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Healthy substitutes to limit or eliminate a daily coffee habit, which has dubious scientific claims behind claimed “benefits”.
The topic of coffee substitutes is becoming more important as people realize that caffeine addiction is a very real problem today that can cause hormonal imbalances over time.
What’s with all the kids drinking coffee, too? This rarely happened only a couple of decades ago!
This trend is a testament to how fried our adrenals are as a society in general. If the youngest and healthiest among us need to be jacked up on caffeine to get going in the morning, that is very worrisome indeed!
This visual view of caffeine really seems to get the conversation rolling when it comes to coffee and whether all those studies on its “benefits” are really true (or objective).
In particular, does the positive research about coffee overshadow its clear and present danger to hormonal health and microbiome risks from mold contamination?
It’s a trade-off many struggle with on a daily basis, even if they carefully choose organic, mold-free, dark roasts.
With so many assaults on our hormones today and many people living under constant and seemingly never-ending stress, it seems to me that a coffee habit can exacerbate these problems, leading to unforeseen challenges down the road, such as a very difficult transition to menopause.
Coffee Substitutes for Jitter-Free Pick-Me-Up
What if you really need a morning or afternoon pick-me-up and are truly concerned about the effect of coffee or tea on your adrenal and overall hormone health?
You can go the decaf route, but supposed coffee substitutes like decaf coffee and tea still have caffeine in them and so will not eliminate the stress on the adrenals completely.
In addition, the decaf process for many brands (not all) involves toxic substances, with likely residues present in the coffee. For example, my dairy-free coffee ice cream recipe suggests an organic decaf brand that uses the solvent-free Swiss water method.
Even if safe, decaf coffee contains a surprising amount of caffeine.
A 16 oz of Starbucks decaf, for example, contains about 25 mg of caffeine. This is roughly the same amount as 8 oz of regular green tea. (1)
Even decaf black tea has up to 12 mg of caffeine per cup.
Substituting green tea instead? A matcha latte contains 80 mg of caffeine per cup.
One benefit of drinking tea over coffee, however, is that the caffeine in tea is released more slowly due to the amino acid theanine. Thus, the adrenal hit is greatly minimized with little to no jitters experienced by most people.
One coffee substitute option for a completely caffeine-free morning brew is Dandy Blend, made of extracts of dandelion root, barley, rye, and chicory root.
I know plenty of people (including me) who just love Dandy Blend and swear it tastes just like coffee. If you choose to try it, be sure to go slow and build up gradually to avoid detox symptoms.
Another option is to make coffee substitutes yourself. One excellent one is a rooibos latte or “red espresso”.
Red tea is a delicious and satisfying coffee substitute, no matter how you enjoy taking it. If you enjoy the taste of dandelion tea more, try this recipe for a dandelion coffee latte.
Another idea is the coffee substitute recipe below, suggested by Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions Cookbook, who recommends it as one of her favorite jitter-free pick-me-ups: (2)
Healthy Coffee Substitute
Three simple, whole ingredients make this healthy coffee substitute that will give you a jitter-free pick-me-up and a dose of healthy fats in a single serving.
Ingredients
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger preferably organic
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 cup filtered water
Instructions
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Place ingredients in a mug and pour in boiling water and stir.
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Let cook until still hot but drinkable and enjoy! It tastes like a gingerbread cookie in a mug!
Recipe Notes
Blackstrap molasses is the most nutritious type to use for this recipe.
Do you have tea or coffee substitutes that work for you? Please share with all of us!
(1) Caffeine Content of Coffee, Tea, Soda and More, Mayo Clinic
(2) Cuppa Joe or Cuppa Jolt?
More Information
Gluten Issues or Celiac? Don’t Drink Coffee!
How Bulletproof Coffee Shoots You in the Foot
Why You Need to Change WHEN You Drink Coffee
The Truth About Your Morning Coffee Fix
I second (or third!) Teeccino!
“It seems to me” that a nutritional/health message that begins with “it seems to me” and follows with a personal diagnosis/anecdote, is not much of a peg for someone to hang a scientific argument on. I greatly prefer Sarah’s more thoroughly researched posts.
That’s why I put the link to the post about caffeine that has many citations about the negatives of caffeine.
This post was a follow on to that post a few days ago .. no need to restate everything that was written in that post.
Thanks so much for all the info on caffeine and good alternatives. As an avid coffee drinker, I have dried to break the habit for a few years. I usually start by switching to green tea and then minimizing the amount until I am caffeine free totally. I usually have a few days of withdrawl after that, to be expected. But then my level of energies never improve and my body gets extremely achy. I have continued to improve my diet, but I always seem to end back with my one cup of organic coffee with raw cream in the morning. I know at the end of the day such a cup occassionally is not going to kill me. Does anyone have any advice on how to get over the “slump” period so to speak or what to include after going off the caffeine to help one get to that naturally energized,feel great….etc…Any idea how long to get to that period? Thanks for any insights. I have read alot on how to cut back to get to no caffeine, but haven’t really found insight on the amount of time the body needs to adjust to being without so it functions more energetically. Thanks for any insights.
