Alternative to coffee for morning pre-ride ritual?

[54ny77]

I have to scale back my coffee intake significantly, to approximately zero (no coffee or caffeine).

Anyone do this, and what kind of morning drink have you found that gets ya goin'? A smoothie or something of the sort, perhaps?

p.s. also can't be something acidic--that's part of the issue as well.

[goonster]

Celestial Seasonings Roastaroma herbal tea.

I also like barley "tea", but not everyone is into that.

There is some decaf coffee worth drinking, but short of home roasting that can be hard to find.

But, yeah, for "getting going" no-caffeine is tough . . .

[OtayBW]

How about a nice, refreshing Na-bicarbonate 'milkshake'!! :rolleyes:

[SoCalSteve]

I have to scale back my coffee intake significantly, to approximately zero (no coffee or caffeine).

Anyone do this, and what kind of morning drink have you found that gets ya goin'? A smoothie or something of the sort, perhaps?

If you don't mind me asking...why? Heart issues? Are you giving up alcohol as well ( assuming you were a drinker ).

[MattTuck]

Postum, I think, is what Mormons drink. They aren't allowed Caffeine, I believe.

Alternative is just a nice glass of water.

[William]

BLASPHEMY!!!!









:D

William

[gasman]

I drink pretty much only good decaf instead of good caffeinated coffee. Unless I'm going to ride for 4 hours or more, then my excess energy doesn't blow over into the family.
You can find good decaf, it's not the same but it works for me.

[Louis]

Maybe a silly response, and you might not have enough time to do this, but it could be that if you get more sleep you won't need anything at all to "get you going."

In general I've found that more sleep is a good thing. No more 5 hrs / night for me. I did that a lot in college and in my 20's and 30's, but these days I'd be a zombie if I did it for an extended period of time.

[donevwil]

I drink a soy Chai latte, Tazo Chai (from Costco) and unsweetened soy milk (from Trader Joes). Coffee and dairy kill me, although caffeine is not my problem. When I'm sick of that, decaf black tea. When sick of that the wife makes me a double soy macchiato (coffee with caffeine just to remind me why I need to avoid it). Then the cycle starts over again. I've heard good'ish things about this coffee substitute (http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Caffeine-free-Substitute-Ayurvedic-Roast/dp/B00BPISTDQ). Haven't tried it, however.

[ceolwulf]

If you can find 49th Parallel decaf beans, they are the best thing.

I mostly drink black tea now but that doesn't help you ...

[54ny77]

thanks for the ideas.

i'll do some more readin' online.

figured i'd try the cycling-centric folk first.

will have to check with doc on decaf, the acidity is the issue of coffee in general, not just caffeine, so i doubt decaf will get the thumbs up (as much as i'd like that as an alternative).

[stackie]

If it's the acidity that bothers you, you could try cold brew coffee. Much less acid. Can be heated if you want a hot beverage. Still low acid.

BTW, the Mormons have a caffeine exemption on Coca Cola products since the church owns so much stock in Coca Cola.

Jon

[Brian Cdn]

Haven't had a coffee in probably 10 years. Morning drink of choice is water. Occasional midday cup of tea, but that's during the winter.

[joosttx]

I recommend this. They deliver nationwide.


https://www.pressedjuicery.com

[veggieburger]

The Sumatra decaf beans from Sbux are actually half decent..

[stephenmarklay]

I will pray for you.

[johnmdesigner]

...

[oldpotatoe]

Maybe a silly response, and you might not have enough time to do this, but it could be that if you get more sleep you won't need anything at all to "get you going."

In general I've found that more sleep is a good thing. No more 5 hrs / night for me. I did that a lot in college and in my 20's and 30's, but these days I'd be a zombie if I did it for an extended period of time.

"little slices of death"

[bicycletricycle]

When I go no I caffeine I switch to grapefruit juice.

[Louis]

"little slices of death"

not mine:

https://tanyaknguyen88.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/edgar-allen-poes-the-raven.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0d/5d/6a/0d5d6a3d939811eae92a2b0ad6d12ad5.jpg

[54ny77]

I'm sorry, I prefer to not shart in my white Rapha whilst riding in the middle of the roads of Greenwich during morning rush hour (tailed by a support vehicle, of course).

How about a nice, refreshing Na-bicarbonate 'milkshake'!! :rolleyes:

[Kirk007]

doubling down on the cold brew idea if acid not caffeine is the problem. Huge difference in acidity. Absent that, it is amazing to me what a big, cold glass of water will do. I think a lot of sluggishness felt in the morning is as much dehydration as anything else.

[farmersam]

If the issue is acid reflux, you can still consume coffee if done right.
I was on two different proton pump inhibitors for about 8 years and I just got off them about 2 months ago. Stay on them for yours, and you'll have calcium deficiency issues in the long term. Research: deglycyrrhizinated licorice, aloe vera gel capsules, and guaranteed delivery probiotics.

I drink espresso. Less acid. And if your doctor is recommending the purple pill, I'd suggest you try something else. Bad side effects with that one....

[jmal]

Cold water.

[rugbysecondrow]

I have to scale back my coffee intake significantly, to approximately zero (no coffee or caffeine).

Anyone do this, and what kind of morning drink have you found that gets ya goin'? A smoothie or something of the sort, perhaps?

p.s. also can't be something acidic--that's part of the issue as well.


This sounds too simple, but water. I have started alternating cups of coffee with cups water to improve my hydration and I have found that the water gets my body going. More than just the coffee. If I had to cut out coffee, I would just drink extra water and do 5-10 min of morning stretches to get moving.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[benb]

Doing a lot of water lately but some coffee-like beverages that can be tasty (after withdrawal passes, a lot of the coffee love is addiction IME):

Inka
Teecino
Someone mentioned postum already

Lots of good herbal teas out there although some of that stuff has health effects too!

