Coffee substitute

[CrabGrassAcres]

I love my coffee and could drink it all day! But then I wouldn't sleep at night so I really have to limit myself to two cups in the morning. Tea is good, but I have never learned to like unsweetened tea and sweet drinks give me heartburn. What to do? I did some experimenting and discovered I like the flavor of roasted barley. So I roast up a batch of barley good and dark then grind some in my grain mill or the coffee mill as needed. It takes several heaping spoons per cup, but makes a nice hot non-sweet drink. You can give it to children who want "coffee" too. It also is soothing to an upset tummy.

[Canned Nerd]

Interesting that coffee, but not tea, keeps you awake at night since tea also contains caffeine and actually will enter your system more than coffee will.

 

For those interested, here are more "non-coffee" methods and how to do it:

 

The American Beech Tree's nuts when taken out of the husks, roasted until dark and brittle, then ground, will make a fine coffee. Store this in an airtight container. They are best collected after the first hard frost when they normally drop to the ground. Once stored, they can be used all year round. You might have to fight the squirrels for them. Prepare normally.

 

Chicory coffee- remember that blue f with almost leafless stalks that grow just about everywhere there's a road? They look like daisies, but their petals are blue and are squared off at the ends. The white fleshy roots, roasted until dark brown and brittle, then ground, make an excellent coffee. Prepare like coffee. Use 1-1/2 tsp. per cup of water. Store in an airtight container. Use all year round.

 

Parsnip coffee - finely chop (or grate) a batch of fresh parsnip roots (skins and all), to the consistency of hash brown potatoes. Dehidrate the bits, then roast them at 400° for about 20 minutes, or until they're a very dark brown. Allow to cool in the oven (turn the oven off). Then steep the parnip bits in scalding hot water - one rounded tablespoon per cup.

 

Wheat coffee - Grind 6 cups of wheat in a coffee grinder. (If you don't have a grinder, buy the wheat alredy cracked.) Combine with 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of molasses, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Mix well to a consistency of a paste, then spread on cookie sheets. Bake at 350° till brown (watch carefully so they don't burn). When brown, reduce oven heat to low and allow to dry until mixture is crisp. When cool, break the mixture into pieces and grind in coffee grinder or food processor (or just crush with a rolling pin). Store in dry, airtight container. Prepare coffee as you would with regular coffee. If you want a bit more kick and flavor, add one cup of regular coffee to the mixture.

 

Garbanzo beans (chickpea) coffee- Roast ckickpeas at 300° until dark brown - the color of roasted cofee beans. Then grind the beans in a coffee grinder to the same consistency you desire in regular coffee grounds. These beans seems to do better in a percolator, or boiled and then strained, rather than the quick-drip-through coffee makers.

 

Barley coffee - Spread barley, husks and all, onto a cookie sheet and roast at 425°, stirring/turning occasionally, until completely dark brown. Grind and use 1 heaping tsp per cup of water.

[jakesnana]

I've never been much of a coffee person but sinse DH retired I have been drinking it with him. The first pot of the morning he makes decaf and I have a couple of cups. Then he returned

to the full leaded kind.lol I told him about your barley brew and he told me about chickory. Good thing I like my water plain the best. We are gonna try your substitute. Thanks!

[Campy]

Interesting that coffee, but not tea, keeps you awake at night since tea also contains caffeine and actually will enter your system more than coffee will.

 

I read somewhere that the tannin in the tea moderates (or eliminates) the effects of the caffeine.

[Canned Nerd]

I guess if that were the case then they would not have to make decaffeinated tea. But it is recognized that tea contains less caffeine than coffee and can be regulated depending how the type of tea and how it is brewed.

 

"Caffeine content is also affected by the length of the infusion in water. Black tea infused for 5 minutes yields 40-100 milligrams, whereas a 3-minute infusion produces 20-40 milligrams, or half as much. Twenty cups of green tea yield 240 milligrams, or about 12 milligrams per cup.

 

Because tea bags contain broken leaves of smaller size, they produce an infusion with more caffeine than loose tea does. This is also true of very fine loose tea."

 

"Since nearly 80% of the caffeine will be extracted within 30 seconds of steeping, you can easily remove most of the caffeine in any tea by following these guidelines:

 

Steep the tea in hot water for 45 seconds. Discard the liquid. Then, add water to the leaves and brew for the amount of time that is appropriate for that particular tea."

[Fritz_Monroe]

I was a 4 BIG cup of coffee a day person. This was always at work and I rarely drank it at home. But on a 3 day weekend, I would have horrible headaches from caffeine withdrawal. So about 6 months ago I switched to tea. But I don't like black tea, so it's green tea all the time. Green tea has less caffeine than black tea.

 

I will often use a single tea bag for 2 cups of tea. Not always, but most of the time it works for me.