Coffee Substitutes: Tasted and Explained

[@jameshoffmann]

Sorry - the grinder link wasn’t there initially, but here it is: gleam.io/QyqMD/win-a-baratza-encore-510 It’s in the description now too - apologies!

[@alexrobertson35]

took me a minute to realise you meant _coffee_ grinder

[@mirran4]

Where did you get the cup in the tumbnail? The print on it is amazing

[@lottepups9503]

@@mirran4 It‘s from tenshundredsthousands, link is in the description!

[@icewolfy1]

Iceland isn't on the list! :(

[@luisefrainsantiagocolon9018]

Here in Puerto Rico Café de Garbanzo (Chickpea Coffee) is a very common coffee substitute.

[@raphaelbelanger6764]

James describing coffee : It has some tropical fruit sweetness, with a bit of tangy mandarin and blood orange notes. It's very clean and balanced. James describing coffee substitues : It tastes of brown.

[@godshredder]

thing is so good it makes you feel synesthesia

[@nobodynothingberg4886]

Elitism

[@lizzieb7373]

And we all knew exactly what he meant by brown 🤣

[@raphaelbelanger6764]

@@lizzieb7373 Yes we did

[@xSaraxMxNeffx]

i mean sometimes shit just tastes brown. its like how there was legit a Red flavored koolaid.

[@NicholasLYang]

"I wouldn't say I'm a coffee roaster " - James Hoffmann, co-owner and founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters

[@ryanehlers1081]

This man's definition of doing a thing scares me

[@hjelliottca]

Just because a person owns a business doesn't make that person a professional in the industry that the company is in. For example, the owner of a private college is not necessarily a teacher, the owner of a clothing store is not necessarily a tailor/seamstress, etc. He is certainly a professional in the coffee industry, but roaster is not his metier.

[@hjelliottca]

@Steven Zepeda Oh of course. And he, without a doubt, said that on purpose to make people think. But I'd say that he would never want to be in charge of roasting at his roasting company. There is another individual who is probably far better suited. I know from my experiences running businesses, there were tasks that I knew enough about to do on occasion and there were other tasks that I knew enough about to stay clear from them.

[@tijmen131]

@@hjelliottca than again, an owner of a clothing store doesn't really need knowledge about tailoring. With a Specialty Coffee industry it's different, because roasting coffee heavily impacts the end result of the taste and quality. If you want to run a specialty coffee business successfully, you have to understand and know roasting. I'm betting James does know the basics

[@markoduvall]

@StevenZepeda Agreed, for this experiment, his knowledge gained from being around professional roasters would help a lot. He may not be a professional roaster, but I guarantee, when you have a curiosity so profound, you would ask those roasters tons of questions on how it works. Also, his curiosity took him to reading books that were probably very old. He's like the guy who makes good cupcakes, but there's a lady down the road who makes orgasmic cupcakes.

[@PhaTs00p]

Ohh dandelion root coffee. I remember watching a "Peter Lustig" video as a wee lad 25 years ago. He advertised dandelion root as a coffee substitute. So I took my mum and a shovel to dig up all the dandelions around our house. I cut off the roots, cleaned them and then under parental supervision roasted them to perfection. I ground them with the antique coffee grinder from my grand-grandmother. I prepared a brew with melitta filters and a red filter basket, not unlike the drinkups. I was pretty adamant that this would be the best coffee my parents ever had but as it turned out many years later they were only pretending to like my brew. I was a child so I obviously couldn't drink my own coffee myself back then. To this day, when I see a large dandelion plan I think to myself: "I bet this has a large root".

[@flibflob2785]

Und jetzt? Richtig: Abschalten!

[@stellaotto5654]

🤣great story

[@FrancisR420]

Why couldn't you have the coffee substitute?

[@thisguy4614]

That's a good family! Keeping a happy face to show appreciation, even when they are drinking a new drink hyped up as an alternative to the usual dirt water! Good for you to for making the effort haha!

[@joyphil4399]

That is adorable

[@09britfred]

I have found myself going from a coffee enthusiast drinking coffee every day to diagnosed with a chronic illness that prevents caffeine consumption. Like... not even the minimal amount in decaf. So I want to drink a coffee substitute to feel like I still have my coffee tradition. Thanks for this video

[@ADHDad]

I have a new crippling fear.

[@borrellipatrick]

I used to love drinking coffee every day but eventually got diagnosed with crohn's. Coffee, soda and alcohol would hurt my stomach the most 🙁 Started watching this channel because I just like watching him talk about coffee

[@bena2591]

Sorry to hear that. I wanted to reduce my caffeine consumption - and tried them all - best replacement I found was instant Dandyblend. Can adjust from "espresso" to normal coffee, use cold and hot and is not as bitter as many of the alternatives we saw here. 100% caffeine free. Health benefits too btw. Is it coffee? For SURE not, but I like it and it fills a "coffee-like" spot for me that the alternatives just turned into bitter, brown water.

[@juliand3565]

I feel that. I can at least occasionally drink a coffee but there are risks to it like dying in my sleep 😊 Haven’t watched the video yet but hoping theres something cool there

[@SleeplessinOC]

@@bena2591 have you tried barley coffee and chickpea too ? I’m trying to avoid as much trial and error so that I waste the least amount of time , money and effort . I have only tried chicory and that was a no for me. Too much gas.

