Coffee substitutes

[East_TN_Patriot]

I happened across this a while back and thought it might be of interest to folks here. It's a brief list of coffee substitutes published in Southern newspapers during the Civil War when coffee was in short supply. I sure hope we don't ever see those days again.

http://44tennessee.tripod.com/dutchman/jan0002.html

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Well one item on the list that ain't bad, though no caffeine-- Chickory. It is still a standard additive to new orleans style coffee. When I was a teen in new orleans the coffee with chickory served at the cafe du monde was brewed strong enough to grow hair on yer chest. Nowadays they sell the cafe du monde coffee with chickory at the grocery and I routinely drink it. Sometimes "straight" and sometimes a mix along with something like the "chock full o nuts" new york brand coffee that ain't too bad. Am not much really a coffee savant though. Have tried various exotic and spensive coffees, and served black I can't tell that they are any better tasting. Though of course there are some medium-or-cheap brands that taste truly awful.

Edited May 5, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[Moped]

I've had chicory coffee and it's not really a taste I care for. Personally, if I couldn't drink real coffee, I'd rather drink tea. Now if I couldn't get real coffee or tea then chicory, more than likely would be my third choice. Coffee in tins would be another post apocalyptic barter item, that would be good to have around, along with silver, liquor, cigarettes, aspirin and bolts of cotton and wool cloth.

Edited May 5, 2012 by Moped

[Trekbike]

Speaking of coffee, do you guys drink it for the taste, the caffeine, or both?

I'm pushing 50 and never took to coffee. My caffeine choice was diet sodas. I was to the point if I didn't have my diet coke by a certain time in the morning I'd end up with a headache most of the day. Decided I didn't like to be that dependent on it so I gave it up. I will drink a diet caffeine free soda maybe about 1-2 times a month now. Most of the time I just drink water or caffeine free tea. Glad I gave up the caffeine so now all I get is what is naturally in the foods I eat.

[Lumber_Jack]

I like coffee for the taste but also like the caffeine. I can go without it though, my day isn't ruined without coffee even though I drink it most days.

I really enjoy a good coffee brewed correctly. But I like any old coffee as well as long as its not too watery.

[Moped]

I drink it for the taste (black). I usally drink one regular cup in the morning and then decaf the rest of the day. I will also have a cup of tea in the morning as well.

[East_TN_Patriot]

I drink it for the taste and the caffeine. I also think it's a psychological thing since I really enjoy a hot cup of black coffee. I love the smell and the taste. I might try some of those just for the heck of it. I guess if the coffee supply dried up, I'd rather have a similar substitute for the psychological factor than be miserable without it. I've never been a tea drinker, but if that was around, I'd probably be as likely to switch to that as any of the coffee substitutes.

[MacGyver]

I drink "French Market" brand coffee that I get at Publix. I really enjoy a coffee/chicory blend, though I like all kinds of coffee.

One thing about chicory, is it will really stretch your coffee. I do an over pour through a single cup filter most mornings, as I'm the only one in our house who drinks it. I use a third to a half of the volume of grounds I would use with normal ground coffee. If I make it with two teaspoons of grounds like you'd use with regular coffee, it's so strong and dark that it'll literally stain a white ceramic coffee cup. Incidentally, though it's lower in caffeine.

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

I have always been a coffee drinker but go through phases with it. I DO have to have at least one cup each morning to get going but then in the warmer months that may be all I drink all day. In the colder months I will drink the stuff all day long. I also LOVE the Chicory stuff and I am currently enjoying some that 56FordGuy gave me from somewhere that he had found it.

I too will mostly use it to add flavor to regular coffee but also really like it straight. Mostly I drink my coffee black but then there are phases where I want sugar or cream or both. I have also tried all sorts of beans and have found very few that I dont like.

Some folks always have said that they like their coffee just like their women; sweet and blonde, well I too like my coffee just like my women; ANY way that I can get them.

But like I said I go through phases, it is now nearly 10PM and Oddly enough right before I opened this thread I had put on a partial pot with a tad of Chicory in it. My wife says that the Chicory tastes like tree bark and I totally agree, I just happen to really like the taste of tree bark. The caffeine has never kept me from sleeping. But WAY more than coffee is my tea, I love sweet tea best but would rather have even un-sweet tea than anything else to drink.....well at least since I gave up beer anyway.

Even in Iraq I used my coffee pot to make tea to freeze to take on missions rather than just water although I drank more water when I was there than I ever have in my life.

Anyone who knows me knows that I dont go anywhere without at least a 32ounce cup of tea and I actually prefer a 64ounce mug as a constant companion.

