What's a substitute for coffee?

tomatoey
tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
I have to stay away from coffee (and probably black tea, too) for a while for gut reasons. This is a huge problem because I LOVE coffee. I drink Turkish coffee (same as Greek, more or less) - i.e. the sweetest, best, yummiest coffee. I usually only have 1-2 cups a day, in the morning, and I look forward to it. I don't feel my day really starts without it. I also need it to wake the fk up and feel like a human being. Also did I mention I love it?

This is going to be really hard :(

(I'm staying away from citrus, too, so I can't have like a glass of hot water with lemon or whatever, either.)

Super sadly yours,

tomatoey

ps no caffeine allowed in general

Replies

  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
    oh maybe i can have a lactose free hot chocolate with fake chocolate, which i can't really have either. awful :(

    (elimination diet to identify triggers, is the reason.)
  • Gingerspice45
    Gingerspice45 Posts: 137 Member
    If it is the caffeine that is giving you trouble, can you just drink decaf coffee or tea or is it the acid? What about chai or cappuccino?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Gingerspice45 wrote: »
    If it is the caffeine that is giving you trouble, can you just drink decaf coffee or tea or is it the acid? What about chai or cappuccino?

    Decaf is just as bad, I don't know why :( I think chai and cappuccino are out, because they also have black tea or coffee in them :( Thank you for replying, though :)
  • Gingerspice45
    Gingerspice45 Posts: 137 Member
    warm almond or soy milk?
  • donnamcnulty
    donnamcnulty Posts: 12 Member
    Apple cider?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
    Gingerspice45 wrote: »
    warm almond or soy milk?

    That could be ok :) Thank you!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
    donnamcnulty wrote: »
    Apple cider?

    I can see where you're going, thanks for the suggestion :) No fruits or juices or related for now, I should have said, sorry :/ (Basically all I can have this week is rice and rice products and eggs and chicken and fish. After that I'm going to test different things out to see what's causing the problem.)
  • melodyis4reals
    melodyis4reals Posts: 186 Member
    Morning thunder by celestial seasoning.
    Yummy caffeine free tea, made with chicory.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
    melodyis4reals wrote: »
    Morning thunder by celestial seasoning.
    Yummy caffeine free tea, made with chicory.

    Ha, yeah well you see it's funny you mention that....

    It sounds great :) I think it has black tea in it though (just googled it). Thanks though :)

    I think the warm soy / almond milk is going to be the answer. Thank you, @Gingerspice45 !!
  • myfatass78
    myfatass78 Posts: 411 Member
    edited May 2015
    Dandelion Tea worked for me. Also Caro, if you can get it. Both are caffiene free
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    myfatass78 wrote: »
    Dandelion Tea worked for me. Also Caro, if you can get it. Both are caffiene free

    Thanks! Will look into those :)
  • softblondechick
    softblondechick Posts: 1,275 Member
    Roobios tea. Or green tea, maybe jasmine or herb tea?
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    edited May 2015
    softblondechick wrote: »
    Roobios tea. Or green tea, maybe jasmine or herb tea?

    Green tea has caffeine as well, so I wouldn't suggest that.

    Do you have to eliminate tannins as well, or is it just the caffeine in the tea? Because if you don't, you can get decaf black tea.

    ETA: What about turkish apple tea? It's sweet, warm and fulfilling and decaf, and it tastes great on it's own, so you don't need to worry about adding milk to it.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    edited May 2015
    Water?

    Sorry tomatoey, I feel for you. I stopped drinking coffee (and beer and wine...) when my wife was pregnant with our first. That was hard. I also love coffee. I think if I couldn't drink it I might still grind some beans fresh in the morning just for the smell... intoxicating and ritualistic and delicious. Ugh.

    Yup, I feel for you.

    I drank a lot of water that first pregnancy and not much else. Cold water. Hot water. Just. Plain. Water.

