Recently I was commenting on alternative coffee on a coffee and tea blog. The post is about alternatives to coffee and postum, and I tend to get carried away on these subjects. In fact, my comment almost turned into a post in itself!

Please do visit that link for some great products (especially if you live in the UK), but I thought I’d write up a list of my own. Mostly things I’ve tried, but I tend to be a bit random, so who knows what kind of coffee alternatives will pop into my post!

1. Teechino- while this product was listed on the other blog about alternative coffee products, I have actually tried it and thought I should talk about my experience.

Teechino is an herbal coffee, much like herbal tea isn’t actually tea. It’s a healthy alternative to coffee because it’s made entirely out of fruits, nuts, spices, and herbs. Many of the nutrients from these foods are transferred into the hot liquid that is considered a replacement for coffee. It is completely caffeine free.

How it tastes is a matter of opinion. To me, it really does taste like coffee, with perhaps a faint dried fruit flavor. However, it doesn’t taste like good coffee. You know what office coffee tastes like? Kind of thin, usually bitter, sometimes a bit burnt, and very weak? Almost as though someone showed the coffee to some water and the water tried to imitate coffee. Teechino is better than office coffee. But barely.

It has that thin taste, and I don’t remember a burnt taste. It definitely wasn’t bitter. But what made it totally undrinkable to me is that it felt chalky in my mouth. Still, if you’re desperate, go ahead and try it. They offer a free trial on their website if you sign up for their newsletter, and they do have flavored “coffees” available, which may be better.

2. Yerba Mate- I loooove Yerba Mate (especially with a splash of stevia). There are several brands, and some are better than others. I personally prefer “smoked” yerba mate. It has less caffeine than green tea or white tea, but about the same lift. It may not be as much of a lift as you get with coffee, but it’s a lot healthier and you won’t have a caffeine crash.

3. Teas- Black tea has the most caffeine, followed by green tea and then white tea. All are gentler than coffee unless you make them very strong.

4. Roasted Chicory- I’ve heard that roasted chicory is a natural coffee alternative that tastes just like coffee but contains no caffeine. Teechino uses chicory as one of its main ingredients, and southerners often flavor their coffee with chicory. I’ve not been able to try it myself, however, since it doesn’t seem to be available in my area.

5. B Vitamins- B vitamins naturally give you energy. You can find them in meat (though eating enough meat to give you the B’s you need for energy would cause other health problems) and some vegetables. However, for an energy boost, just take a B vitamin multi supplement. Taking it in liquid form will absorb faster (look for sublinguals), and you won’t have a caffeine crash. B vitamins are also essential to a good mood (if you suffer from depression, make certain that you’re taking your B’s!), and are one of the vitamins that directly affects your nervous system.

6. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder- My mother used to make an odd concoction using instant coffee with unsweetened dark cocoa powder mixed in. She used the cocoa to try to cover up the taste of the coffee so that she could get a caffeine buzz, but I’ll tell you right now that the unsweetened cocoa was ten times more bitter and strong flavored than any coffee I’ve had! Still, that strong flavor is exactly what makes it a great alternative to coffee.
There are a lot of other coffee alternatives, but these are some of the best if you’re looking for natural and healthy alternatives.

Alternative Coffee