• 1 Herbal Teas - From hibiscus to mint to chamomile, the possibilities are practically endless when it comes to herbal teas or tisanes.
• 2 Rooibos - With its naturally sweet, woody, tobacco-y flavor, rooibos has a depth that makes it a good alternative to coffee.
• 3 Roasted Grains - For an earthy, roasted flavor, try Korean (and Japanese) teas made from barley (bori cha), corn (oksusu cha), or brown rice (hyeonmi cha).
• 4 White Coffee - This Lebanese after-dinner beverage is made with sweet-scented orange flower water.
• 5 Ginger Honey Lemon Tonic - Perfect for chilly winter days, and particularly soothing for sore throats and stomach aches.
And, of course, there's always decaf coffee.
Related: Going Caffeine-Free: What Are Your Best Tips for Kicking a Coffee Habit?
(Images: See linked posts for full image credits)
Whether you're sensitive to the caffeine in tea and coffee or simply looking for something different, there's a wide world of alternatives. Some are delicate, like "white coffee" made from orange blossom water, while others are earthy and robust, like rooibos or roasted barley tea. Here are a few of our recommendations for caffeine-free hot drinks. What are your favorites?
Categories: Drinks, Main, Beverage, Beverages, Coffee, Healthy Living, Roundup, Tea
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My dad makes this ginseng tonic for me all the time with just sliced ginseng and a handful of red dates. He simmers the tonic for a couple of hours and it's ready to drink! The red dates are naturally sweet so I never have to add sugar or honey to sweeten the tonic. Delicious.
I'm a recent raw cacao powder + warm almond milk + honey addict.
low in sugar, high in flavanols, iron and antioxidents. AND super super yummy.
I'm a huge fan of Teavana's Blueberry Bliss, which is roiboos tea with dried blueberries and strawberries and I think hibiscus. It's very tasty and naturally sweet. Now if only it wasn't so expensive...
When I'm really cold or feeling a little under the weather, I warm up some apple juice (pro tip: there is no difference at all between apple juice and filtered apple cider!). It's delicious and soothing, and relatively inexpensive.
I love nettle tea. Very grassy tasting, almost like spinach, but it's so healthy (good for allergies and for iron levels) and I love it!
My husband and I get whole roasted barley from the local beer brewing store and we just grind that up and brew it in the french press. Delicious, nutty, and cheap. We even cut it with our regular coffee to lower acidity and caffein intake.
When I was determined to give up coffee there was only one drink that helped me succeed: Rooibos! It is so yummy I nearly forgot about my morning java. Many things you can do to make it taste even better like lemon, honey or orange.
I love peppermint tea, fresh mint is even better!
I've found that some herbal teas often taste 'dirty', especially Tazo teas. But Yogi Brand teas are consistently delicious. I love their Bedtime tea and Egyptian Licorice tea. They are the best!
Persion lime tea (dried limes). A wonderful winter tea!
You forgot the best coffee substitute of them all: chicory! Chicory is caffeine-free, and has an earthy, slightly bitter flavor that is very similar to coffee or chocolate. In times and places where coffee was expensive or unavailable, chicory has been used as a substitute or "extender". These days, chicory is mainly used as that special ingredient in New Orleans-style coffee. You can even brew chicory in exactly the same way as coffee--it goes right in your coffee maker.
Does anyone out there get headaches when they drink rooibos?
@at47 it's not a well studied herb. So far only one study has indicated it can cause liver damage in rare cases but some said the tea in that study was tainted. I think the source of the tea is part of the picture as well.
http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/rooibos-tea
I'm addicted to roasted barley and roasted corn teas!
Maca is an interesting alternative if you want something a bit more bitter.
I've been drinking Teeccino for about a month now, in French Roast, Hazelnut, and Java flavor. Its decaf, low acid, tea that tastes like coffee. It's really good and satisfies the craving for coffee. I brew it strong and add a bit of rice milk and a teaspoon of amazing maple syrup (Grade B of course).
Best of all - hot squash (cordial) of course! This was strictly reserved for sick days when I was little, but I love it whenever it gets cold now. There's something very comforting about it that even my beloved tea can't quite match.
I do. I really like the flavor, but I get a low grade headache reliably after drinking it.
A friend recently turned me on to an instant powder called Pero. It's a roasted barley/chicory/some other stuff blend that has a lovely light bitterness and tiniest hint of cocoa to it. I fix it with sugar and milk for post-caffeine hours.
Oooo, white coffee sounds intriguing. I love warm tasty beverages.
I loved Postum but I think it was discontinued. I tried Pero and another coffee alternative, can't recall its name, but didn't care for the taste. I've gone back to drinking coffee in the mornings.
i miss postum
Try CulinaryTeas.com - they've got a blueberry rooibus tea that I love and their bulk teas are much cheaper than Teavana.
Today I dug out the remnants of a bag of red hots and dissolved them in a couple quarts of hot apple juice. Sipping it right now. Mmmm. (And such a pretty red.)
I'm a recent raw cacao powder + warm almond milk + honey addict.
Raw cacao powder has caffeine, though. :) Not much, but still some.
Many coffee alternatives try to be like coffee and therefore are adulterated, especially the 'instant' stuff. If you're looking for something different that is 100% natural try going to cranegrains.com, we don't try and be like regular coffee by adding flavourings etc..., we believe the taste is great in its own right but it's definitely not a coffee taste, more of a grainy, nutty flavour.