[@j3ff_k_610]

I work in specialty coffee here in the UK, and my friend's in the industry are always shocked when I tell them that I do often enjoy a chicory/coffee blend instant at home... Coming from South Africa we have many as there was a lot of chicory farming, especially in the Eastern Cape and coffee was an expensive commodity. But something about the flavour really transports me back to my grandmother's kitchen and that feeling of familiarity is why I enjoy it... Does it replace my enjoyment of a good single origin coffee... No, but it does evoke nostalgia and it is rather enjoyable...

[@scottscottsdale7868]

Chicory is used today in Madagascar. At my in laws I had some in my coffee this morning. Very nice.

[@dreamervanroom]

Me too.

[@arghyadeepjana]

80/20 70/30 coffee/chicory is pretty regular in india

[@davidpower1066]

I love how the peanut drink says "No beans. It''s nuts." because peanuts aren't nuts but are technically beans lol.

[@adamwolach]

And coffee isn't beans it's seeds lol

[@davidpower1066]

@@adamwolach Lol meant to say that too. It's catchy but totally off lol.

[@Sumanitu]

@@adamwolach Thanks for making me google this. Now I know that ALL beans including coffee are "pod borne seeds"

[@sketchur]

@@adamwolach But coffee beans are actually berries?

[@adamwolach]

@@sketchur You're right that the whole fruit pod is a berry, and the seed of that is what we process for coffee.

[@andrecormier8822]

James, I’m surprised you did not explore ‘brewing cacao’ as a coffee alternative. This deserves your attention.

[@elliefafellie]

Interesting that you mention this. I have a cacao shell tea from Oliver Pluff & Co that is quite interesting. It tastes like cacao nibs, more or less. Apparently Martha Washington drank it every morning.

[@andrecormier8822]

@@elliefafellie yea, nice! We’re chocolate makers here in Canada and we have tones of cacao shells as the byproduct of the process, but it also has lots of nib dust in it too, which makes an even more nib-by, cacao-y tasting brew. I have that every morning. Fun fact about the First Lady Washington!

[@BuPsychBass]

I came here to say this... Seems we're still waiting. 👍🏼

[@IceColdGamingx]

Yep, although it does have a little kick to it surprisingly from the theobromine which really solidifies it as a true coffee alternative

[@firewordsparkler]

I wonder if this is because cacao has caffeine in it

[@GeorgeBobeck]

I’d love to see him test the mushroom coffee substitutes.

[@avastasiw4954]

Yeah, where's the Chaga? Isn't it all the rage?

[@Snuzzled]

Yeah I was hoping to see the mushroom coffee. Maybe it's not a thing where he lives?

[@sandrayaskow309]

Yes please review the mushroom coffees!

[@brianbuday8639]

Yuk!😝

[@tara_nicole7]

Or Laird's yes I'd love to see that too!

[@wazuppaz]

In the Philippines, we have rice coffee (Kapeng Bigas) which came about sometime during the World War when rations were not common. Interesting to note, that we not only drink this BUT also pour it over hot rice to eat.

[@Ambicrush]

Yeass why not make pearly rice bitter.

[@karlanthonymargate7362]

Was probably introduced by the Japanese too. May mga tea sa Japan na may kasamang roasted rice and lasa siyang kapeng bigas

[@dreamervanroom]

The Japanese pour green tea over rice.

[@KonradParzymieso]

I loved drinking those as a child, when my parents would drink coffee visiting family I would be offered one of those non-caffeine drinks felt great to be included in the coffee drinking experience and having my own cup of hot beverage to go with the cake

[@Abrankod]

I also had this same enjoyment. I felt so grown up having "coffee" with the adults!

[@unvergebeneid]

I just plain liked the taste as a child. I did not like coffee.

[@zaitx]

The first three products types are popular in Poland, they are colled "Kawa zbożowa" Cereal coffee is made from roasted seeds of rye, wheat, barley, as well as plants such as chicory, dandelion root and beetroot. In Poland we drink it with sugar and milk. Popular brands are "Anatol" or "Inka".

[@danielu6431]

When i saw this video the first thing that came to mind was Inka. My Polish colleague had me try some. It was good. The best one is the milk flavoured Inka which is hard to find; I visited Krakow and went to a few shops but couldn't find it :(

[@zaitx]

@@danielu6431 The best way it to buy it on amazon or allegro :)

[@wszhou]

James' supersonic slurp and look of horrified disgust from a drink in one video? You have been treating us, James.

[@rainingice-]

That first slurp was so aggressive that made me jump and yelp haha

[@jordanmckay7037]

I've cupped coffee for a few years and have NEVER heard a slurp like that one. Absolutely tremendous

[@LuckyNumber48]

It sounded like flushing the toilet on a plane

[@Palatium0]

@@LuckyNumber48 now I visualized it. I read this moment as "I did it for you, so if you were curious , please don't make yourself suffer like this."

[@madeleinenutting5330]

I can’t watch these while my boyfriend is home..even from 3 rooms away the slurping drives him bananas

[@peter_smyth]

When is James going to start getting knitwear sponsorships?

[@aiocafea]

didn't he already with the coffee bad christmas jumper?

