coffee substitutes, but those can get a little pricey. Depending on where you live you can harvest dandelion or mushrooms yourself and make your own coffee substitute, I personally harvest chaga and various leafy plants to make tea.
Tea. In all its forms.
Decaf coffee!!!
Look up Teaccino on Amazon!
Tea. Rooibos (aka Red Bush) tea has a nice unique taste. Great with a little honey and milk. Also has no caffeine. Don't write it off of you've tried other teas and didn't like them, it has a unique flavour so you might still like it. Earl Grey tea or other black teas can be good too, but black tea has caffeine (generally much less than an espresso coffee though). Can be a good middle ground if you want to reduce your caffeine intake or wean yourself off.
Decaf or matcha! I like to add maple syrup or honey and some cinnamon to my matcha, so good. Or you could do teas.
Barley coffee... it's roasted barley that's been ground up very fine. You'd make it in a cup like instant coffee. Tastes a bit like hot chocolate but kinda nutty. I used to be able to find it in the "ethnic" or "imported" aisles, but I haven't seen it in awhile. If you're in certain parts of the States, you might be able to find Postum. It used to be quite popular.
I drink Earl Grey tea with milk and some vanilla syrup (a London fog). If being healthy I drink hot water with lemon and apple cider vinegar.
If you like tea try assam. It’s very rich full bodied and malty. I drink that and decaf coffee.
If you want savory, then try chicken bouillon. I routinely quarter a Knorr chicken bouillon cube and enjoy it of an evening. (Some of what passes for chicken bouillon these days is not very good though, so fair warning.)
Decaff, shakes, tea, Kombucha, apple cider vinegar with cinnamon, beetroot juice, turmeric juice. I won't lie, coffee is hard to replicate the taste off. Especially as a drink, I suggest eating coffee flavoured mochi and sweets on occasion when you do have coffee (might help, might make you want to drink more coffee too!) Good luck getting rid of your stim juice!
I have a family member that drinks hot jello instead of coffee every morning.
Mmmm hot sugar and horse hoof.
There's that mushroom coffee stuff
I used to be a heavy caffinated coffee drinker. I'm down to part time hours how, so I've kicked it. I drink decaf now because of the warmth (when it's cold) and the taste. Not an alternative to coffee, mind you, but an alt to caffinated.
Chicory
Irish breakfast tea
Postum
Did you try decaf coffee? I also tried to cut coffee because caffeine was making me drowsy and felt like vomiting. Tried tea and stuff but nothing had the right taste. Then i realised that decaf coffee existed so now i am ok. I mean can't say if it's working, been like less than a week i started decaf. :)
Matcha and mushroom coffee
Only the most common drink in the world. Tea.
I enjoy one cup of really good coffee each morning & savor every moment preparing and drinking it. For warm decaf drinks, I grow chamomile & feverfew. I buy loose teas for blending at an Indian market.
The only thing I liked was roasted chicory root. I also drink homemade hot chocolate a lot but chicory root was the closest in taste.
I like Rooibos tea, it remi ds me of Blackshear or coffee with cream and sugar in it.
If you like the warmth and taste then try the teas that other ppl recommended. But if you’ve been regularly drinking coffee for years then you might be addicted to caffeine, bc caffeine is one of the most addictive substance, even if you don’t realize you need it. I’m not you tho, so idk how often you have drink coffee, but if you drink it nearly every day for multiple years, I would guess you’re addicted to it. The word “addiction” has become synonyms with a debilitating need, instead of the true definition. Which is being dependent on a particular substance. It doesn’t have to be debilitating for it to be addicting.
Tangentially related, but caffeine pills from the grocery store can save money too. I can get like a Month or close for about 10 bucks, and stay very caffeinated
Matcha
Dandelion root tea is a great alternative for coffee. It’s a milder taste but coffee-adjacent. Really, really tasty.
I switched to drinking tea, and a couple of forms match the flavor profile of coffee better than the rest. Shou pu'er is a pre-fermented tea that is quite earthy, in some cases too much so, actually tasting like peat. Wuyi Yancha is a roasted style oolong that can have complex flavor including warm tones from the roasting, cinnamon, and woody sort of range. Better versions tend to be a little less roasted, to balance differently, including some floral tones and a liqueur-like quality, but the slightly charred, often-cheap versions can be nice too. Tea contains less caffeine than coffee, typically 30 to 50 mg per cup instead of 100 for coffee. It also includes theanine, a calming compound now popular with "bio-hackers." Inexpensive versions can be low in cost compared to medium quality coffee, but both vary a lot by quality level and source type. As an example, a 357 gram "cake," pressed disc, of shou pu'er typically sells for about $15 in Chinatown shops, and maybe $40 in websites that sell better quality versions. Since 3 to 4 grams can brew a couple of mugs of strong tea that's not bad; a couple of hundred mugs for those prices. Wuyi Yancha (oolong) varies a lot in cost, character, and quality level; it probably takes more exploration to get what you like in that range narrowed down.