    It's funny but hot water out of the kettle is something you can get used to and even enjoy even if it is no substitute for... well, you know. :smile:
  • jorinya
    jorinya Posts: 933 Member
    Fruit teas and herbal teas are naturally caffeine free. You can check out this link for info on tea:
    learn-about-tea.com/herbal-tea-benefits.html

    My favourite is Cranberry and blood orange. Each fruit and herb has its own benefits.
    Have fun tasting them. Little tip: if you want to have a more flavoursome tea, leave it brew for longer. You can even drink it cold with ice.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    I do not know where you live, but there are substitutes for Greek coffee. In my opinion, it is clear you are not drinking coffee, but they exist, and I know people who drink them. I have seen substitutes based on barley, carob or chickpeas. I do not know where you live, but there must be online stores selling them, maybe try amazon?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
    Some good and well-meant suggestions, guys, thank you! They're appreciated :)
    aggelikik wrote: »
    I do not know where you live, but there are substitutes for Greek coffee. In my opinion, it is clear you are not drinking coffee, but they exist, and I know people who drink them. I have seen substitutes based on barley, carob or chickpeas. I do not know where you live, but there must be online stores selling them, maybe try amazon?

    I'm in Canada! We have all kinds of things, in all kinds of stores, it's just that my guts won't let me consume them just now. I'm trying a low-everything diet to work out IBS issues. (Did my writing come across as more foreign than that? Interesting.) For the moment, I'm staying away from non-white carbs, but I'll look at those drinks if it turns out I'm in the clear for grains/legumes :)

    I think I probably should have said upfront that this is an IBS thing :/ But you know :/ I don't know if fruit/herbal teas are ok, but I will look it up!
    mwyvr wrote: »
    Water?

    Sorry tomatoey, I feel for you. I stopped drinking coffee (and beer and wine...) when my wife was pregnant with our first. That was hard. I also love coffee. I think if I couldn't drink it I might still grind some beans fresh in the morning just for the smell... intoxicating and ritualistic and delicious. Ugh.

    Yup, I feel for you.

    I drank a lot of water that first pregnancy and not much else. Cold water. Hot water. Just. Plain. Water.

    It's funny but hot water out of the kettle is something you can get used to and even enjoy even if it is no substitute for... well, you know. :smile:

    I kind of hate the content of the advice you've offered, but I'm willing to consider it, given the tremendous empathy with which it was given :) Someone understands! Did water work for you?? I guess it did... Ok, I'll try it! Thank you!
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
    Cocaine? wakes you up and makes you loose weight in the long run....
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    edited May 2015
    I second a warm up of soy or almond milk. Can you put in a little vanilla extract or cinnamon?

    Good luck with the elimination diet and I hope it helps with the IBS.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    I second a warm up of soy or almond milk. Can you put in a little vanilla extract or cinnamon?

    Good luck with the elimination diet and I hope it helps with the IBS.

    That sounds delicious! I think the vanilla extract should be ok, and it's as close as I can get to yumminess :) Thank you! :smiley:
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    abadvat wrote: »
    Cocaine? wakes you up and makes you loose weight in the long run....

    Ha.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Some good and well-meant suggestions, guys, thank you! They're appreciated :)
    aggelikik wrote: »
    I do not know where you live, but there are substitutes for Greek coffee. In my opinion, it is clear you are not drinking coffee, but they exist, and I know people who drink them. I have seen substitutes based on barley, carob or chickpeas. I do not know where you live, but there must be online stores selling them, maybe try amazon?

    I'm in Canada! We have all kinds of things, in all kinds of stores, it's just that my guts won't let me consume them just now. I'm trying a low-everything diet to work out IBS issues. (Did my writing come across as more foreign than that? Interesting.) For the moment, I'm staying away from non-white carbs, but I'll look at those drinks if it turns out I'm in the clear for grains/legumes :)

    I think I probably should have said upfront that this is an IBS thing :/ But you know :/ I don't know if fruit/herbal teas are ok, but I will look it up!


