Coffee substitute

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Coffee substitutes are non-coffea products, usually without caffeine, used to substitute coffee while preserving its taste. Coffee substitutes can be used for medical, economic and religious reasons, or simply because coffee is not available. Roasted grain beverages are common substitutes for coffee.

In World War II, acorns were used to make coffee; however, it tasted foul. During the American Civil War coffee was also scarce:

"For the stimulating property to which both tea and coffee owe their chief value, there is unfortunately no substitute; the best we can do is to dilute the little stocks which still remain, and cheat the palate, if we cannot deceive the nerves." The Southern Banner, 1865

For religious reasons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes known as Mormons, do not consume coffee.

Coffee substitutes are sometimes used in preparing foods served to children or to people who avoid caffeine, or in the belief that they are healthier than coffee.

Some culinary traditions, like that of Korea, include beverages made from roasted grain instead of coffee or tea. These do not substitute for coffee, but fill its niche as an (optionally sweetened) hot drink.

Ingredients

Grain coffee and other substitutes can be made by roasting or decocting various organic substances.

Some ingredients used include: almond, acorn, asparagus, barley and malt, beech nut, beetroot, carrot, chicory root, corn, cotton seed, dandelion root, fig, boiled-down molasses, okra seed, pea, persimmon seed, potato peel , rye, sassafras nut, sweet potato.

Ground roasted chicory root has been sold commercially on a large scale since around 1970, and it has become a mainstream product, both alone and mixed with real coffee. It was widely used during the American Civil War on both sides.

Postum was an instant type beverage used in place of coffee. It reached the height of its popularity in the United States during World War II. It is no longer made.

Preparation

Some commercially available preparations are finely powdered and dissolve instantly in hot water
Some coffee substitutes, like chicory, are ground and brewed like coffee
Some coffee substitutes, like roasted barley grains, are left whole and boiled and steeped like tea

Safety

Acrylamide, a suspected cancer-causing chemical, is found at high levels in dark-colored baked, roasted and fried high-carbohydrate foods, as well as in roasted coffee and barbequed meat. The dark-roasted grains, nuts and roots that are used in some coffee substitutes would also, presumably, have high levels of acrylamide. The Heatox Project (Heat-generated Food Toxicants) is a European Union project that assessed the quantities of acrylamide in various foods. The Project recommended that people toast foods as little as possible.

In popular culture

In the sitcom Seinfeld, George says to Jerry he doesn't know why Postum isn't a more popular beverage.

Coffee substitute

Ingredients

Preparation

Safety

In popular culture

See also