[@classicrockonly]

I started to scroll through suggestions for my next video and came across a slew of ads for knitted sweaters lol

[@oldskooljules]

NEEDS MOAR CABLE KNITS!

[@gdmonroy]

Uniqlo should do it xD

[@RavenMEvans]

Hey James. Fun fact -- in New Orleans, we still mix coffee and chicory and It's become a tradition now. Matter of fact, Cafe du Monde serves their cafe au laits with chicory in it!

[@anitapaulsen3282]

And its delicious! Together with a beignet. 😊

[@jinxtacy]

It kind of makes sense when I look at phin coffees with Cafe du Monde and condesed milk. I should have guessed that perhaps there was a French influence. I'll have to dig some more on the subject.

[@msdixie1972]

@@anitapaulsen3282Johm johm

[@monkiram]

We tried "barley coffee" when we were in Portugal and Italy and fell in love with it. It is slightly sweet so you have to cut down the amount of sugar you add. But it tastes kind of like a coffee dessert and it's caffeine-free. I love it more than coffee

[@remij9592]

Where do you get it in the states?

[@Tomp4ul]

Barley tea is delicious too, got introduced to it by my dad after he visited Japan

[@SleeplessinOC]

Hi what brand do you recommend for those who live in the US?

[@monkiram]

@@remij9592 We've been ordering it from amazon. We get the nestle brand because it's instant and we're lazy lol, plus that's the one we tried in Europe. But they do have ones that you actually brew like coffee which I assume is better like brewed coffee is better than instant coffee but I've never actually tried so that's just a guess

[@terrahoy6615]

"if it wasn't spiced, it would just taste like the color brown" - james hoffman 2020

[@AllDayBikes]

Technology Connections wants to know your location

[@imightbebiased9311]

This is how I describe flavors of Gatorade.

[@rnghwdbcs]

It's called synesthesia

[@terrahoy6615]

@@AllDayBikes so then he can explain to me how location tracking works? Heck yeah

[@AllDayBikes]

@@terrahoy6615 That would actually be great haha

[@Kaiser68]

This channel is basically James taking slurps of things, then saying "This... No..."

[@sarahhamed4496]

😂

[@chiamiaoliu414]

This comment is gold…so true and so hilarious 😂.

[@florisb1]

"It's okay!"

[@Caltelt]

Can't wait for the decaf episodes. There's a severe lack of info on quality decaf on the net.

[@TheOriginal_BigMac]

There's a good reason for this

[@Sally4th_]

Same. For medical reasons I have to keep my caffeine intake low. I'll be very interested to see James's take on the various options.

[@damfadd]

@@Sally4th_ so watching a coffee channel us the best way to keep your caffeine intake down one might say zero!

[@Adam-ox6zy]

Yeah me too. As much as I love my (caffeinated) coffee, there are times when I like to and need to switch it out for decaf.

[@SantiagogranadosR]

I just recently bought decaf for first time l, it’s a Swiss water technique, with origin coffee, and found it great! Can’t wait for those videos🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻!!

[@Jeni10]

I don’t think of them as coffee substitutes but rather hot drinks in their own right. When I drink Ecco, I drink it for its own flavour and to take a break from coffee, which, in the long run, helps you appreciate coffee anew when you go back to drinking it. I also like to explore tisanes sometimes.

[@carlosg.ramirezarevalo8921]

Me pasa lo mismo, me gusta beber Ecco por su gusto a tostado con un cierto matiz a miel, caramelo y cereal, me evoca sensaciones de mi niñez cuando tus padres lo compraban para que tú jugaras a ser adulto tomando café con la abuela. Me trae gratas sensaciones y con leche la textura es deliciosa y espumosa.

[@jaxxinator5999]

I would recommend trying cafe d'orzo (pure barely coffee) in a latte or cappucino. It has that biscuity taste and the sort of woody bitterness works weirdly well with the dairy I think.

[@thehello88]

As a child in Germany, the kids always got Caro coffee when the adults drank 'real' coffee - big fan to this day

[@qwertyCandy]

Same tradition in the Czech Republic 😂

[@nicodanielkurz7438]

Where in Germany? I've never heard of it 😅

[@00Sosan]

Somehow here in Mexico the idea that German kids drink beer is very widespread, is that true? Cause I'd find it funny that coffee isn't considered appropriate for children but beer is.

[@wombat157]

@@00Sosan No, it’s not. We drink wheat spirit instead as children. 😜 Are you mad? 😂

[@janimize-3066]

Curious to as they wouldn’t just give you decaf

[@antraxuran9]

James, it would be interesting if you did an episode on Turkish coffee -- it seems like the most "out of character" one for you :)

[@girish2001]

I second this request. Please look at covering coffee recipes from outside a western cultural interpretation, such as Turkish coffee (filter it before drinking it if you must) and South Indian decoctions, which often use a mixture of coffee and chicory (generally 70% coffee-30% chicory) and some other herbal admixtures (such as this recipe with roasted fenugreek seeds). www.chitrasfoodbook.com/2012/05/filter-coffee-south-indian-coffee-step.html

[@for1nce]

It’s the best! I honestly personally don’t like western coffee in comparison

[@annieaviles3169]

Please!

[@peterbuckland3537]

yes, I agree

[@yichen6313]

Yes please!