I am driving tomorrow nearly 700 miles round trip to pick up a handgun from another member and I already have a gallon jug a bit over half full freezing as we speak. In the morning I will add some unfrozen tea to it in order to fill the jug and will have my small ice cooler and 64 ounce mug with me in the car. I dont know just when I became this way but even when I did drink a lot of beer. The only liquids that I consumed was beer coffee and tea. My only milk intake was when eating my beloved Wheaties just as it is now. I do also get a lot of milk because I think that everything tastes better with cheese on it.

OK I know that is more info than was asked for and my coffee is ready, catch ya's on another thread in a a few.

[Moped]

64 oz of tea+700 miles= many pit stops for me!!!

[Oh Shoot]

I like good coffee of all kinds, generally settle for middle of the road, like Folger's drip for day to day. I do generally keep some Luzianne w/chickory around too.

All that said, the caffeine is important too: I have been known in a hurry to just mix a glass of instant with tap water and knock it back just purely for the drug. So there's no substitute for the caffeine after SHTF, either I got it or I don't.

- OS

Edited May 6, 2012 by OhShoot

[Timestepper]

I do generally keep some Luzianne w/chickory around too.

- OS

Back when I was working construction I used to live on Luzianne coffee and I still enjoy the occasional cup.

Big thing with me is that after I got heavy into experimental archeology and living history and started harvesting (digging, roasting & grinding) chicory root for my own use just to make what meager coffee supplies I carried last longer... well, it didn't take long to realize that there's a big difference between drinking it because I wanted to and drinking it because it was either that or go without.

In other words,as much as I used to love chicory coffee and would take it over a regular cup any day, there came a time when I absolutely despised it and would have given all the chicory in the world plus a flintlock rifle and a good mule for a pound of pure unadulterated coffee beans - even if I had to roast them myself in a frying pan.

I found the O.P. quite interesting - never tried the sweet potatoes, but it's something to keep in mind I guess - but my advice to those planning/preparing for an eventual SHTF/TEOTWAKI scenario would be to forget the store-bought, chicory laced stuff and try harvesting/preparing your own. There's no big trick to it and chicory grows all over the place. If you really like the taste of chicory coffee, it's a great way to save money, plus you'll have the bragging rights of having done it yourself. Otherwise, you might as well start now in preparing and planning for the time when coffee of any kind is worth its weight in gun powder and gold...

[Moped]

Wonder how much a 50lb bag of coffee beans costs and how long it would store? Also wonder how long it would last once TEOTWAWKI happened? Let's see, I am the only one in the family "addcted" to it....

[Timestepper]

Wonder how much a 50lb bag of coffee beans costs and how long it would store? Also wonder how long it would last once TEOTWAWKI happened? Let's see, I am the only one in the family "addcted" to it....

Generally, coffee will store quite well if kept dry. Keep it sealed in a plastic food grade bucket and it should keep for a loooooong time.

Maybe the real question(s) isn't what it costs now, but how much will it be worth after SHTF? There's a thread about liquor as barter, but personally, I'd be inclined to think that coffee will be worth more - ultimately, booze is relatively easy to make, but coffee is going to get real scarce, real quick and I know more folks who "can't do without" their coffee than I do those who can't do without alcohol.

Just something to think about...

[Moped]

This is true! However, really when you think about it, coffee is a comfort food, only. Alcohol can be used for medical purposes, as fuel, as a cleaner, and for comfort. If i were looking to make a trade for either alcohol or coffee, then alcohol is the winner hands down. Alcohol would be much more important to ease of living.

You are right though. Alcohol can be made, but coffee can't be grown here... or could it? Wonder if coffee could be raised in the smokies? Also I wonder how many people really know how to make alcohol.

[Timestepper]

More than know how to grow coffee, I'd wager.

Funny thing: In the historic journals, diaries, etc... I've read, more folks complained about the cost or lack of availability of coffee than about the cost or lack of availability of alcohol.

Not saying that alcohol isn't a good thing to have on hand, but when it comes to comfort items (which are at least as important for mental health as actual survival supplies) I'll take a good pot of coffee over a gallon of booze. If only because I've never yet seen anyone turn into a raging @sshole and threatening bodily harm from drinking too much coffee.

Edited May 6, 2012 by Timestepper

[Moped]

I've seen people at work, act that way in the morning if the regular coffee is gone!!!

