December 19, 2024
The 7 Best Coffee Alternatives In 2024 For Better Adrenal Health, Sleep And Recovery
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Best coffee alternatives 2024
We ditched the standard cup of joe for a coffee alternative and here are the best options in 2024 to maintain the buzz
We understand the battle in finding a good coffee alternative that fills the large void that is left when trying to quit coffee or coming off coffee for a short period of time.
It can be a huge challenge to minimise coffee consumption, particularly if you are accustomed to drinking multiple cups of coffee every day which equates to a big amount of caffeine intake. In fact the reason we are writing this article on the best coffee alternatives of 2024 is because it is a big 2024 New Year resolution to cut back on coffee for the health benefits we know it can bring.
In trying to reduce your coffee or caffeine intake, we know full well about the caffeine withdrawals, headaches, sweats, mood swings, sleep issues, brain fog, difficulty concentrating and the rest.
Because pretty much the whole RG team relies heavily on caffeine and coffee as a training ergogenic, we really searched hard for the best coffee alternatives to replace the sweet, joyous cup of joe every morning and throughout the day.
Let’s face it, a warm cup of green tea just doesn’t cut it. We have discovered some low caffeine and caffeine free alternatives that might just cut the mustard for your needs whether you are looking for a vegan alternative, powder alternative, decaf option, something with adaptogenic herbs or something big on taste.
So whether you are doing it for a stint or are in denial and think you are quitting coffee for the foreseeable future, we’ve got you covered for a good coffee replacement in this article.
Best Coffee Alternative of 2024 – Our Top Picks
Best Overall: Four Sigmatic Lion’s Mane Mushroom Elixir Mix
For those days when your brain feels like mush, reach for your brain’s best friend Lion’s Mane mushroom. Elevate your smoothie or tea break with this warm hug for your brain without the caffeine jitters. Four Sigmatic refers to the 100 most studied, nutrient dense foods on the planet, many of which are used in Four Sigmatic blends and ingredients lists making it the best coffee alternative of 2024.
Ingredients: Organic Lion’s Mane, Organic Cordyceps, Organic Bacopa Monnieri, Organic Rhodiola, Organic Field Mint & Rosehip Extract, Organic Stevia
Best Powder: MUD WTR
MUD\WTR™ is a coffee alternative made with organic ingredients celebrated by cultures young and old for their health and performance benefits. With 1/7th the caffeine as a cup of coffee, you get focus, energy and immunity without the jitters, crash and dependency. Comes in a recyclable tin and shipped in a recyclable box so a winner for the environment too.
Ingredients: Masala Chai, Cacao, Lions Mane, Chaga, Reishi, Cordyceps, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Sea Salt
Best Vegan: Teelixir Mushroom Turmeric Latte
Boost your morning smoothie with our favourite best vegan coffee alternative. Upgrade your smoothie and replace your morning coffee with this simple to use Teelixir powder mix – just add hot water or nut milk and sweeten if desired. Don’t let a lack of energy bring you down. This healthy Turmeric latte mix paired with Cordyceps mushroom and spice mix–cinnamon ginger–is perfect to give you a lift in balanced energy that will last. Keep the energising effects of coffee, without the caffeine, avoid the jitters and those unproductive afternoon slumps. Start your day right and give your body the healthy and sustainable energy it needs.
Ingredients: Organic Turmeric Powder and Black Ground Pepper, Organic Cordyceps Mushroom, Organic Ground Ginger, Organic Ceylon Cinnamon
Best Taste: Renude Chagaccino
Boost your morning brew with our favourite best tasting coffee alternative – a fully formulated mushroom mocha which transforms your usual coffee into a sugar-free, vegan, keto-friendly latte. What we love most about this coffee alternative is that it is spiked with an effective dose of the planet’s greatest adaptogens to support immunity, promote anti-aging, boost your energy without the jitters, and protect your chill. It’s the health and wellness version of an iced mocha latte (try it hot too tho).
Ingredients: Wild Foraged Chaga, Organic Peruvian Cacao, Organic Ceylon Cinnamon, Monk Fruit
Best Energy: Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate is known for its high levels of “slow release” natural caffeine making this drink the best coffee alternative for energy and vitality. Yerba is known as the “liquid vegetable” due to how vitamin and mineral rich the Yerba leaf is with over 24 vitamins and minerals and 15 amino acids. Guayaki have a large range of Yerba drinks that are fantastic coffee alternatives but our favourite is the Grapefruit and Ginger flavour.