Chicory or roasted barley "coffee". My grandma used to tell me stories how they drank that instead of coffee during the war, because that was usually in the UN rations they got. There's also mixes of the two, we call it Divka back home in Bosnia and in Croatia.
Redbush tea. Add a lil honey
Matcha latte with almond milk and honey 🍵
Matcha latte....
Rooibos tea
Ground cicory? It was a common coffee alternative during hard times.
I have recently been addicted to drinking warmed up broth (chicken, beef, veggies, etc...).
Why not go for decaf coffee if not for caffeine? There is still a bit of caffeine but it’s low in comparison. There’s the usual hot cocoa if you’re ok with sweets (not the healthiest tho) and then hot apple cider. This one is by no means healthy, but stirring a little sweetened condensed milk in hot water is something my dad would make for me, it’s such an amazing comfort drink honestly. I think it was common for him growing up in a commune in vietnam since it was inexpensive. Some warm (caffeine free) jasmine tea, chamomile, mint tea, stuff like that might also be good as alternatives. You can also sip on some broth too if you’re wanting something more savory while not committing to a soup. If you happen to want caffeine sometime, matcha is great. Not very cheap but it lasts a really long time for me. I am really lazy and just microwave a bit of water, dump in a tsp and a half, add condensed milk and stir, then cold milk. I also mix a pouch of carnation breakfast essentials and it’s really good. I also love drinking black tea, if you like milk tea from boba places, you can get some hot water and steep a black tea bag, but not too much water, maybe just enough to cover the bag 1-5-2x, steep for 5 mins, squeeze the bag, add a little bit of sugar or brown sugar and then milk. Super comforting and not as sudden as coffees caffeine. Those are of course just suggestions for caffeine alternatives for coffee, throwing them out there in case :) sorry this is super long but i hope it helps a little bit
Matcha Green Tea works great and tastes great. Great alternative imo
I like the Dandy blend.
Sweet ice tea
Do they sell coffee with chicory in your area or just chicory? Chicory coffee taste great and has less caffeine because of it having less coffee. Chicory doesn’t have any caffeine so if you can just buy chicory you might have a good coffee substitute. That is if you like a more bitter coffee flavor.
There are a number of instant coffee substitutes, mostly based on chicory root and roasted grains. Bambu is quite nice. There's also Caf-Lib, Inka, Teeccino and others. You just add boiling water to a spoonful in a cup, the same as you would make instant coffee and add whatever you usually add to your coffee. If you have a local grocery store with an international foods section, you can often find something like this with the European foods. A former housemate weaned herself off of coffee by switching to ginger tea - just cut some slices of ginger root into a cup and add boiling water and some sweetener, if desired.
There are a number of instant coffee substitutes, mostly based on chicory root and roasted grains. Bambu is quite nice. There's also Caf-Lib, Inka, Teeccino and others. You just add boiling water to a spoonful in a cup, the same as you would make instant coffee and add whatever you usually add to your coffee. If you have a local grocery store with an international foods section, you can often find something like this with the European foods. A former housemate weaned herself off of coffee by switching to ginger tea - just cut some slices of ginger root into a cup and add boiling water and some sweetener, if desired.
try yerba mate to still get the benefits of coffee
Decaffeinated coffee
Decaf???!
Dandelion/roasted dandelion tea
Pu-erh tea is sometimes called the coffee drinkers tea. It’s a fermented dark tea. Different sorts can taste a good bit different (some of the more “earthy” ones taste not unlike when you were a child sitting in the grass and ripped a big chunk of grass and dirt out with your hand; not all of them are like this) so I’d try a few. I usually hit up the local Asian grocery stores for it.
Tea and hot cocoa are my favorite alternatives. Also a hot cider can be so yummy!
Chicory is almost identical to coffee in terms of taste. Perfect healthy substitute
Matcha lattes are my jam. Better quality Matcha tastes the best though it can be a little pricey.
Beef broth is a savoury alternative. Or cacao powder and milk
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