[Timestepper]

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Maybe an intermediate step to growing chicory, never thought about it. I don't recall seeing pure chicory for sale at the grocery but it might make sense to have separate can of chicory? Dump in a "full caffeine dose" of real coffee in the coffee maker than dump in an extra scoop of chicory on top for taste, rather than buying the chicory coffee (potentially lower caffeine dose) off the shelf?

Haven't ever looked it up, whether he is correct or not Dr. Dean Edell on the radio has claimed that coffee contains numerous anti-oxidants, that people who drink a few cups of coffee per day likely get more anti-oxidants from the coffee than anything else in their diet.

I like coffee but if ever had medical orders to stop caffeine (and I obeyed the orders), then I would stop drinking coffee rather than waste money on decaf. Maybe there is good tasting decaf somewhere, or maybe caffeine is part of the good taste of coffee? If I'm visiting somebody or at a restaurant or gas station and all they have is decaf, then I'll take water rather than drink that decaf swill. Guess when it comes right down to it, caffeine is the most important part of coffee to me.

I always had "excessive daytime sleepiness" which the doctor blames on some kind of brain damage from years of untreated sleep apnea. Had it some even as a teen and recent years it gets worse every year. Some is dependent on set and setting. If working on a hobby am less likely to nod out than working on work. If working on interesting work or a novel problem, am less likely to nod out than working on tedious and boring monkey work. But barring some unforseen future problem, the thing that will eventually force me into retirement is when I finally can't stay awake long enough to get any work done even if I sit at the desk most of the day and evening alternately working and napping. Which may not be too far in the future. So the caffeine is an important part of making a living one might argue.

Drugs affect everybody slightly different, and most drugs have a significant placebo effect. With MANY drugs half or more of the effectiveness comes from a person expecting the drug to work. As long as it works, maybe it doesn't ultimately matter if it is "all in the mind" psychosomatic. However, sometimes wonder if caffeine is not the only stimulant alkaloid in coffee? Long ago in college tried nodoz pills, but its been decades since taking nodoz. Nodoz supposedly has the same caffeine dose as a cup of coffee but nodoz had no noticeable effect except to induce diarhea. So either coffee has a stronger placebo effect than nodoz, or coffee has more active alkaloids than just the caffeine? Dunno.

Think I heard about some research that just the smell of coffee will wake people up, but perhaps that can be entirely explained by pavlovian conditioning and has little to do with placebo effect per se. The pavolovian learned response a slightly different effect than a placebo effect.

Some folks get a boost from high caffeine sodas like Mountain Dew or Jolt Cola, but those don't seem as effective to me as strong black coffee. Some folks get an alertness boost from a shot of sugar, but sugar/carbs put me to sleep, so perhaps the sugar in jolt cola offsets the caffeine effect. OTOH Diet Mountain Dew ought to have a bigger effect than I've ever noticed, if the caffeine dose is the only thing going on. If I'm trying to get any work done I can't eat anything. Eat breakfast or lunch and it puts me out like a light for a couple of hours. Wait til work is done to eat.

Strong non-sugared dark bitter chocolate seems to have some stimulant effect, but dunno if that is caffeine or some other chemical. It doesn't seem a reliable enough jolt for me to try routinely nibbling some dark chocolate, though dark chocolate at bed time seems to make it hard to go to sleep, so there must be a little effect to dark chocolate. There are enough chocoholics in the world that a stash of cocoa or pure dark baker's chocolate might be a good SHTF trade good?

[R_Bert]

Back when I was a kid, my family used to steep sassafras roots to make tea 20 gallons at a time. Now, commercial sale of it is banned by the FDA. All the good things in life are health hazards....

[Jamie Jackson]

I'm having my "morning Joe" as I type this . I usually drink 2 cups a day, sometimes 3. But I need at least a 10 hour break from any caffeine prior to trying to sleep. But (psychologically or physiologically) I need my morning caffeine to kick my brain into gear.

A caffeine headache is a real phenomenon if your body (CNS) is used to (some say addicted to) caffeine. Whatever...I do love the stuff.

We keep a couple of cases (#10 cans) of Aldi's coffee in the pantry. It is in a metal can, but with the foil top. It'll stay fresh tasting for several years. Some vendors still make #10 cans of coffee that has the metal top (the type requiring a can opener), and I've had coffee stored that way that still tasted fresh after 5+ years. I've read others state they've kept the metal topped cans and used them with good results even after 10 years.

We also have a fair amount of instant freeze dried coffee (stored in 5 gallon buckets in Mylar with o2 absorbers) put back. I've had instant coffee in C-Rats that was well in excess of 15 years old that still delivered my caffeine dose...but face it, C-Rat coffee is simply a "caffeine delivery unit" (cdu) and not much else.