Ingredients: Sparkling purifies water, organic agave syrup, organic grapefruit juice, organic yerba mate extract, organic ginger juice, citric acid, organic caffeine, organic stevia.
Best Adaptogen: Goldmine Adaptogens
Goldmine was built by women looking for a better way to cope with stress. Their purpose is to help you move, think, create and feel your best all day every day. The powder is the best coffee alternative adaptogen powder that is super tasty (in coffee), tea, smoothies, and anything else you drink. Adding just 1/2 tsp into your brew, whatever it may be, helps manage stress so you can conquer your busy day with ease. All of Goldmine Adaptogens’ ingredients are also USD Certified Organic ingredients.
Ingredients: Lucuma*, Ginger*, Reishi fruiting body mushroom*, Turkey tail fruiting body mushroom*, Maitake fruiting body mushroom*, Astragalus*.
Best Matcha: Pure Chimp Modern Matcha Kit
Ceremonial grade matcha green tea from Japan – grown without the use of pesticides – and has a strong ability to improve your mood, memory & concentration. Plenty of healthy antioxidants in Matcha and has great metabolism and energy boosting qualities. 5% of Pure Chimps profits go to charity and their Matcha is packaged in recyclable glass.
Ingredients: Organic Matcha Powder
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Why It Might Be Time To Find A Coffee Alternative
Credit: Penguin
Coffee is a beautiful drug. But it can be a difficult relationship with coffee when you start to rely on it to be able to function on a daily basis and even to be a remotely good person to interact with. It is not until we try to quit coffee or cut down coffee that, as Michael Pollan says when talking about his new book Your Mind On Plants, “you begin to understand how you really interact with coffee”. He describes the wonders of caffeine and describes how “some plants offer bees a small shot of caffeine as they collect nectar, an evolutionary trick that serves to sharpen a bee’s focus, and make it an even more efficient pollinator.”
Can Coffee Give You Adrenal Fatigue?
As humans, we definitely use and abuse coffee to make us more efficient ‘worker’ bees in many facets of life too. But as many of us know all too well, when you begin to overuse stimulants like coffee to burn the candle at both ends, the result is usually a lack of sleep, over-stressed, over-tried, mentally and physically drained body, mind and spirit that breaks somewhere down the track. In fact, research shows us that coffee abuse can cause adrenal fatigue. Caffeine stimulates the brain’s neuron activity and sends messages to the pituitary gland to stimulate the adrenal glands, which then produces adrenaline and cortisol. This relates to our ‘fight or flight’ pathways and overstimulation of these pathways can lead to adrenal fatigue. This could well be one of the reasons that you experience less and less of an effect from coffee – you may be reaching burnout. Time to find a good coffee substitute, we say!
The vicious cycle
To get a little more specific on what’s going on with your coffee reliance and why it’s a good idea you are reading this article to find the best coffee alternative of 2024, we will refer back to Pollan again. In talking about our addictive relationship to coffee, he says that, “the drug [coffee] is not only a leading cause of our sleep deprivation; it is also the principal tool we rely on to remedy the problem. Most of the caffeine consumed today is being used to compensate for the lousy sleep that caffeine causes.”
What is happening on the biological level? We naturally produce adenosine in the body. Every cell in the body contains some adenosine contained within DNA and RNA. This adenosine has some important interactions with sleep pressure and impacts the sleep-wake cycle. When we drink coffee or consume caffeine, it has a stimulant effect by blocking your brain’s adenosine processing, maintaining wakefulness and alertness.
According to Matthew Walker in his amazing book Why We Sleep, which we have mentioned in some of our other articles, “25 percent of the caffeine you enjoy at 10 a.m. is still circulating in the brain at 10 p.m.”. Not only that, in the morning that follows, the adenosine that is built up continues to flood the brain which in turn makes you feel more tired than you normally would be, causing a burning desire for coffee to break away from the ‘sads’. And so the vicious cycle of coffee consumption continues…
Why Is Coffee So Addictive?