[@joepamphilon4078]

I drink these quite a lot but only ever with milk, because I'm not a masochist.

[@xhivo97]

You say that, buuuut...

[@othername2428]

🤣😂😂👌

[@thesoundpurist]

Ah ah ah. Now a days I detox and extend espresso with chicory, hot waters bite of any kinda milk (unsweetened almond milk for me), cocoa, dust of stevia + erythritol. It's a bliss. Ps. The only reason for detox is to get the effect of a single espresso shot back to its strong intensity. I use caffeine as a one of the ingredients as nootropic. Only downside of caffeine to me is the quick tolerance over daily consumption. I guess absolute detox is not needed, only slowing down for 7-10 days once in a while. Hope this inspire some. Cheers. Martin

[@iLiokardo]

@@xhivo97 But what? :|

[@demoneyeslaharl]

That quote sounds pretty familiar

[@deeptijmenon]

Coffee with chicory is a staple in most southern Indian states. In fact my aunt had her own ratio of coffee to chicory that she would ask for at the store, to make her filter coffee at home. The only time I could stand chicory in coffee.

[@michaeldhondt368]

It’s common in India several years ago when I was there on vacation they served 70% coffee mixed with 30% chicory. It had a unique taste compared to regular coffee but I got used to it and drank it everyday for the two weeks I was there

[@EphemeralTao]

Coffee with chicory is still very popular in New Orleans and other parts of the southern US.

[@oktophlo9455]

I work as a part-time Barista in a café franchise and we still use chicory root to adulterate our coffee! Specifically the cold brew and nitro cold brew, since folks seem to prefer those being a little bitter. The ratio is about 1kg coffee beans to 125 grams of chicory

[@TheJC9653]

When I can't drink coffee i tend to substitute it with headaches and tears.

[@ma.gisellefernandez8610]

I agree as a single-digit Pisces, Jordan.

[@brianbuday8639]

I'm going for that 'lovely' parsnip after taste !!!😝

[@sarahhamed4496]

This is a more realistic depiction of me withoutcoffee

[@charlesduggar2929]

I’m from Louisiana, and growing up, I always drank coffee with chicory. It wasn’t universal, but it was a very common way to have coffee around there. I would really recommend trying a true coffee and chicory from someone in Louisiana like Community or River Road coffees

[@otsoko66]

I too grew up with Louisiana coffee and chicory - it's what Dad used to make every morning. Then I went to school in Spain and discovered espresso. But I still have an old enameled gregue (I've also heard it called a "Biggin") drip-pot for making Louisiana style coffee. Community coffee with chicory is definitely the classic taste.

[@maxus11101]

Many people had been drinking pure chicory in USSR back in the days cause of coffee absence (some officials did have access to it). My granny drinking it even until today, while there's no more coffee shortage.

[@liliya_aseeva]

Tried chicory in childhood (early 00s in Crimea), noped out, in 2007 probably tried first real coffee, instant, then escalated pretty quickly to Mehmet Efendi from Ankara (the best turkish coffee imo, don't be confused with Mahmood which is grinded with sand by greasy kurdish hands in Diyarbekir). Now live in another city, far north, so no turkish coffee for me. Bought coffeemachine and now I consume coffee wholebeans in a machine.

[@davebeat]

Tried chicory for the first time in Latvia, you can get it in pretty much every supermarket, but it's in a concentrated syrup-form that you dilute/melt with boiling water. I actually quite liked it, though I only tried it with milk. One of my friends said he remembered acorn coffee being widely sold as fake coffee during the soviet times too, although I've not tried it and you seldom see it on sale anywhere nowadays.

[@AndyBarkerBee]

Chicory 🥬 is blindingly good!! Love it! But it’s insulting to call it a “coffee substitute”. It’s its own drink in its own right!! It wasn’t made to replace coffee, in the way non-alcoholic beer (piss water) was to give an alternative to beer!

[@LarcR]

Back when I was a kid, the most prominent non-chicory coffee substitute was Postum, made by the Post Cereal Company in the US starting in 1895. It contained roasted wheat bran and molasses. Postum is still available by online order. There was lots sold when coffee was in short supply during WWII, but very little makes its way to table now.

[@mithrandirearendur1282]

Very popular with Mormons

[@Sekilloda]

Postum is alive and well in South America

[@liralen1116]

I just want to express my gratitude. I went through a phase where coffee was making me sick, so I thought I was done for and started looking for substitutes (I would have loved your video back then). Listening to your videos while coffee deprived really made me yearn it (yes, I am a bit of a masochist), so my friend bought me a Hario dripper based on the videos I saw and kept talking about and it turns out that filtered coffee does not make me sick (I'm guessing the oils and grounds in a French press are what made me sick) so now I am venturing in the wonderful world of pour-over, discovered a local coffee roaster with amazing blends, and my morning has joy again (and my roomate beg for coffee anytime I make some). Thanks for being so passionate and exploring so many aspects of coffee!

[@1101agaoj]

Watching this on "Thanksgiving Day" in the U.S. and thankful for James and his selfless experimentation for our better understanding of coffee, options, and substitutions

[@WilliamRoycoaching]

Me: no way I stay hooked for 17 minutes on a video about coffee substitutes. Also Me: already over? Damn you're good Mr Hoffman.

