The topic of coffee substitutes is becoming more important as people realize that caffeine addiction is very real problem today that can cause hormonal imbalances over time.Â
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!
The article A Visual View of Caffeine really seemed to get the conversation rolling about coffee and caffeine.
In particular, does the positive research about coffee overshadow its clear and present danger to hormonal health? It’s a trade-off many struggle with on a daily basis even if they carefully choose dark roasts which are healthier than light.
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 or even a tea habit can’t help but exacerbate these problems leading to health challenges and hormonal imbalances.
As a personal example, I really enjoy jasmine green tea and would love to drink a cup or two every single morning, however, I refrain and only drink it occasionally because I have repeatedly noticed that if I drink green tea for a few days in a row and then skip a day, I feel the negative effects on my adrenals as I experience fatigue from the removal of the caffeine.
The positive antioxidant profile of green tea in no way overcomes this worrisome effect on my adrenals, in my opinion, so I drink red tea or a homemade vanilla latte instead.
Help! I Need Coffee Substitutes for Morning 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.
16oz of Starbucks Decaf, for example, contains about 25 mg of caffeine which is about the same amount as 8 oz of regular green tea.
Even decaf black tea has up to 12 mg of caffeine per 8 oz. 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 slow release due to the amino acid theanine. Thus, the adrenal hit is minimized.
One coffee substitutes option for a completely caffeine free morning brew is Dandy Blend, made of extracts of dandelion root, barley, rye, chicory and nonGMO sugar beetroot. I know plenty of folks who just love Dandy Blend and swear it tastes just like coffee, but if you choose to give it a try – go slow and build up gradually. I’ve had some people report that the detoxifying effect of the dandelion can result in a close relationship with the bathroom until your digestive tract adjusts!
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.
The following coffee substitute is suggested by Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation who recommends it as a really good pick me up:
Recipe for a Healthy Coffee Substitute
Three simple, whole ingredients make this healthy coffee substitute that will give you a good pick me up and a dose of healthy fats without the hit to the adrenal glands from all that caffeine.
Ingredients
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger preferably organic
- 1 Tbl molasses
- 1 Tbl 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!
Sources and 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
Is Caffeine Causing Your Chronic Back Pain
Caffeine Content of Coffee, Tea, Soda and More, Mayo Clinic
I’m trying to go off coffee because I want to get pregnant this year. It’s been so hard to find a substitute but I’m drinking Roastaroma and love it! I add a little cinnamon and milk and it reminds me of coffee. The tea bag produces a strong cup so I take it out half way through and save it for a second cup later in the day. I like it better than Teccino and Pero but I use those now and then to add a new flavor. http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/herbal-teas/roastaroma
Brigitte,
AWESOME RESOURCE!! I pinned it on pinterest. Going to try some – sounds super yummy, thanks. I do worry a tad about the phytoestrogens in it though as I battle estrogen dominance and am super sensitive.
Tamara Slack
I have to second Roastaroma. It’s great! I gave up caffine/coffee 28 months ago, pretty much cold turkey, for the same reason as you. But I love, love, love coffee. Once in a while when I’m craving a coffee, I’ll brew a cup of this. It takes care of the craving perfectly without the caffine. Now whenever my baby decides to wean, I will probably still continue to go caffine free since I feel SO much better without that in my system.
1 tsp of molasses has 5 carbs, 0 fiber. That means 1 TBSP has 15 gms. Not an option for people following a low to moderate carb diet.
I just got back from Europe and brought back chicory root coffee everyone seems to use as a coffee substitute, It tastes great, although I really miss the smell of a real coffee… I would definitely recommend to give it a try!
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Hi, I love your very information site! I’ve learned a lot from the things you post.
I would love to kick the coffee habit but I have such an addiction to caffeine that even cutting back very slowly it can take over a month for me to get to the point where I don’t get a horrible migraine if I don’t have some. Usually, I fall short of that, have a cup and have to start all over again from that cup size. Any suggestions on what I can use to help keep the debilitating migraine at bay while I quit coffee? The only thing that ever helps my migraine is Excedrin, which is like a cup of coffee in each pill. I don’t care about the coffee flavor. If I was able to quit, water and herbal teas are my drinks of choice. I don’t need a sub for the coffee, but for whatever goes on in my head when I don’t get the caffeine. Any suggestions?
Thanks so much!
I recently did a Standard Process cleanse and the method that I used to get off caffeine in preparation for that was really effective and painless. All the same things that happen to you normally happen to me when I try to quit caffeine… but they didn’t this time. I started with a blend of one-half organic Swiss water decaf and one-half organic regular coffee. After a couple of days of that, I switched to 3/4 decaf and 1/4 caf for a couple of days. Then I switched to totally decaf for a couple of days and then switched to green tea. My practitioner had no issues with green tea because the caffeine behaves differently due to another substance that’s preserved in green tea (can’t remember what it was offhand) which prevents the caffeine from intercepting the adenosine from hooking up with its receptors (which is what caffeine normally does). And then I could take or leave green tea as I pleased, it caused no explosive head issues to be without it. I was rather amazed at how painless it was.
WOW thanks for this. I’ve had severe adrenal problems for years (and still in bed because of the fatigue). I don’t drink coffee, but once in a while, have a swiss filtrated organic decaf. Never, ever thought of the molasses, ginger, and coconut oil. Going to try that. Passing this onto some I know would benefit (like my “I WON’T GIVE UP COFFEE” husband 🙂
Tamara Slack
I know…it actually says that it cuts the risk of Prostate and Breast cancers. I couldn’t drink 6 cups not even in a week. Some days I don’t even have any caffeine at all. I get my antioxidants from other sources, such as berries, vegetables and nuts and seeds. I realize these studies are garbage and I don’t take them seriously. I’m just saying that it’s confusing for the average American who buys into this propaganda. Some men and women will actually start drinking that much coffee thinking they’re preventing themselves from getting cancer. Like you, I’d be in a casket too if I consumed that much coffee.
I’ve tried Dandyblend and love the taste but I experience a crash about 30 minutes after drinking it. I think it affects my blood sugar in a significant way and causes an insulin dump. I’ve fallen asleep a couple of times after drinking it.
Pam- Do you have adrenal fatigue? Often times people with exhausted adrenals have a sodium/potassium imbalance. I’m including a link for you to read more about it. In my own case, I had a period where I couldn’t get enough coconut water. Like Dandyblend, it is high in potassium, and 30 minutes after drinking it I would crash. So I cut back, but when I do crave a cup of cocnut water now, I eat some sea salt first and it really seems to help with my crashes.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/384715-high-potassium-levels-adrenal-fatigue/
I had a heart arrythmia, and was told not to drink caffeine. I drank a lot of black tea, iced. I had no idea what to do, and it drove me nuts to not have that morning routine. The others would get up and make their coffee and I’d drink water. Just didn’t seem right. So, I made a list of all the different substitutes. The list is huge actually and I had no idea before that.
I’m trying Teccino right now, and found it less expensive online, and less expensive overall than coffee. I use a porcelain coffee filter and let it drip into my cup or small porcelain pot. I never had a use for those cute pots before so that was a bonus. I like Teccino, only the first cup seemed a bit “different.” There are many others, Pero, Cafix, Celestial Seasons Roastaroma, Inka and many others. I eventually would like to taste them all. I heard they are bringing postum back but have yet to see that yet.
@Roseann and who probably funded that “study” that coffee fights stomach cancer so go ahead and drink 5-6 cups per day? I would guess the coffee industry! I would be in a casket if I drank that much coffee.