But first, coffee. The stimulant effects of coffee are enough to brighten your morning, we all know that. It’s like a smile in a cup, a warm hug, a ray of sunshine. Coffee really has the amazing ability to lift the brain out of it’s morning foggy, sleepy state and has some very motivating and engaging qualities that personally turn me into a conscientious, taskmaster that can achieve almost anything. Coffee also motivates a lot of people to exercise and is used as a fantastic ergogenic (performance enhancing substance) by millions.
The first step is admitting you have a problem…
Although we say this in jest, the fact that coffee can be so enormously addictive, for most of us writing this article included, it is important to be fully aware of how much of a hold coffee has on your daily life in order to have a chance at cutting it back. In the past we have tried a number of different methods that have involved the breaking of habits around coffee and the forming of new ones to stay off coffee. But by far the most effective way at reducing coffee intake in our research has been finding a good, hearty coffee alternative that effectively fills the gaping void of cutting coffee. Take a closer look at some of the best coffee alternatives we have found for 2024 to make life worth living without coffee.
Coffee withdrawals
Part of the addictive allure of coffee, as Michael Pollan describes, is that it intensifies and facilitates the clear thinking and reasoning, confidence, feelings of optimism and focus that cognitive psychologists call ‘spotlight consciousness’. On waking, for a lot of people, the common feeling is grogginess, slowness, fog and sleep inertia. Coffee, like cocaine, narrows attention and breaks this bad vibe giving a feeling of direction, positivity and motivation with the help of a dopamine release of course. An interesting thing about coffee addiction is that the drive to have coffee in the morning is not necessarily a drive for caffeine, it is the drive to stem the feelings of withdrawal for lack of it. The pleasure to have coffee and the avoidance of pain to not have coffee are the perfect storm for drinking too much coffee for sure.
The Best Coffee Alternatives of 2024 – Guide and Reviews
Our best coffee alternative list is a review of a variety of suitable healthy coffee substitutes that are exciting enough for the taste buds to be able to kick coffee in the short or long term. We have tried to include as much variation as possible for coffee alternatives which include powders, teas, elixirs, canned drinks, sachets and other concoctions that include ingredients that are mostly organic, vegan friendly and good for you.
Because we appreciate the mental clarity side of having a strong coffee, this list contains coffee alternatives that use adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms like Lions Mane, Cordyceps, Chaga, Reishi and other natural compounds that give you the buzz you are looking for, plus epic taste.
Best Overall: Four Sigmatic Lion’s Mane Mushroom Elixir Mix
Price: $$
Taste: 9/10
Ingredients: 10/10
For those days when your brain feels like mush, reach for your brain’s best friend Lion’s Mane mushroom. Elevate your smoothie or tea break with this warm hug for your brain without the caffeine jitters. Four Sigmatic refers to the 100 most studied, nutrient dense foods on the planet, many of which are used in Four Sigmatic blends and ingredients lists making it the best coffee alternative of 2024.
For finding a new morning ritual that doesn’t involve coffee we have welcomed in Four Sigmatic Mushroom Elixir. At a price of $29 for 20 sachets, each cup costs about $1.50 which makes it much more cost effective than buying a warm drink at a cafe every morning. If you are looking to reduce your coffee intake, this could well be your ticket.
What are the benefits of Lions Mane?
Lions Mane is an ancient medicinal beast that people have used for centuries for its brain boosting potential. The bioactive compounds in Lions Mane make it the perfect addition to your morning cup to defend against your brains ability to form new connections as you age. Specifically, Eracines and Hericenones work to stimulate the growth of brain cells to bolster mental functioning, proven to assist with mild cognitive impairment.
Lions Mane is also loaded full of antioxidants that give it anti-inflammatory properties. Each morning you drink your Four Sigmatic Lions Mane Elixir, you are boosting your immunity and com bating oxidative stress for optimal recovery, without the coffee jitters.
Ingredients: Organic Lion’s Mane, Organic Cordyceps, Organic Bacopa Monnieri, Organic Rhodiola, Organic Field Mint & Rosehip Extract, Organic Stevia
Best Vegan: Teelixir Mushroom Turmeric Latte
Price: $$
Taste: 6/10
Ingredients: 10/10
Teelixir Mushroom Turmeric Latte is filled with ingredients for performance and recovery including turmeric with its anti-inflammatory properties and cordyceps mushroom with its adaptogenic powers. The combination of organic ingredients all work in unison to create a powerful buzz for kicking your morning coffee habit.