[@jakubpu]

Imagine being born as a Commandante grinder, finding yourself in Hoffmann's apartment and then... grinding 1950's coffee and chicory.

[@PurpScurpington]

Assigned Commandante at Birth

[@NightFoxXIII]

"What's my purpose?" "To grind anything but coffee" "Oh my God"

[@rlwalker2]

James drinking 1950s coffee will make me giggle for a LONG time.

[@bexbergh4295]

Teeccino is a great coffee substitute. I haven't had it in over 5 years... But it was very helpful for me when I was initially diagnosed with GERD and needed to cut my caffeine and acid intake.

[@roisindunne7639]

The 100% plain acorn drink is the closest I've had so far. I've been a barista since 2013 and recently had to quit coffee for health reasons (the irony). When I really miss coffee it hits the spot and I add a splash of oat milk. I use the ground acorn, not the instant one. It reminds me of hotel coffee but not so bad. Also I worked at the ace hotel coffee bar last winter and it was super fun :)

[@heikoffie6036]

"I don't like bits and stuff in my drink. I can't do the bits like this." 3 days ago: ooooooooow, coffee jelly, yum!

[@guguigugu]

has he made any videos on turkish coffee?

[@davidcheeseman658]

@@guguigugu I don't think so

[@benbishop7512]

Jelly doesn't have bits in.

[@lepidoptery]

jelly isn't "bits like this"

[@jayhom5385]

In the US jelly doesn't have bits. Jam has bits, preserves have lots of bits, marmalades have extra bits added in. @guguigugu I was thinking he probably doesn't like turkish or greek coffee.

[@hazenstribling2646]

James, you can also get 100% barley without any chicory; that is my personal favorite and honestly I like it more than coffee sometimes (definitely some childhood nostalgia there though). It's called Orzo and is very common in Italy.

[@timothyogwynn3410]

I’ve always associated chicory and coffee with Café du Monde (based out of New Orleans). Can find their blend in most supermarkets in the U.S. But I always thought it was a random cultural thing, I didn’t realize that it began as an adulterant as a result of a blockade! Fascinating.

[@iesika7387]

Endive was mostly grown as cattle feed at the time. Bringing chicory into modern coffee is really a marketing gimmick of the "lol new orleans is so quirky and different" variety. I'm from the area and I don't know anyone local who likes chicory in their coffee but it's something everyone from out of town has heard of due to the overmarketting of du monde. Here's a tip for anyone visiting south Louisiana who wants to get a cafe au lait and beignets without waiting in line for half an hour to sit on an overcrowded patio and drink bad coffee - go to Coffee Call or any of a million other little local shops instead of that tourist trap. You can get beignets at half the donut shops in town.

[@TheNinnyfee]

Caro etc is an acquired taste often stemming from poverty, my granny having survived WWII had it at home. Chicory is also often used as a natural sweetener in tea blends today. I hated it as a kid, but recently I found that it's nice as a frappé or iced latte.

[@LostInTheClouds]

I've made the dandelion root "coffee" before! It's actually quite delicious but you definitely need to roast and grind it to get any sort of coffee-like flavour from it. Even then it's not that much like coffee. I quite like throwing in some cardamom and ginger and making a spiced tea. It's very nice if you add a bit of butter to it and cream that with one of those little handheld motor whisks.

[@SunflowerCrpm]

Coffee substitutes are curiously very popular in Portugal, despite a massive coffee culture. They're served in hospital and inn breakfasts, and are really just a popular drink to have with a snack, because people will have an espresso after a meal. I suspect their enduring popularity comes from their popularity during the dictatorship, both as full substitutes (barley coffee or cereal blends) and as coffee mixes. But the multiple Nestlé blends are so common that most supermarkets chains have their own brand versions and jingles from decades ago can still be quoted back to you if you mention then today. I love me some cereal mix myself. But I don't think many people would drink them without milk here!

[@dauerwerbesendung7045]

In the Azores I had the occasional powdered barley from delta. I quite like it! Turkish, no filtering. I tried the instant barley stuff as well (nestle brand if i remember correctly), which was not so great. But in the end of the day: Great espresso is not expensive and readily available... got to love Portugal :)

[@myrrdyn]

Roasted barley is still very common today in Italy as a coffee substitute for children, especially mixed with milk for breakfast. I'm talking about the soluble "instant coffee" like thing made with 100% roasted barley, which is different from the "espresso like" caffe d'orzo mentioned at the end of the video

[@dreamervanroom]

Thanks for telling me that. Is it quite dark? There is a Korean drink of roasted barley tea but that is not dark, nor does it taste like coffee. I like it quite a bit.

[@myrrdyn]

@@dreamervanroom yes it is qute dark, definitively not as strong as espresso but similar-ish to drip coffee. Think of it as the "coffee-like" taste of Guinness or other very dark bers

[@carlosg.ramirezarevalo8921]

I'm chilean. I drink Ecco with milk, it's toasted barley. Love the flavor, a real fan. "Coffee for kids", a tradition in my country.

[@KrauserKahn]

Oh boy I can't wait to see the new channels popping up: Hames Joffmann, the chicory expert. Jamann Hoffmes, the barley drinker, Jamhoff Esmann the peanut enjoyer, Hoffjam Mannes the acorn sybarite or Hoffmes Jamann the dandelion elitist.

