Non-coffee Products: Coffee Substitutes

Coffee substitutes are non-coffee products, usually without caffeine, that are used to mimic coffee. Coffee substitutes are used for several reasons which may include; medical, economic and religious reasons or due to unavailability of coffee. Some roasted grain beverages are commonly used as coffee substitute. Coffee substitutes are seldom used to avoid coffee, especially when preparing foods served to children or to people who are allergic to caffeine, or in the belief that they are healthier than coffee.

Some religious sects like Seventh-day Adventists Church and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, abstain from drinking coffee, but some may drink a substitute. Examples Barley cup in the UK. Camp Coffee is a mix of chicory and coffee from the UK, sold since 1876. Nestlé Caro is made of roasted barley, malted barley, chicory, and rye and is used as a coffee substitute. The German-made Pero is another drink made of these same ingredients.

There are many dandelion (or chicory) based powdered coffee substitutes known as dandelion coffee. Inka is a Polish drink made of rye, barley, chicory, and sugar beet, produced since 1971. Ayurvedic Roast is a coffee substitute which borrows from both the American tradition of using roasted barley, rye, and chicory, and the Indian Ayurvedic system of health by adding the traditional herbs of ashwagandha, shatavari, and brahmi. Ersatz is made of roasted rice, roasted peas, and roasted chicory.

Muckefuck, a generic term in Germany for coffee substitutes, possibly from the French "mocca faux". New Life Coffee produces a caffeine free coffee substitute from roasted soybeans. Ricoré is a mix of chicory and coffee from France created in 1953, now produced by Nestlé. Teeccino Caffé produces blends of coffee substitute from a variety of ingredients such as carob, chicory, and dandelion roots. Postum, once popular among Mormons, is made from roasted wheat bran, wheat and molasses.

In the late 1970s, "Sip 'N' Savor," a now defunct coffee substitute that was made, as Inka is, from extracts of roasted barley, rye, chicory, and sugar beets, competed with it, chiefly in the Middle Atlantic States. Choffy is a recent substitute made from cacao and brewed like coffee. Roasted chickpeas were noted as a coffee substitute as early as the 18th century. Modern brands include Bueno Coffee Substitute in the continental United States and Machotes in Puerto Rico.