Boost your morning smoothie with our favourite best vegan coffee alternative. Upgrade your smoothie and replace your morning coffee with this simple to use Teelixir powder mix – just add hot water or nut milk and sweeten if desired. This healthy Turmeric latte mix paired with Cordyceps mushroom and spice mix–cinnamon ginger–is perfect to give you a lift in balanced energy that will last. Keep the energising effects of coffee, without the caffeine, avoid the jitters and those unproductive afternoon slumps. Start your day right and give your body the healthy and sustainable energy it needs.
What are the benefits of cordyceps?
Cordyceps are thought to increase the body’s production of the molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is essential for delivering energy to the muscles. Cordyceps has also been shown to boost V02 max which is a widely used measure of fitness levels and cardiovascular potential. This is pretty worthy news for athletes and high performers around the world. You not only have a morning ritual that could help you find a coffee replacement but one that can improve your physical output.
Several studies have also found that Cordyceps increase antioxidants in aged mice, helping improve memory and sexual function.
What are the benefits of turmeric?
Also known as the “Golden Spice,” turmeric has over 4000 years of medicinal use in the Ayurvedic system. It’s one of the most powerful natural anti-inflammatory ingredients ever studied and is now a staple culinary spice that’s used around the world.
Ingredients: Organic Turmeric Powder and Black Ground Pepper, Organic Cordyceps Mushroom, Organic Ground Ginger, Organic Ceylon Cinnamon
Best Powder: MUD WTR
Price: $$$
Taste: 9/10
Ingredients: 10/10
Chances are MUD\WTR™, pronounced Mud Water, has slid into your DM’s at some stage via Instagram or TikTok as it has truly taken the stage as a viral coffee replacement. For those who love a dirty Chai, that is, coffee mix with Chai, you will absolutely adore this Chai-like coffee alternative that has the consistency of grainy, well, mud.
Buy MUD/WTR morning ritual starter kit
MUD WTR is by far the the most popular coffee alternative and it has both a solid marketing playbook and a stellar organic ingredients list to blame. The ingredients in MUD WTR are heavy on the organic side, and commendable on the adaptogenic mushroom side too with 4 different types of funghi mixed into one powerful concoction boasting some amazing benefits for performance, recovery and mental clarity. With 1/7th the caffeine as a cup of coffee, MUD WTR will pump you full of focus, energy and immunity without the jitters, crash and dependency on coffee.
Everything you need to make MUD WTR
How to drink your MUD WTR
When you are shopping for your MUD WTR online you will notice a few other items or paraphernalia for drinking your morning brew of mud like the Creamer and the Frother. To get the full MUD WTR experience these are essential items and can be purchased as a monthly subscription to MUD WTR, or just a one off too. The recommended way to make MUD WTR is to create a MUD Latte which involves one scoop of MUD WTR and 6 grams of the creamer, blended vigorously with the frother that comes with your MUD WTR starter kit.
But, that’s not the only way to take your morning medicine. MUD WTR have created an extremely versatile coffee alternative and have even supplied a menu of delicious ways to use MUD WTR including a Green MUD Smoothie and MUD Pancakes.
Overall, MUD WTR is a must try if you are working your way through the list of coffee alternatives and you may indeed stop looking after you try MUD WTR. A little cherry on top, the MUD WTR comes in a recyclable tin and shipped in a recyclable box so a winner for the environment too.
Ingredients: Masala Chai, Cacao, Lions Mane, Chaga, Reishi, Cordyceps, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Sea Salt
Best Taste: Renude Chagaccino
Price: $$
Taste: 10/10
Ingredients: 9/10
Boost your morning brew with our favourite best tasting coffee alternative – a fully formulated mushroom mocha which transforms your usual coffee into a sugar-free, vegan, keto-friendly latte. What we love most about this coffee alternative is that it is spiked with an effective dose of the planet’s greatest adaptogens to support immunity, promote anti-aging, boost your energy without the jitters, and protect your chill. It’s the health and wellness version of an iced mocha latte (try it hot too though).