[@Gruxx42]

I like coffee substitutes. They are what I drink in the evening when I want something coffee like that won't stop me from sleeping. I like that instant chicory drink you tried at the start of the video.

[@gardencompost259]

Thank you for this post. Back in the day, in my tweety’s I would buy French Market, a blend of coffee an chicory. I rather enjoyed it, and with a bit of heavy cream. So, finding out much later in life that roasted chicory root has a lot of soluble fiber that is good for gut flora, and therefore somewhat of a health drink. Dandelion root is good for the liver. So long story short, I roasted up some chicory root, and dandelion root, ground it up, blended in a bit of decaf coffee, voila after dinner bitters. Just a bit of cream, sugar, and or monk fruit, delicious. Can use half as much grounds as regular coffee, exceptional yields.

[@coffeewithcarl1779]

“That is clove, my enemy” - James 2020 😂

[@DrHenley]

I have made my own dandelion coffee and it most definitely absolutely needs to be roasted. I've also made okra seed coffee, which is pretty good but hard to grind because it turns into a fine flour like dust which clogs the filter. I prefer both to chicory. Sweet potato coffee is supposed to be good, but I haven't tried it.

[@iesika7387]

I've never tried sweet potato as a coffee substitute but you can get a dark, sweet, sticky, roasty beverage out of sweet potato juice. My uncles farmed sweet potatoes for decades until they passed, so I have one million and one Things To Do With Sweet Potatoes, like Bubba Gump and shrimp.

[@mikedonnell86]

Here, I've consolidated all of the quotes into one; "Thanks, I hate it." - James Hoffmann 2020

[@amandacitarella7620]

So excited for the decaf video coming out in 2021. Looking forward to it. When I was pregnant, it was 9 months of searching for a good decaf. And, I still cant have caffeine after 3pm without it keeping me up. Can't wait!

[@jimefflandt9609]

Hi James I've never seen your KZbin before, I found you to be quite enjoyable to watch. I'll watch your future shows. Thanks.

[@beepboopsloane]

I absolutely love the occasional Vietnamese coffee. I have a pretty good supply of trung Nguyen and phin filters are like $3 at my Asian supermarket. There’s really nothing like chicory coffee and sweetened condensed milk. Drank a lot of it during a cold winter in my drafty New York college apartment

[@aadityagoswami]

I've heard of cacao being "brewed" as well, although I don't know if that counts as a substitute. Still, would be awesome to see you talk about that (and anything else chocolate related, like pairing them with coffees!)

[@victortaveira8271]

I usually like it. In amazanian basin is common. Goes well with some pepper added

[@kylejohnson6924]

Don't know if it's available in the UK (couldn't find it on amazon.co.uk) but Crio Bru is available here in the US in places like Whole Foods and Amazon (US). They even have different origins and roasts.

[@sandrahuibers8081]

@@kylejohnson6924 I have had Crio Brew and quite like it. I'd love to see James do an episode on Cocao-based coffee substitutes too.

[@thedarb]

I must say, the peanut coffee looks like something fun to try. I'll add that to my coffee bucket list.

[@estherhannes2483]

I sometimes like to drink coffee substitutes in the evening as an alternative to coffee and black tea. It’s still a nice hot beverage that doesn’t contain caffeine (I don’t like decaffeinated coffee). I also think that’s a little more eco-friendly if you don’t live in an area where coffee plants grow because it was not shipped all over the world to get into my cup.

[@221b-l3t]

There is very good decaf out there. But it's q bit hit and miss. Some of them are delicious some not so much.

[@TomaszStachewicz]

These substitutes are here in Poland called "grain coffee" and quite often given to children. I have rediscovered it with love, for when I want something resembling coffee's texture and palate-cleansing qualities but during evenings.

[@jamesl1332]

2 things: 1. Chicory in coffee is still common in New Orleans. The local lore here is that, as the historical primary point of importation, the best prices for the best coffee were in the North East US. After sales, this left the dregs for local New Orleanians, so they began to cut the remaining coffee with chicory. It eventually became the cultural standard, and that's why you'll find your cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde to include chicory. It likely helps to be served with milk and overly sugared beignets, though. 2. A "tea" that I would consider a coffee substitute is pu'erh. It cannot be over extracted, is full bodied and flavorful. Does not require milk or sugar, and is almost as robust as light roasted coffee. Look for one with chocolate in the name for more richness. Normal hot tea is either too weak or too bitter without sweeteners. This requires nothing. Some varieties appear to have negligible caffeine content, as well.

[@mndlessdrwer]

Pu'erh is one of those teas that is quite polarizing and sometimes quite misunderstood. You're most likely referring to ripe, otherwise known as cooked or shou pu'erh, which has been artificially inoculated with bacteria which ferment the tea, resulting in a tea that lacks most bitterness and has a deep, rich, dark coloration with high solubility and a silky, dry mouthfeel. Flavor profiles do vary, but often include earthy qualities, minerality, wood flavors, and a certain funk. There's a lot of people who dislike this flavor profile, and I will admit that it is something of an acquired taste. My favorite pu'erh tea had notes of toasted cherry wood, decaying lignum (old book smell), and dried wheat kernels. On the other hand, you can have raw, or sheng, pu'erh. This tea isn't fermented during the initial processing like the ripe pu'erh is, and typically requires considerable time for the natural fermentation process to progress. With ripe pu'erh, you can expect it to be reasonably palatable after only six months to a year of aging, however, raw pu'erh is considered immature if it has aged for fewer than five years. Raw pu'erh is just as polarizing as the ripe variety, often boasting flavors that might be considered medicinal, assertive, or abrasive. These flavors mellow and mature, often losing their harshness with aging as the fermentation consumes the offending flavor compounds. Basically, pu'erh is certainly an interesting dark brown beverage worth consideration, but I'm not sure I'd promote it as a legitimate coffee substitute.