[ptourkin]

Yerba mate.

[cp43]

I usually have orange juice. I'm not sure where that lands on the acidity scale though.

[earlfoss]

I haven't looked too closely at this thread but there's always Chickory (I've never had it).
http://www.seriouseats.com/images/20101209chicorycoffee_500w.jpg

[tiretrax]

If the issue is acid reflux, you can still consume coffee if done right.
I was on two different proton pump inhibitors for about 8 years and I just got off them about 2 months ago. Stay on them for yours, and you'll have calcium deficiency issues in the long term. Research: deglycyrrhizinated licorice, aloe vera gel capsules, and guaranteed delivery probiotics.

I drink espresso. Less acid. And if your doctor is recommending the purple pill, I'd suggest you try something else. Bad side effects with that one....

Magnesium deficiency and anemia can be side effects, also.

I start the day with a large glass of water and don't drink coffee until mid-morning. Some coffee is good for prostate health, according to recent articles.

[8aaron8]

Somebody above mentioned Yerba Mate which works great for an entire country (Argentina), I would also recommend making vegetable juice if you have a juicer. That not only gets you going but also gives you a great boost of vitamins and minerals.

[farmersam]

I usually have orange juice. I'm not sure where that lands on the acidity scale though.

If I want to feel like someone is stabbing my chest, sides, and upper back with hundreds of sewing pins at once, OJ is the ticket. :)

[charliedid]

Fresh veggie juice always makes me feel more alive. Get a juicer.

[druptight]

If I want to feel like someone is stabbing my chest, sides, and upper back with hundreds of sewing pins at once, OJ is the ticket. :)

Ditto, and if you add champagne for a little mimosa action, it's like my torso is a powder keg waiting to explode.

[MagicHour]

I got off coffee a couple of months ago-was having stomach issues and got into Tea, Chinese and Japanese greens, pu-erh and black tea.

If you have to nix caffeine completely though, then herbal teas are your only option. Certain teas however, have much lower caffeine content than coffee, such as Chinese green or white.

There also seems to be some legit science supporting the various touted health benefits of tea such as lowering bad cholesterol and blood pressure, boosting metabolism, brain function, mood, etc.

[MadRocketSci]

http://www.startrek.com/uploads/assets/db_articles/b89f31a85da7290ddecdad44f2628c17e208901f.jpg

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

or Matcha.

[benb]

Certain teas however, have much lower caffeine content than coffee, such as Chinese green or white.


While most brewed tea does have less caffeine than the same volume of coffee there are a bunch of tea myths that tea sellers seem to love to promote.

- Tea leaves have more caffeine than Coffee beans per mass, but you use less to make tea
- Green & White teas don't really have much less caffeine than black tea
- You can't decaffeinate tea much at all with methods like a "pre-steep"
- Tea caffeine content depends on a lot of variables.

Bottom line particularly when you get into fancy loose leaf teas it's easy to end up with a cup with a serious amount of jolt.

Couple of good studies..

http://www.elmwoodinn.com/about/caffeine.html

http://jat.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/8/702.full.pdf

[54ny77]

Charlie do you drink it with or without pulp, or is that one of those things I'll just have to figure out depending on ingredients?

Thanks for the suggestion.

Fresh veggie juice always makes me feel more alive. Get a juicer.

[charliedid]

Charlie do you drink it with or without pulp, or is that one of those things I'll just have to figure out depending on ingredients?

Thanks for the suggestion.

We use this one so most of the pulp is removed. It's a masticating/ Auger style so it does leafy greens well and in theory can do nut butters. We have not had success making peanut butter but have not tried that hard. http://www.amazon.com/Omega-J8004-Nutrition-Commercial-Masticating/dp/B001RLYOEE/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1438283040&sr=1-3&keywords=omega


I still drink coffee even though I have a cardiac condition that is somewhat exacerbated by caffeine. I need to stay super hydrated anyway so my docs say not to worry about a couple cups of coffee per day.

That said we occasionally do a juice fast, and usually skip the coffee when doing so. I find that fresh juice (I'm fond of carrot,beet,celery and apple) gives me way more energy first thing in the morning vs coffee. If I wasn't so crazy for good coffee, I would juice every morning and have my first coffee around 10AM I'm working on it.

It takes quite a few veggies, especially the carrots to make two 12 oz glasses of juice. The beets are minimal as is the apple, which adds a great flavor IMO. Some people even do peppers etc.

Anyway there are plenty of options and the debate is on as to how much pulp to preserve.

Good luck, juicing can be rewarding if a bit time consuming.

[retrofit]

If I'm out of coffee or simply need a "lift" but don't want to drink coffee, I have a cup of Ginseng Peppermint Tea (http://www.republicoftea.com/ginseng-peppermint/p/v00679/) (tea bag or loose leaf) by The Republic of Tea.

I experience a sense of alertness without the coffee buzz (not that there is anything wrong with that).

There are also (alleged) heath benefits from both ginseng (https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/beverage/health-benefits-of-ginseng-tea.html) and peppermint (https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/beverage/peppermint-tea.html).

[dpk501]

I would go Matcha Green Tea

Adequate caffeine, good antioxidants, slight bitter taste reminding me of coffee and you can make it a latte if you choose!!!

thanks for the ideas.

i'll do some more readin' online.

figured i'd try the cycling-centric folk first.

will have to check with doc on decaf, the acidity is the issue of coffee in general, not just caffeine, so i doubt decaf will get the thumbs up (as much as i'd like that as an alternative).

[Louis]

http://s7.vitaminshoppe.com/is/image/VitaminShoppe/1577253_set?$PDPSKU$

[Waldo]

Alternative to coffee for morning pre-ride ritual is to make it post-ride ritual...