On their website, Chagacinno recommends the best way to drink this beautiful Chaga boosting drink is in the form of an Iced Espresso. Unfortunately, that involves two shots of coffee, so we opted for adding the Chaga sachet to our favourite smoothie blend of banana, spinach, coconut water, dates, cinnamon, honey and peanut butter!
With an immune-boosting concoction of wild foraged Chaga mushroom, organic Cacao from Peru, and monk fruit from Japan, Renude Chagaccino powder is a very unique blend for a hearty coffee alternative that can be added to your morning smoothie. A huge plus for Chagaccino is that the product comes in a sachet which makes it a massive convenience to be able to take it away on travel with you and have the perfect serving size each morning.
What are the benefits of Chaga mushrooms?
Renude wild picks it mushrooms from Canada and Siberia and when you drink a Renude Chagaccino you get a superfood nutrient drink full of minerals and vitamins. Chaga mushrooms contain loads of Vitamin B which is essential for good energy, zinc which is and important one for skin and hair as well as male health, and magnesium. Some of the potential benefits of the Chaga mushroom include its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which make it a potential remedy for things like arthritis and high blood pressure. Many people who drink too much coffee have issues with high blood pressure, so ditching the coffee for a cup of Chaga may do wonders for this. The Chaga mushroom has even been touted to help lower blood sugar levels and even slow the progression of cancer growth!
Ingredients: Wild Foraged Chaga, Organic Peruvian Cacao, Organic Ceylon Cinnamon, Monk Fruit
Best Energy: Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate
Price: $
Taste: 7/10
Ingredients: 8/10
We discovered Yerba Mate back in 2012 when one of the RG Team was looking for a coffee substitute that still gave some of the similar energizing effects of coffee. Yerba Mate is known for its high levels of “slow release” natural caffeine making this drink the best coffee alternative for energy and vitality. Yerba is known as the “liquid vegetable” due to how vitamin and mineral rich the Yerba leaf is with over 24 vitamins and minerals and 15 amino acids. Guayaki have a large range of Yerba drinks that are fantastic coffee alternatives but our favourite is the Grapefruit and Ginger flavour.
Yerba Mate comes from the naturally caffeinated leaves of a native species of Holly tree, found deep in the South American Atlantic Forest. Yerba Mate leaves are hand harvested by yerbateros (cultivators) from small farms and indigenous communities in Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.
The most popular way to drink the Yerba delight is in a dried leaf, tea form, but brands like Guayaki have created delicious sparkling canned versions of Yerba Mate that we have found to be an incredibly energizing replacement for coffee that is high on taste. Perhaps if you are a person that is trying to cut down on sugary energy drinks like Red Bull or V, Yerba Mate is a super healthy alternative to help you ditch them.
Guayaki Yerba Mate
What are the benefits of Yerba Mate?
Yerba Mate is rich in nutrients and antioxidants and in fact has a higher antioxidant content than green tea! It is worth noting that Yerba has quite a high caffeine count if caffeine in particular is something you are trying to cut down on then Yerba may be a pass for you. If this is not the case for you, then Guayaki Yerba Mate can give you all of the benefits of mental clarity, alertness, memory recall, exercise performance, motivation and energy that caffeine is known for.
Yerba Mate has the potential to also help prevent infections from bacteria, parasites, and fungi with some limited research into Yerba’s anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, and anti-fungal properties.
Other studies have shown that Yerba demonstrates some anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties, giving it strength in the benefits for those seeking weight loss goals with Yerba being proven to reduce appetite and boost metabolism.
Ingredients: Sparkling purifies water, organic agave syrup, organic grapefruit juice, organic yerba mate extract, organic ginger juice, citric acid, organic caffeine, organic stevia.
Best Adaptogen: Goldmine Adaptogens
Price: $
Taste: 7/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Goldmine was built by women looking for a better way to cope with stress. Their purpose is to help you move, think, create and feel your best all day every day. The powder is the best coffee alternative adaptogen powder that is super tasty (in coffee), tea, smoothies, and anything else you drink. Adding just 1/2 tsp into your brew, whatever it may be, helps manage stress so you can conquer your busy day with ease.
Goldmine has a number of blends of herbs and super mushrooms to boost wellness and build resilience to stress. In their product range they have a Supershroom Immunity Support Powder, an Adaptogen Powder Jar, Adaptogen Powder Sachets and a Forever Fan Bulk Bag of adaptogen powder.