[@darleschickens7106]

Pu-Erh tastes and smells like a farm...but I kinda love it

[@fannyforfun3670]

I quite enjoy the flavour of chickory root, it's somewhere in between coffee and chocolate, and drink it for its own distinct flavour.

[@nicholainissen]

I had a long period of caffeine abstinence, and drank a lot of more-or-less chicory-based coffees, so it's pretty nostalgic for me now.

[@lorenzopiccini9434]

Why not decaf?

[@TinTownKing]

@@lorenzopiccini9434 decaf still has a caffeine content, albeit minimal. I'm guessing that's possibly the reason

[@MrXaeb]

When I lived in Tennessee there was a brand of coffee called Community that had ground coffee with chicory and it became my favorite. I tried it out of curiosity and loved the flavor profile the chicory added to the brew. I now live in Canada and can no longer procure it unless someone is visiting from the southern US and is kind enough to bring me a bag.

[@manoflamancha218]

I have a container of Inka I found years ago, it's just the barley and rye components without chicory. I'd put it on a spectrum with coffee at one end, Inka on the other, and instant coffee in the middle. Instant coffee to me is *like* coffee but not as coffee-esque as freshly brewed coffee from grounds. Inka is enjoyable, but it's an equal step *different* from instant coffee that instant coffee is to coffee. I honestly didn't know what chicory actually is until this video, but I only found James's channel Sunday evening and now I have this new education about how the coffee I lovingly make every Sunday is an affront to goodness.

[@Sebike]

Brings back childhood memories from the early 80's, when we had this hungarian very sweetened roasted chicory and malt powder that was mixed with hot milk as a child-friendly "coffee and milk". Maci kávé !

[@Lady-Lilith]

"Is it bitter?" O_o "yes" lol. Love the faces James pulls as he assaults his own palate.

[@lokyl9046]

O_o o_O O_O o_o 0_0 0_O o_0 “Yes”

[@RothAnim]

3:40 Douglas Adams invaded my mind there "A substance almost, but not quite entirely, unlike tea."

[@687Kalita]

I find Inka beverage to be quite enjoyable since it balances the bitterness of chicory root with the addition of rye, barley, and beet sugar. It has a campfire/roasted marshmallow taste to it. You can also dose low on the water like an espresso shot for milk drinks and latte art.

[@fabiovonbrasche9102]

James in his coffee cake video: I shouldn't tell you about my planned videos... (tiramisu, aeropress) Also James: I have a great decaf video planned for next year!

[@tiffanyrose2396]

Why is watching James do things so delightful? "I'm *super* intrigued by you!" (said to bag of coffee substitute) "... emphasis on the burnt." "I found a book from 1864 ..." and so on.

[@ieuanowen8094]

“I don’t know what gummy matter is”

[@neoreoscar27]

He’s just brilliant. A one-off :)

[@victor.hinojosa]

“If it wasn’t spiced, it would just taste like the color brown.” LOL the best

[@akali83]

I can't drink coffee because I discovered coffee triggers very bad acne flareups for me, and does for a lot of other people to. I'm so happy you've made this video!

[@PeaceChanel]

Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste and Thank You Everybody for All that you are doing for World Peace.. 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ 🌷 ☮️ ❤️

[@spencerhill3566]

I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but I just discovered POSTUM. It has a long history in the US (I guess apparently with the mormon population as it is caffeine free). It is made from wheat bran and molasses. The richness, sweetness, and savory-ness is sooo delicious. It is a bit hard to find but Amazon does carry it .

[@thebob5240]

Yup big thing in LDS communities since i am LDS XD but there is a bit of misnomer there we do not disallow caffeine we acutely disallow coffee directly it was actually a bit of a problem for a while when i was growing up that so many people tried to justify why they didn't drink Tea or Coffee was because of the caffeine when the answer is "Because we believe God told us we should not."

[@iesika7387]

@@thebob5240 Soooo why not caffinated soda or other caffeine sources then?

[@thebob5240]

@@iesika7387 Because it is not directly mentioned as 'bad' for the lack of a better term.

[@bogdandaraban1593]

"I'm not a smart man". James Hoffmann 2020

[@sebastianolsson9063]

That's something only a smart man would say. Don't believe him.

[@verdatum]

I love that you included acorn. Primary sources say that goes back for centuries in the United States (or then, the colonies). I've never tried it, but it has always fascinated me. I rather like roasted barley. But I think it works better as a gently steeped tea.

