Coffee alternatives

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ABR

ABR

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I've been a heavy coffee drinking for years. Love it more for the taste and smell than the caffeine. About a year ago I not only had to give up coffee but ALL forms of caffeine for health reasons. I started drinking herbal teas and while I really enjoy them, it just doesn't give me the same satisfaction as a fresh cup of hot coffee in the morning or crisp iced cold brew in the afternoon.

I'm searching for something that will taste and smell similar to coffee but not contain any caffeine. All the "coffee alternatives" I've tried that you supposedly can't tell the difference from actual coffee, are really nasty and watery. I always drank mine strong and black with the occasional splash of half/half.

Y'all have any recommendations?
 
De caf won't work?
 
I'm in a similar situation. I usually drink mild coffee, so my alternative is a barleycup drink. However, having looked for a link for you in the US, I am horrified at the cost over there.

https://www.amazon.com/BARLEYCUP-Na...qid=1663342231&sprefix=barleyc,aps,918&sr=8-2
The currency conversion rate is almost the same; so it would be €21.95 going by Amazon. I get it here for €6.50! Madness

Edit just to tell you my own Doctor said they ALL have caffeine, regardless what the label says. I choose to ignore him :D
 
People either like coffee or they don't. If you like it, there's really nothing else that tastes like it in my experience.

Were I in your situation, I would probably go for hot chocolate instead. But that probably has caffeine too, doesn't it? If you can find some that doesn't have caffeine, the dark chocolate ones are more like coffee in that they have that bitter edge. Costco sells (or used to sell) something called "Swiss Drinking Chocolate". That's just a fancy name for hot chocolate, so they can sell it for more. But it was darker and more bitter than the super sweet milk chocolates.

However, I think chocolate may be out for you as well. :(

I don't know if you can get decaffeinated Oolong tea or not. It is normally about half way between green tea and black tea in caffeine content. This tea has a different, "darker" taste than other teas to my tongue.
 
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Curmudgeon said:
De caf won't work?
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Unfortunately decaf actually stil has a significant amount of caffeine with some having up to 75mg per cup.
Haertig said:
People either like coffee or they don't. If you like it, there's really nothing else that tastes like it in my experience.

Were I in your situation, I would probably go for hot chocolate instead. But that probably has caffeine too, doesn't it? If you can find some that doesn't have caffeine, the dark chocolate ones are more like coffee in that they have that bitter edge. Costco sells (or used to sell) something called "Swiss Drinking Chocolate". That's just a fancy name for hot chocolate, so they can sell it for more. But it was darker and more bitter than the super sweet milk chocolates.

However, I think chocolate may be out for you as well. :(

I don't know if you can get decaffeinated Oolong tea or not. It is normally about half way between green tea and black tea in caffeine content. This tea has a different, "darker" taste than other teas to my tongue.
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I try to limit chocolate and stay away from dark chocolate because it has caffeine.
Morgan101 said:
Have you ever tried Chicory coffee? I friend of mine who is a coffee connoisseur introduced me to it, and I really enjoy it. I don't believe it has caffeine but you might want to read the label.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/chicory-coffee
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I have tried a few but so far they all taste not great.
 
One other thing that nobody has suggested yet ... how about a second medical opinion? It's quite possible that a different doctor might not think a complete absence of caffeine is truly necessary for your health. Before going to extremes - and totally giving up coffee would be an "extreme" for me! - I would probably get a second opinion. As an example, many years ago I was diagnosed with high BP. Not exorbitantly high - 140/90 - but that's high enough to start taking pills. My doc said that many people should cut down on their salt intake as well. But he then said, based on your history, your BP does not seem to be effected by salt. So use that as normal if you desire. I would hazard a guess that many other doctors would have just gone with the "safe" and "standard" recommendation and I would have been on a slat-restricted diet. Mind you, I don't use much salt anyway, but it's nice to know that I am doing this by choice, and not by force due to a high BP diagnosis.
 
Celestial Seasonings makes a tea called Bengal Spice. I love it. It contains cinnamon, roasted chicory, roasted carob, natural spice and vanilla flavors, etc., ginger, cardamom, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg. It is caffeine free.
You might also like red raspberry LEAF tea. Flavor resembles regular tea, has tannic acid in it.
Sometimes Celestial Seasonings sells small sampler packets of teas. Check their website or call them.
I haven’t had a cup of coffee in 30 years. 🥳
 

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I've heard of the old timers and depression era folks using burned corn with an eggshell to draw out the bitterness as a substitute.
 