Goldmine Adaptogens have a couple of options in purchasing their epic coffee alternative including a one-off purchase or a 6-weekly subscription which saves you 10% on the standard price of $28USD.
What is so amazing about Goldmine Adaptogens?
For starters, Goldmine Supershroom Immunity Support is a blend of 4 immune boosting mushrooms and herbs paired with lucuma and ginger for a slightly earthy but easy drinking taste. The ingredients in the Goldmine product is super nutrient dense and packed with our favourite anti-inflammatory immune protecting compounds which does wonder for supporting and strengthening the immune system and building a stronger gut-brain connection.
What is another big plus of Goldmine products is that all of their ingredients are USDA certified organic and sourced responsibly from sustainable farms which we absolutely support and love.
On their website, Goldmine has a huge list of amazing recipes that can be made using their powders including our personal favourite – The Brain Power Smoothie.
What is the benefit of Reishi mushrooms?
One if the most used ingredients by Goldmine Adaptogens and in fact many other good coffee alternative powders and drinks is Reishi Mushroom. Reishi mushrooms have many claims to benefit and support healthy immunity, promote longevity, balance hormones, energy, mental clarity, and digestive health. It’s an overall calming herb to help the body feel more at ease.
Reishi really is a wonder herb. It is even regarded as the “herb of spiritual potency” in Chinese Medicine and its bioactive compounds have been studied in depth for anti-cancer properties, immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory benefits, anti-oxidant properties, use for viral and bacterial infections, diabetes applications, liver and gastric benefits and many more claims.
Other studies on Reishi mushrooms look deep into the presence of anti-tumour, anti-microbial, antioxidant and anti-acetylcholinesterase compounds in types of Reishi mushroom. It is quite mind blowing all of the potential health benefits that can be squeezed into a powdered coffee substitute like Goldmine Adaptogens.
Ingredients: Lucuma*, Ginger*, Reishi fruiting body mushroom*, Turkey tail fruiting body mushroom*, Maitake fruiting body mushroom*, Astragalus* all USD Certified Organic
Best Matcha: Pure Chimp Modern Matcha Kit
Price: $
Taste: 5/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Purechimp Matcha green tea powders are the best matcha tea powder we have come across. Purechimp are a UK brand and offer a really good coffee alternative in the form of a healthy matcha powder which makes what is know as a ‘“matcha tea”.
Purechimp have diversified the standard Matcha Powder, which is very popular and can be bought from literally thousands of different brands online, and offer a few really interesting twists on Matcha with flavours like Rooibus Matcha, Turmeric Matcha, Cinnamon Matcha, Mint Matcha, Lemongrass Matcha and your stock standard pure flavour too.
They offer ceremonial grade matcha green tea from Japan – grown without the use of pesticides – and has a strong ability to improve your mood, memory & concentration. Plenty of healthy antioxidants in Matcha and has great metabolism and energy boosting qualities.
As is usually the case with these health conscious brands, Pure Chimps sends 5% of their profits to charity and their Matcha is also packaged in recyclable glass for the jars and compostable packaging for the bags.
What are the benefits of Matcha?
Matcha has an extremely high antioxidant content
As you can see by the image above, Matcha’s main benefit is its extremely high levels of antioxidants, making it a healthy coffee substitute. Although Matcha also contains caffeine, which is important to know if you are looking for a coffee replacement purely to cut out caffeine, it generally contains less caffeine than a large cup of coffee.
Matcha green tea has many purported health benefits which range from improving cardiovascular health to weight loss, to improving skin health. The four different types of Catchetins and Phenolic acids are the secret to the health benefits of matcha tea. These compounds in matcha tea are characterised by high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, in addition to neuro-protective and hypoglycaemic effects.
