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Coffee replacement/stretcher

 
John F Dean
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I am familiar with the use of chicory and dandelion to stretch or replace coffee. What other plants are used to do this

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
Huck Johnson
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I've heard of acorns though I have not tried it.
 
Anne Miller
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The way I stretch coffee is by not using as much as the coffee producer recommend.

I make coffee in the coffee maker like Mr Coffee.  I usually don't empty the grounds except about every third pot. The amount of coffee I use to make a 10 cup pot is 6 Tablespoons.  I have the little scoop that they used to furnish with the coffee and it hold 2 tablespoons so I use 3 scoops.

I was leary when I got a job that required me to make the coffee for the office.  I only knew one way to make it.  I was please when the boss said that it was really good.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
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Tereza Okava
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my in laws use something called "coffee senna" . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senna_occidentalis
(in Japanese, habusou, I assume because the pods are long and look vaguely snakey. You take the seeds out of the dry pods and make tea with them)

I personally can't get over my fear of normal senna to drink it regularly (plus there are some reports of toxicity to livestock from this kind of senna), but it doesn't taste that bad and it grows pretty easily. It's okay on its own, kind of like chicory or roasted barley (I like both), but you're not going to confuse it with coffee.
 
John F Dean
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Hi Anne,

I find that the amount of coffee that I use depends greatly upon the kind of device I make it in.   Our go to is a 4 cup Farberware perc that we have had for over 40 years.  We do, however, have a drip coffee maker that I suspect uses less coffee. We also have a French Press.  And, god forbid, we have  K-cup we got as a gift.

But I am interested in finding other plants that might to used to stretch or replace coffee. This interest has gotten stronger as we have begun to roast green coffee beans.

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
Anne Miller
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During World War II there was a coffee shortage from what I understand.  I remember my grandparents talking about using roasted cornmeal.

Also I have heard that around that same time period that some people used roasted grains.  I don't know which ones, maybe barley or brown rice.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
Mk Neal
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I have read that roasted dandelion root was used as a substitute. I have tried roasted dandelion tea, and it is dark and roasty if steeped a very long time (like ten minutes), I would not confuse it with coffee though.  And of course no caffeine.

Blackstrap molasses from the caribbean (which has a different taste than the American and European products IMO) is a nice rich, dark drink full of minerals and not too sweet. I drank a lot of this when I was pregnant. I have heard that they mix this with coffee in Cuba.

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John F Dean
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Dandelion was the second replacement I heard off. Of course, after I read it I could never find another Dandelion in my yard.

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
John F Dean
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Hi Anne,

Roasted cornmeal is a new one for me. I will have to try it.

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
Tereza Okava
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Anne Miller wrote: roasted grains


Postum (well known if old-timey coffee substitute) is made of roasted wheat and wheat bran and molasses.
Around here the Seventh Day Adventists have a commercially available product that is roasted and ground barley, looks like coffee, makes a decent hot drink.

If you have Latter Day Saints or Adventists (and stores that serve them) you can often find products that fit this niche, maybe get some ideas.

It seems like whatever you have, the key is roasting it.
 
Anne Miller
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Tereza, thanks for reminding me about Postum.

We have a thread about that and I found another thread of interest.

I forgot I posted these substitutes and a recipe for Parsnip Postum here;

https://permies.com/t/69672/kitchen/remember-Postum-coffee-substitute-Seeking#584985

Parsnips, wheat, chickpeas, and barley aren't the only ingredients that can be used to make rich, good-tasting coffee substitutes.

Oats, fax, rye and (of course) chicory can also be made into delicious Java-like beverages . . . or coffee extenders.



http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/make-your-own-coffee-substitutes

https://permies.com/t/69672/kitchen/remember-Postum-coffee-substitute-Seeking

https://permies.com/t/58567/caffeine-plant-tree-grow-area

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
Morgan Lawson
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I have heard about dandelion, but never tried it by myself. I am not a coffee dependent, so for me it's not a big problem to drink it like usual or adding something.
 
John F Dean
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I seem to be able to cut myself off as I like, but my day goes better if I begin it with 2 cups.  During that time, I chill, get on this site, and plan my day.  Odd, while I can get by with zero coffee, I feel cheated with only one cup.  And, one large cup doesn't work. It has to be two.  The first seems to be chill time. The second is a signal that work is about to begin.

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
Marc Dube
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I mix ground Chaga fungus in about 50/50 with my coffee and sometimes even add some loose leaf herbal teas in with the grounds when i brew coffee. I don't necessarily do it to stretch the coffee out but it definitely does do that, I do it more for the flavour and other benefits that they may bring.

I dont know if this would work in every machine though I use a percolator.
 
Anne Miller
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John, have you tried substituting a cup or two of Matcha or Yerba Mate tea?

I haven't tried Matcha tea but I like the taste of Yerba Mate tea.  Both have health benefits.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
Tereza Okava
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Hey John, I know this may just be an intellectual exercise, but what are your important factors here? Local/self-sufficiancy? Caffeine? (or lack of caffeine?)? Price? Health benefits?

I'm also interested to hear more about your green coffee roasting. We get some every once in a while (it's more work than I'm willing to put in) and it is really nice, but it is also super-duper caffeinated and I would consider cutting it with something for that reason alone.
 
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Toasted chicory and dandelion roots are the most common coffee substitute/stretcher.  It was very common during rationing to mix this at least half with real coffee.  It's pretty easy to roast the roots in the oven then dry them.  Grind in the coffee grinder.  The roots keep for years and taste almost, but not quite like, coffee.  Personally, I think the dandelion root adds an unpleasant bitterness to the coffee, but the chicory adds a bit of sweetness.  So they make a nice balance when combined.  But you can use one or the other as you have available.  