And we keep some vacuum sealed No Doz tablets in our stores as a last ditch cdu.

Tea stores well in vac sealed form and will last a long time.

Another option is to store green coffee beans. They supposedly can be stored for 20+ years, and then simply roast them prior to use. Here's a link to one vender: MRE Depot.

Another source for green beans is Sweet Maria's.

I appreciate the alternatives suggestions and discussion, but as long as I can have a familiar form of caffeine available (i.e. coffee), I'm gonna stick with that. When I see I'm running out in an EOTWAWKI ? I guess I'm gonna have to detox myself because caffeine is certainly my "drug of choice"!

[Moped]

Your drug of choice along with just about every member here, I'd say, including me! LOL! Thanks for the info about storing coffee beans. BTW, does the Aldi's coffee come in tin cans? And is it good? What is the cost? I'm always searching for new brands to try and I like the coffee tins. They are a handy reuse item.

I was on a field trip with my daughter's class up to Rock Mount State Historical Site this week, and they demonstrated how coffee was made back in 1791. The green beans were bought or traded for. When it was time for use, then they were roasted in a pan or skillet over an open fire. Then ground in a hand cranked grinder and boiled in a pot to produce coffee. Then you poured the coffee through a "sifter" (which looked like a small straw basket with a handle on it) into your cup. Coffee was a treat back then and probably would be in a TEOTWAWKI situation as well.

This talk of coffee leads me to another item that will be found in short supply, sugar. Sugar will be another item that will be hard to replicate in a possible post apocalyptic time. They talked about it as well. Sugar was another item that was traded for. Refined sugar (white) came in a hard cone shaped lump and was wrapped in waxed indigo paper, to repel moisture and bugs. Bugs apparently do not like indigo. It was used as a sweetener for tea and coffee and I guess from some special dishes as well. It was pointed out though, that brown sugar was what was used in cooking. Brown sugar is considered unrefined sugar and is apparently easier to make. I also know that sugar was made from different kinds of plants like beets and sugar cane. You all now know as much as I know about sugar, now. Do any of you farmer types know if those plants grow naturally around here? As to indigo, I know that back in the 18th and 19th centurries, it was grown in SC. Can it be grown here?

Edited May 12, 2012 by Moped

[Jamie Jackson]

Your drug of choice along with just about every member here, I'd say, including me! LOL! Thanks for the info about storing coffee beans. BTW, does the Aldi's coffee come in tin cans? And is it good? What is the cost? I'm always searching for new brands to try and I like the coffee tins. They are a handy reuse item.

You're welcome.

The Aldi coffee comes in #10 cans and when we last purchased, it was $5.49/can. That's why we buy it by the case or flat (6 cans). We like it much better than Folgers or Maxwell house.

And yep, I use the cans in my reloading area, for nuts/bolts/screws and a number of other things as well.

We also have several 5 gallon buckets of granulated sugar...in Mylar, but no o2 absorber as they'll turn the sugar into a rock solid block. It doesn't harm it, but you'll have to bust it up or re-grind it.

And we store honey as well. I prefer the taste of honey to sugar in my coffee and quite a few foods we prepare. Honey is also historically very useful for wound treatment. It was highly prized by Roman soldiers for their wound care "kits". (We still use refined sugar in wound care...not frontline, but in wounds that are difficult to heal.)

That alone has me considering the possibly of keeping bees. But, barring that, honey does essentially have an indefinite shelf life.

We keep Sue Bee honey, from Sam's. It, unlike many brands, is all USA made and not imported Chinese trash. I also have a few quarts of local honey related to it's purported ability to decrease responses to regional allergens.

Stevia is an option we are considering trying to grow. I certainly don't care for it nearly as much as honey, or even refined sugar...but it is an option.

Edited May 12, 2012 by prag

[Moped]

Sounds like I will be making a trip to Aldi's! That's a good price on their coffee!

[East_TN_Patriot]

Funny thing: In the historic journals, diaries, etc... I've read, more folks complained about the cost or lack of availability of coffee than about the cost or lack of availability of alcohol.

This is likely due to the reality that we can't effectively grow coffee in the United States and it must be imported from the coffee producing regions of the world that ranges between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. There are some websites that discuss home-growing your own coffee, but it appears that it requires a tremendous amount of effort, perfect growing conditions accomplished in a controlled environment, and a bit of luck. One site I saw said that out of 20 seeds planted only a couple actually sprouted at all; the rest rotted in the dirt. One successful person I saw grows them in a greenhouse and manages to get a few pounds of green coffee beans per year.