Ingredients: Organic Matcha Powder
How We Choose The Best Coffee Alternative 2024
The best coffee alternative for some people is the substitute that is the closest in taste to coffee – simply decaf coffee. Although decaf can be found in bulk pretty much anywhere we are exploring actual alternatives to coffee beans in any form. In choosing the best coffee alternative we look for substitutes that are high on taste, high on organic ingredients and well sourced, high on brand ethos and values and reasonably priced. Let’s expand a little on our grounds for picking a good substitute…
Flavour
Taste is, well…individual. But, those who like the taste of coffee will generally like the unique taste of some of the substitutes on our best coffee alternatives list. The taste is definitely one of the largest contributing factors whether you keep coming back to your coffee replacement or you ditch it after a day and return to the trusty brew. It might take you a couple of different choices to find your perfect coffee alternative in 2024. Checkout our pick for the best tasting coffee alternative which is Renude Chaggacino. This drink really is a taste sensation and we think it might be the fact that it is sweetened with Monk Fruit. We will let you decide.
Price
Unfortunately, many of the coffee alternatives out there are also high on price. It is sometimes the case that the price reflects the quality of ingredients used to make the product. Generally, we look for a product that is going to keep you supplied with a coffee substitute for under $40/week. Considering the fact that in our coffee prime, we could easily spend upwards of $60/week on cafe made coffee, it is both a cost saving and a health saving to switch to a coffee alternative that keeps you going for under $40/week. It is difficult to compare the price of some of the coffee substitutes on our list as they come in a variety of forms like powders, sachets, bags and cans making them different serving sizes. Basically, set a budget as you would for any habit.
Ingredients
To keep it simple and healthy, we aim for our coffee alternative to be full of or have at least some certified organic ingredients. If that’s not possible, aim for sustainably sourced. If that’s not possible, at least aim for a list of high quality ingredients that use minimal pesticides and chemicals. Look out for a certified organic, fair trade or sustainably sourced logo.
Brand Ethos
This kind of relates to the ingredients but we are also interested in what our coffee alternative brand is all about. For example, most of the coffee substitutes we have included on our list either have a pledge to a minority group or donate a portion of their profits to a charity. It is important to give back, and we love it when brands not only want people to buy their product but are interested in giving back to the environment and to the world.
What are the benefits of reducing caffeine?
Why drink less coffee?
The main benefits of reducing coffee intake and minimising caffeine are:
Reducing adrenal fatigue and minimising the fight or flight response
Improving sleep quality
Increasing self mastery
Lowering coffee and therefore, caffeine intake, can help to reduce the anxiety associated with the huge boost in energy from drinking coffee or taking caffeinated supplements. If you are already prone to high stress and anxiety it is even more reason to minimise consumption.
By reducing caffeine you are also most likely improving your sleep patterns as coffee has a huge half life meaning it affects sleep if you consume it late in the day. Reducing caffeine can also slow down skin ageing, make your teeth whiter and less stained, improve your absorption of nutrients through better gut health, lower blood pressure and reduce withdrawal headaches after long periods of abstinence.
What are adaptogens and why are they a good coffee replacement?
Adaptogens are straight from nature and come in the form of non-toxic plants that are research has confirmed can help the body resist stressors of all kinds, giving the “adaptive response” in the body. These adaptogens, many of which form the main ingredients in some of the best coffee replacements we have mentioned, have been safely used for centuries in Chinese and Ayurvedic healing traditions, and they are definitely becoming more popular again today. They can be eaten and drank, easily brewed into teas and smoothies in the form of powders and leaves as part of a healthy supplement for improving recovery, sleep and general wellness.
Related Article: Boosting Mental and Physical Performance With Nootropics
Final Word On Best Coffee Alternatives 2024
If you have made it to the end of our best coffee alternative article, we have no doubt you are serious about having a go at minimising your coffee intake. Whether this is for a 2024 New Year resolution, a bet or an biohacking self-experiment, we commend you for trying.
As we have spoken about, we know the challenges in cutting out coffee and also know the importance of finding a great replacement to help you along the way. I honestly can’t look beyond the MUD/WTR morning ritual starter kit as the best coffee alternative right now, with its perfect combo of taste and ease of use.
For all of the products we have mentioned, we recommend doing some of your own research, checking customer reviews and making sure the ingredients fit the bill for your taste. Good luck!
Smarter recovery for humans…
Jayce Love
Jayce has spent the last decade in the military as an elite Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diver and has an ever growing passion for biohacking and recovery for peak performance. Jayce has accreditations in fitness and nutrition, cold water immersion, and regularly adopts human Guinea pig status to test out the latest tools, techniques, practices, gear and gadgets in the name of optimal fitness, recovery and wellness.