If you look up something called "Camp Coffee" you can see the ingredients they used in the UK during and after the war (rationing continued nearly 10 years after the war).  I've known a few people of that generation who prefer Camp Coffee to the real stuff.  

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John F Dean
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Hi Tereza,

Great question.  I am looking for a long term replacement for coffee that I can grow on my property.

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
John F Dean
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Hi Tereza,

Regarding roasting green coffee, my weapon of choice is a hand cranked popcorn popper on a cook stove.  I put in a half cup of green coffee beans.  Very much like pop corn, the beans will pop once.  Continue to until they pop a second time.  Continue to your own taste. The longer you cook the darker the coffee ... and the less caffeine.   Yes, the darker the roast, the less the caffine.

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
Dan Fish
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One of the legends I heard when I was in the army was that they boiled the same grounds so many times at Bastogne that they turned white. May have just been propaganda to excuse the poor quality of modern day army coffee. Mighty fine my ass.

So yeah, you could try that...

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John F Dean
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Hi Dan,

It might have more to do with the way the military seeks products.  One I got on the mailing list to bid on products for the military.  I was sent a several hundred page document describing an inclined spiral fastener they were seeking.  There was a description of how many parts per million of carbon needed to be in the darned thing and hundreds of pages of similar garbage. I tossed it aside after reading the first 15 pages. One day, I was cleaning my office. Before tossing it in the trash I looked through it one last time. There, on the final pages of the description, was a picture of a wood screw.

You can only be young once … but you can be immature forever!

 
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I haven't tried any substitutes, but I did learn that the magical term to search for is "ersatz coffee"

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My routine: I make a single batch of relatively strong coffee in my french press first thing in the morning. Usually, one cup in the early morning is all I have (need? heh) per day. If I feel like I need to get a lot done & would like (need? AM I ADDICTED?) the extra boost, then to stretch my coffee I simply heat up some water in a kettle & do a second pour in my french press over the early morning's "spent" coffee grounds. The second pour is obviously weaker than the first, but I can definitely feel the caffeine difference verses the days that I do not have a second pour. The days I do drink from the second pour, I definitely feel more "picked up". That said, my body is extremely caffeine sensitive. I never drink it after noon otherwise I cannot get any sleep at night whatsoever. Occasionally, when I want to be hyper-productive, I take a dropper full of cordyceps mushroom tincture as an energy boost. Those are the days nearly everything gets ticked off the ol' to-do list!
From there either my worms or my mycelium will get the spent coffee grounds. I kind of feel guilty giving them the grounds that I've gleaned a second pour from; like I'm depriving them of the benefits of the high...
COFFEE-french_press-stainless_steel_by_Shisma_CC-BY-4.0_WikiMedia.org.png
french press coffee by Shisma CC-BY 4.0 WikiMedia.org
french press coffee by Shisma CC-BY 4.0 WikiMedia.org
MEDICINAL-Cordyceps_militaris_by_Andreas_Kunze-_CC-BY-SA-3.0_WikiMedia.org.jpg
cordyceps militaris by Andreas Zunze CC BY-SA 3.0 WikiMedia.org
Cordyceps militaris by Andreas Zunze CC BY-SA 3.0 WikiMedia.org

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Recently, I read a household manual from about ww2 times that suggested the scrapings of burnt toast can be used to extend coffee.

Don't feel the need to try it just yet.

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If memory serves correctly, I believe it was jojoba seeds that were utilized by Native Americans out towards Arizona for a coffee like drink.

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On of the fava beans I got from Yuri a few years ago was described as being used as a coffee substitute. They are tiny beans that dry black skinned, so I suppose you could fool yourself...I didn't try them as coffee and now they are 'lost' in my landrace field beans.

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I was excited when I found out that chicory root would make a good substitute because last summer I saw fields and fields overrun with chicory when I go out for a drive. I have only found one chicory plant on my property but I hope to propagate more now that I know it grows well here. I would dig it up and try it if I didn't want to lose my one chicory plant! Perhaps I'll go foraging sometime this year for some.

Another coffee substitute I've heard about is sweet potato coffee. My sister-in-law told me she made some and she said it probably tastes like coffee, but she is not a coffee drinker so I think I will have to try it for myself to find out. Has anyone else tried sweet potato "coffee?"

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PNW coffee drinkers can be picky, we have great coffee.  Yet, the Japanese have a Dark roasted (burned) barley when soaked in water makes exceptional iced coffee.  Mixed with Argentine mate for caffeine I drink it all summer long.  Chicory is an excellent additive to lengthen a coffee supply but it can get out to control in most climates.  Cheers.
 
Hal Schibel
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David Nightingale wrote:PNW coffee drinkers can be picky, we have great coffee.



I definitely miss the PNW coffee since I moved inland. I realized that it's not just about the coffee itself, coffee and coffee shops are a big part of the culture as well!

David Nightingale wrote:Yet, the Japanese have a Dark roasted (burned) barley when soaked in water makes exceptional iced coffee.  Mixed with Argentine mate for caffeine I drink it all summer long.



I've heard of mate but am not super familiar with it. What's the difference between yerba mate and Argentine mate?

David Nightingale wrote:Chicory is an excellent additive to lengthen a coffee supply but it can get out to control in most climates.  Cheers.



Have you tried chicory root in coffee before? How was it?

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