    I am in Europe, so you are definitely foreign to me ;)

    Are you sure you need to give up tea for IBS? I used to suffer from IBS years ago. There was an awful initial period for a few months, then it lasted a few years where things where tolerable but required a lot of meal planning (and I was not at all comfortable being in places where there was no toilet nearby) then got better. I have no idea what triggered the change to make it appear or to have it go away and I have been fine for years now. Anyway, black tea was something that actually always seemed to help in my case, not make symptoms worse. The more the better actually. I used to drink 10 cups of tea or more per day.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    I live in Italy and during the war when people couldn't get coffee they drank orzo, which is toasted barley. It's still sold in the stores here especially for children and people that can't have cafeine. One brand is Nestle' Orzo Bimbo. You could google it and perhaps find something similar in your area. I used to drink it--it grows on you. Best of luck with your problem. B)
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Cinnamon tea is lovely, only 4 calories and helps balance blood sugars so it reduces cravings
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    aggelikik wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Some good and well-meant suggestions, guys, thank you! They're appreciated :)
    aggelikik wrote: »
    I do not know where you live, but there are substitutes for Greek coffee. In my opinion, it is clear you are not drinking coffee, but they exist, and I know people who drink them. I have seen substitutes based on barley, carob or chickpeas. I do not know where you live, but there must be online stores selling them, maybe try amazon?

    I'm in Canada! We have all kinds of things, in all kinds of stores, it's just that my guts won't let me consume them just now. I'm trying a low-everything diet to work out IBS issues. (Did my writing come across as more foreign than that? Interesting.) For the moment, I'm staying away from non-white carbs, but I'll look at those drinks if it turns out I'm in the clear for grains/legumes :)

    I think I probably should have said upfront that this is an IBS thing :/ But you know :/ I don't know if fruit/herbal teas are ok, but I will look it up!


    I am in Europe, so you are definitely foreign to me ;)

    Are you sure you need to give up tea for IBS? I used to suffer from IBS years ago. There was an awful initial period for a few months, then it lasted a few years where things where tolerable but required a lot of meal planning (and I was not at all comfortable being in places where there was no toilet nearby) then got better. I have no idea what triggered the change to make it appear or to have it go away and I have been fine for years now. Anyway, black tea was something that actually always seemed to help in my case, not make symptoms worse. The more the better actually. I used to drink 10 cups of tea or more per day.

    Fair enough, haha.

    IBS is really strange, it's not at all well understood, from what I gather. I'm sorry you went through that, and am glad you feel better!

    I've had ungreat responses to tea so far - at least I think so, because it's pretty unclear, at this stage. I'm hoping the elimination diet will shed some light on what I really can and can't have. It might be combinations of things, too. It's only for a little while, though - just a few weeks.

    My beautiful coffee, unfortunately, is a strong trigger, for sure, I know that :/:'(
  • awesomejdad
    awesomejdad Posts: 493 Member
    water!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    I live in Italy and during the war when people couldn't get coffee they drank orzo, which is toasted barley. It's still sold in the stores here especially for children and people that can't have cafeine. One brand is Nestle' Orzo Bimbo. You could google it and perhaps find something similar in your area. I used to drink it--it grows on you. Best of luck with your problem. B)

    Thank you! I will see if that's something I can do, sooner or later :) (How interesting, also! I trust it's a good product, if Italians are happy to drink it :) )
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    awesomejdad wrote: »
    water!

    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    Cinnamon tea is lovely, only 4 calories and helps balance blood sugars so it reduces cravings

    Thanks, guys :)

    I'm off for a bit now, but thanks so much, everyone!
  • csbickish
    csbickish Posts: 3 Member
    Teeccino - herbal coffee substitute. It comes in tea bags or ground. We like the grounds brewed as coffee best. The "green" bags - especially the French Roast are closest to coffee. Available at Whole Foods or online.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    I live in Italy and during the war when people couldn't get coffee they drank orzo, which is toasted barley. It's still sold in the stores here especially for children and people that can't have cafeine. One brand is Nestle' Orzo Bimbo. You could google it and perhaps find something similar in your area. I used to drink it--it grows on you. Best of luck with your problem. B)

    Thank you! I will see if that's something I can do, sooner or later :) (How interesting, also! I trust it's a good product, if Italians are happy to drink it :) )

    My mother-in-law used to drink it frequently even though she was known for her great espresso. She grew up during the war and probably liked it for that reason. I notice alot of older people drink it--it's easier on the stomach. Since you're looking for a substitute, this might do it. B)
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