Taylor,
You might want to look into amino acid supplements. I seem to recall someone talking aobut using amino acids to kick their coffee habit.
Ahh. Here’s one blog talking about that very thing:
http://arealfoodlover.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/how-to-break-the-caffeine-addiction/
and here’s another:
Do some research first but amino acids might be the ticket you’re looking for.
Hope that helps.
Seana,
Thank you much for these resources! I passed them onto my husband and son. I’ve tried amino acid therapy with hubby, but he doesn’t want to give up the coffee. He is making little bits of progress, though. The one thing he won’t give up is cigarettes (and diagnosed with emphysema too! Hard to break this man).
Tamara Slack
Thanks so much for this information. Do you have any idea if these amino acids are safe to take if one is trying to conciever? ok once pregnant? I would love to get off the dependance of all caffeine……especially since I want to get pregnant. Thanks
Thanks for another informative post Sarah. Red Tea is amazing stuff. CocoCeps by MadreLabs (and CocoCardio) is wonderful. I love the Vanilla Nut Teeccino line made from dandelion root as well which is 100% gluten free. I put coconut milk and a touch of coconut nectar in it…good stuff!
It is so confusing because I and I imagine many others have heard that coffee fights cancer if you consume 5 to 6 cups daily. I could never consume that much or I’d be not only sick to my stomach, but I’d have tremors and palpitations. Decaf isn’t healthy either because of the chemical process that is used to remove the caffeine. Therefore, I limit myself to only 1 cup of coffee or tea daily that has caffeine in it and the rest of the day, I make iced herbal tea during the summer months or hot herbal tea in the winter. Also, if one is concerned about their caffeine intake, they should also limit their intake of chocolate and cocoa.
I’m like Roseann, I’ve read pros and cons about caffeine and have stopped on several occasions only to start up again. I’ve been at one cup of half-calf for over a year now, and recently changed that over to one cup of Matcha Green Tea. I’ve just decided to enjoy my morning pick-me-up, focus on the antioxidants, the benefits of caffeine, and ignore the dangers. It’s about my only “vice”.
BTW, I love DandiBlend as a coffee substitute – it’s the only one I’ve tried (and I think I’ve tried them ALL) that comes anywhere close to tasting like coffee to me…
Actually, there is the water method of decaffinating coffee that involves no chemicals.
Aside from that, no substitute could take the place of my regular morning cup of coffee. Thanks for the info, but I think I’ll stick with the energy rush:)
It is confusing. But, I figure there are other things I can do to help fight cancer. Coffee is just one thing. Eating healthy, excerising, cutting out processed foods are other things I can do too. 🙂
Great point, Saeriu!!
Dandy Blend is great–super quick and convenient to make as well–just like instant coffee. To me, it doesn’t taste exactly like coffee, but I am a bit of a coffee snob and like REALLY good coffee. All the same, it is “coffee-ish” in flavor and does the trick when you want to drink something “like” coffee.
Same here Jill….I too am the coffee snob…but the Dandy Blend isn’t bad….I have been planning to get some and start the change over.
Teeccino is a great coffee substitute. Tastes fairly close as well, and they have different blends.
http://teeccino.com/
I love teeccino! Interestingly, it is alkaline too 🙂 I get mine on subscription shipping from Amazon. So far the Java is my favorite – I like to add cinnamon in the basket before brewing.
I tried the Teeccino because my in-laws drink decaf, and all of us thought it was pretty awful. None of us thought it tasted a bit like real coffee.
Teeccino was great for me until I noticed it has “natural flavorings” in the ingredients list 🙁
I think if your expecting a coffee substitute to taste like coffee you will be disappointed. Kind of like expecting carob to taste like chocolate. While they all can be substituted in recipes in the same way, prepared the same way, the taste will not be the same.
As for the natural flavorings, I try to avoid those types of things. I just didn’t know what else to use. I’m afraid to try the dandy blend due to allergies. Although my issues seem to be better, haven’t needed the neti pot in 8 mos. now. Ever since I started raw milk coincidentally.
Thanks for the reminder, I was about to recommend Teccino to clients and forgot that was why I stopped drinking it years ago.
I really like Teeccino too! However, it does contain phytic acid that makes my stomach feel heavy.
Also, It has sugar beets listed on the label and they are not certified organic so chances are they are GMO sugar beets.
I just can’t win! I’m sticking to a cup of broth.
Thank you for the non-commercial option!! Haven’t tried it yet, but looking forward to doing so.
I have not tried it yet but supposedly CocoaCeps is a wonderful substitute.
Cocoa still has caffeine in it. Plus, phytic acid to hinder digestion.
Too bad. I love chocolate!
I love herbal tea.