Coffee substitute

Coffee substitutes are non-coffee products, usually without caffeine, that are used to imitate coffee. Coffee substitutes can be used for medical, economic and religious reasons, or simply because coffee is not readily available. Roasted grain beverages are common substitutes for coffee.

German coffee substitute, Koff, by J.J. Darboven (mid 20th century)
German coffee substitute, Feigen-Caffee, historical advertisement (late 19th century)

In World War II, acorns were used to make coffee, as were roasted chicory and grain. Postum, a bran and molasses beverage, also became a popular coffee substitute during this time. During the American Civil War coffee was also scarce in the South:[1]

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.

— "Substitutes for Coffee", The Southern Banner, 1865

Coffee substitutes are sometimes used in preparing food and drink served to children, to people who believe that coffee is unhealthy, and to people who avoid caffeine for religious reasons. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) advises its members to refrain from drinking coffee, as church doctrine interprets a prohibition against "hot drinks" to include coffee in all forms.[2] The Seventh-day Adventist Church regards caffeine as an unhealthful substance, and advises its members to avoid all food and drink containing caffeine, including coffee.[3]

Some Asian culinary traditions include beverages made from roasted grain instead of roasted coffee beans (including barley tea, corn tea, and brown rice tea); these do not substitute for coffee but fill a similar niche as a hot aromatic drink (optionally sweetened).

Ingredients

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

Some ingredients used include almond, acorn, asparagus, malted barley, beechnut, beetroot, carrot, chicory root, corn, soybeans, cottonseed, dandelion root (see dandelion coffee), fig, roasted garbanzo beans,[4] lupinus, boiled-down molasses, okra seed, pea, persimmon seed, potato peel,[5] rye, sassafras pits, sweet potato, wheat bran.

History

The Native American people of what is now the Southeastern United States brewed a ceremonial drink containing caffeine, "asi", or the "black drink", from the roasted leaves and stems of Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon holly).[6] European colonists adopted this beverage as a coffee-substitute, which they called "cassina".[7]

In Quebec, the seeds of the black locust were historically used as a coffee substitute, before the stem borer decimated populations of the tree.

A coffee substitute from ground, roasted chickpeas was mentioned by a German writer in 1793.[4]

Dandelion coffee is attested as early as the 1830s in North America.[8]

The drink brewed from ground, roasted chicory root has no caffeine, but is dark and tastes much like coffee. It was used as a medicinal tea before coffee was introduced to Europe. Use of chicory as a coffee substitute became widespread in France early in the 19th century due to coffee shortages resulting from the Continental Blockade. It was used during the American Civil War in Louisiana, and remains popular in New Orleans.[9] Chicory mixed with coffee is also popular in South India, and is known as Indian filter coffee.

Postum is an instant type of coffee substitute made from roasted wheat bran, wheat and molasses. It reached its height of popularity in the United States during World War II when coffee was sharply rationed.

Examples
East German "coffee mix" consisting of 51% coffee, produced due to shortages
  • 1940s product photo of Swedish coffee surrogate brand "Cafenco"
    Roasted grain drinks are prepared from various cereals:
    • Barleycup is a brand of instant drink made from barley, rye, and chicory and sold in the UK.
    • Barley tea is an infusion popular across East Asia and sometimes sold as a coffee substitute.[10]
    • Caffè d'orzo is an espresso-style preparation of roasted barley made in Italy.
    • Nestlé Caro is another brand of instant drink made of roasted barley, malted barley, chicory, and rye.[11]
    • Inka is a Polish drink made of rye, barley, chicory and sugar beet.
    • Postum is an instant wheat bran and molasses drink invented by C. W. Post.[12]
  • Infusions or tisanes of other plant material can resemble coffee.
  • Coffee substitutes can be added to true coffee as an adulterant.
    • Camp Coffee is a mix of chicory and coffee from the UK, sold since 1876.
    • Ricoré is a mix of chicory and coffee from France created in 1953, now produced by Nestlé.

Synthetic coffee

In 2021, media outlets reported that the world's first synthetic coffee products have been created by two biotechnology companies, still awaiting regulatory approvals for near-term commercialization.[13][14][15] Such products, which can be produced via cellular agriculture in bioreactors[15] and for which multiple companies' R&D have acquired substantial funding, may have equal or similar effects, composition and taste as natural products but use less water, generate less carbon emissions, require less labour and cause no deforestation.[13] Products that are comparable to naturally grown coffee on the chemical molecular level would not be "coffee substitutes" but differ only in their method of production; hence they would be "lab-grown coffee".[14]

Earlier, in 2019, molecular coffee, made from undisclosed plant-based materials and caffeine, was demonstrated after being developed by an American company, Atomo. However, it is unclear how similar the composition is to coffee on a molecular level or in terms of its effects.[16] It was put on a short temporary sale in 2021.[14]

Preparation

Coffee substitutes may be powder, which dissolves in hot water; grounds, which are brewed like coffee; or grains, left whole to be boiled and steeped like tea.

See also

References
  1. "Substitutes for Coffee". The University of Texas at Tyler. Archived from the original on 2015-12-28.
  2. "Coffee is still a no-go for Mormons even if you call it caffe or mochaccino". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 18, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  3. Rankin, Paul (July 2, 2014). "Caffiene's effects". Adventist Record. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  4. "Introduction: Chickpeas". International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  5. Potato Coffee Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Crown, Patricia L.; Emerson, Thomas E.; Gu, Jiyan; Hurst, W. Jeffrey; Pauketat, Timothy R.; Ward, Timothy (2012-08-28). "Ritual Black Drink consumption at Cahokia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (35): 13944–13949. doi:10.1073/pnas.1208404109. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3435207. PMID 22869743.
  7. The Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company. July 1922. p. 53.
  8. Moodie, Susanna (2007-12-04). Roughing it in the bush. McClelland and Stewart. p. 385. ISBN 9780771034923. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  9. Smith, Anabelle K. (March 5, 2014). "The History of the Chicory Coffee Mix That New Orleans Made Its Own". The Smithsonian Magazine – via Smithsonian.com.
  10. Maier, H. G. (1987). "Coffee Substitutes Made from Cereals". In Clarke, R.J.; Macrae, R. (eds.). Coffee: Related Beverages. pp. 5–8. ISBN 978-1-85166-103-9.
  11. "Caro Malzkaffee". Archived from the original on 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
  12. Pendergrast, Mark (2010) [2001]. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World (Rev. ed.). New York City: Basic Books. p. 93. ISBN 9780465018369. OCLC 609871227.
  13. Lavars, Nick (20 September 2021). "Lab-grown coffee cuts out the beans and deforestation". New Atlas. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  14. "Eco-friendly, lab-grown coffee is on the way, but it comes with a catch". The Guardian. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  15. "Sustainable coffee grown in Finland – | VTT News". www.vttresearch.com. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  16. This "Molecular Coffee" is Brewed Entirely Without Beans

Further reading
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