Haertig said:
One other thing that nobody has suggested yet ... how about a second medical opinion? It's quite possible that a different doctor might not think a complete absence of caffeine is truly necessary for your health. Before going to extremes - and totally giving up coffee would be an "extreme" for me! - I would probably get a second opinion. As an example, many years ago I was diagnosed with high BP. Not exorbitantly high - 140/90 - but that's high enough to start taking pills. My doc said that many people should cut down on their salt intake as well. But he then said, based on your history, your BP does not seem to be effected by salt. So use that as normal if you desire. I would hazard a guess that many other doctors would have just gone with the "safe" and "standard" recommendation and I would have been on a slat-restricted diet. Mind you, I don't use much salt anyway, but it's nice to know that I am doing this by choice, and not by force due to a high BP diagnosis.
Click to expand...
I agree with @Haertig , for what health reason do you have to give up caffeine? BP?
When I worked I started every day with 6-cups of real coffee and had sky-high BP.
When I retired, I pruned off a ton of whiny, irritating people. (stress)
Today I drink all of the coffee I want and my BP is normal.
Was coffee the problem? No.
(still giggling at Haertig's 140/90 HBP :LOL:. I could easily hit 160/99 every day)
 
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Haertig said:
One other thing that nobody has suggested yet ... how about a second medical opinion? It's quite possible that a different doctor might not think a complete absence of caffeine is truly necessary for your health. Before going to extremes - and totally giving up coffee would be an "extreme" for me! - I would probably get a second opinion. As an example, many years ago I was diagnosed with high BP. Not exorbitantly high - 140/90 - but that's high enough to start taking pills. My doc said that many people should cut down on their salt intake as well. But he then said, based on your history, your BP does not seem to be effected by salt. So use that as normal if you desire. I would hazard a guess that many other doctors would have just gone with the "safe" and "standard" recommendation and I would have been on a slat-restricted diet. Mind you, I don't use much salt anyway, but it's nice to know that I am doing this by choice, and not by force due to a high BP diagnosis.
Click to expand...

Supervisor42 said:
I agree with @Haertig , for what health reason do you have to give up caffeine? BP?
When I worked I started every day with 6-cups of real coffee and had sky-high BP.
When I retired, I pruned off a ton of whiny, irritating people. (stress)
Today I drink all of the coffee I want and my BP is normal.
Was coffee the problem? No.
(still giggling at Haertig's 140/90 HBP :LOL:. I could easily hit 160/99 every day)
Click to expand...
I have a heart condition that causes irregular rhythm and in some instances syncope amongst other negative effects. Through my own experiments with different levels of caffeine I have determined that it has a significant effect on my symptoms. In the 12 months that I've been completely off caffeine I have had a drastic decrease in the number of episodes. It can also be set off by hot bath/showers so I generally take cool to lukewarm showers. If for some reason I need to take a really hot bath or shower, migraines and back pain, I either stay in the tub til it's completely cool or have my SO stand in the shower with me.
 
Supervisor42 said:
I agree with @Haertig , for what health reason do you have to give up caffeine? BP?
When I worked I started every day with 6-cups of real coffee and had sky-high BP.
When I retired, I pruned off a ton of whiny, irritating people. (stress)
Today I drink all of the coffee I want and my BP is normal.
Was coffee the problem? No.
(still giggling at Haertig's 140/90 HBP :LOL:. I could easily hit 160/99 every day)
Click to expand...
I went into work early, so if I got a flat, I would not be late.
I got all the free coffee I wanted & I drink less in a week now then I did in a day then.
 
joel said:
I went into work early, so if I got a flat, I would not be late.
I got all the free coffee I wanted & I drink less in a week now then I did in a day then.
Click to expand...
I gas up my coffee cup almost every day and drain it dry.
Hopefully @ABR didn't have as big of a habit to kick :(.
My 'coffee cup' with a pen for scale:
IMG_20220916_212502_burst_01_kindlephoto-194176169.jpg
 
Swiss Water Process decaf is supposedly the most effective decaffeinating process and is more natural than chemical methods. They claim over 99% decafinated which would mean around 1mg or less caffeine.

But I seriously doubt even the cheap ground decaf in the store is 70mg caffeinated per cup. Even that claims a high percentage decaffeinated. A fully untouched coffee contains 90mg caffeine. I'd bet decaf from the cheap cans is still in the less than 5mg caffeine range. I think there are other compounds in coffee besides caffeine however that have an effect on how you feel. I notice this 'feel' more with the crummy coffee in the cans. I think it's other chemicals in the cheap bean from the Robusta family of coffee. Nice coffees are 100% Arabica beans.

You might try Swiss Water Process Decaf and with good beans (100% Arabica beans). Expect to pay more. If duncan whole bean (a good store bought arabica) is $9 a 12 oz bag, you'll likely pay at least that for good swiss water decaf. But if you must have coffee and need something a little more high maintenance so to speak, you'll be paying more for it. And, it may or may not be what you're looking for. I'm sure theres a way to find out exactly how much caffeine it still contains.
 
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