[@ruffy0001]

I've always enjoyed barley-malt coffee. When i was a kid, it used to be the "kids-coffee" since it has no caffeine and is not really bitter. It certainly is not coffee, but it tastes very pleasant and sort of sweet and i like it

[@manyworldsin1]

I don't know how accurate this is, but I always feel a nostalgic glow in my mug of chicory coffee. I come from the American Southeast, and I have always considered it a Southern phenomenon. Cafe Dumond's orange can grounds is a sentimental item for me.

[@pauldaulby260]

at one point I made a "coffee" by roasting then brewing canned green lentils, it was surprisingly really nice.

[@fingerbottom]

My dad used to drink Postum, a grain-based coffee substitute.

[@peacefuldaizy5717]

I remember that beverage.

[@michaeldimmitt2188]

I was looking for this comment. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and I knew of a few Mormon families (The church of Jesus Christ the later day saints *no offense intended) that only drank Postum. Mostly because of caffeine being a stimulant and bad for the body (temple) and therefore a sin. Worked in grocery stores later in my 20’s and there was always some Postum on the shelves, though it didn’t always get sold by the “sell-by” date!

[@davidhall8483]

cafe du monde will forever hold a special place in my heart. Super interesting. Been wanting to incorporate chicory in my home roasts.

[@missmerrily4830]

So lucky to live in a time and circumstance when we can enjoy the best of coffee and indulge ourselves (and it is an indulgence), in the sort of tasting, and in-depth conversations we have about it. I stretch back far enough to remember when chicory coffee was all that was available (just after WW2) in UK. The coffee bean was all but absent in UK at the time as was the cash to buy it, even if it was. It's surprising how fast a substitute will begin to taste ok when that's all you can get!

[@Tom_Losh]

When I was in the US military I spent s couple of years in Texas, and chicory coffee was common with some folks. I came to enjoy it. Years later, working as a communications tech up near the Canadian border, one of the guys I worked with was a genuine Texan, and we delighted in always having a fresh pot of *French Market Chicory Coffee* on hand in the shop. We were the only two who would drink it more than once.

[@_sootyfoot]

If you heard everything James said and managed to not be distracted by his loose piece of hair after 14:50 you are a better person than I am. On my second watch now. Sorry James!

[@UserNameNiemand]

Than you might also noticed a grounded pouder on his nose after he smelled it @ 14:18 as well )

[@Acheteur]

Many thanks for the sharing James. Your video is informative & inspiring. There's a chinese seed called Cassia seed (決明子） that has a coffee like taste & aroma which is quite popular in Taiwan & HK for vegans.

[@Frostbiker]

Isn't coffee vegan as well?

[@brodster111]

In Belize the Myans have a coffee "alternative" made from cacao and corn, Forget what it was called but tasted pretty similar to coffee!

[@Koralgolster]

Just watched this now, so I'm a bit late to the discussion, but: as a kid I used to drink a coffee substitute (what we call "grain coffee" - made from barley, rye, and chicory) and I liked it with milk. So when I recently found it in a cafe, I went for it, and I felt sentimental drinking it. I bought a packet and I'm thoroughly enjoying going through it.

[@patricioiasielski8816]

Around here (Argentina) two things are used as a substitute to coffee: - A kind of heavily roasted, finely ground malt. It's good with milk. - An "algarroba" derivative; algarroba comes from the "algarrobo" tree (south american Carob, or mesquite) that are incredibly common and abundant (or at least it used to be). The seed pod of some species are incredibly sweet and rich in flavor and are used to make sweet confections, and (when prepared in a certain way) to make a coffee substitute. As a bonus Cascarilla; which is the dried husk of cacao bean, it's also drinked as a chocolate or even coffee substitute (it's not so popular now, but it used to be).

[@luciferdern]

I remember being given camp coffee as a kid but literally forgot about it's existence until you mentioned it and it all came rushing back. I used to love that stuff but we used to have it with milk and lots of sugar. We kinda viewed it like hot chocolate rather than like coffee strangely.

[@deetoher]

Detecting food adulteration was the entire focus of my PhD, so had to read quite a few of those old reference books (for context).

[@kachnickau]

Is your work somewhere public to be read? :)

[@deetoher]

@@kachnickau my work was on developing statistical techniques for food authentication (it is available on researchgate)

[@davidsircoin]

I kind of expected for the new all-over-facebook mushroom coffee substitute, it'd be interesting to know what you think of that!

[@marctestarossa]

Here in Germany we have a coffee substitute called 'Muckefuck'. Its popularity peaked especially during and immediately after the two world wars because coffee was way too expensive and hard to get. It was made from malt, chicory and other roots like dandelion. My great aunt still enjoys her Muckefuck from time to time and it was very popular as 'Kinderkaffee' (coffee for children) during the first post-WW2-generation.

[@SerialSpinner-ss]

Thank you for this! It was very interesting. I have roasted fresh dandelion roots and the biggest surprise was that when they were roasting, the whole kitchen smelled like I was baking cookies. Nothing like the taste.

[@Altroante]

The little trivia about people adulterating coffee with chicory was interesting, but people adulterating CHICORY TO BE USED IN ADULTERATING COFFEE was downright funny

[@Sharkyktc001]

I love that they'd apparently adulterate the chicory with ROASTED PARSNIPS of all things. Stick some honey in there and you've got a real christmas blend.

[@axel.lessio]

If you think about it, being allergic to peanuts makes coffee an actual substitute for peanut coffee.

[@flibflob2785]

This calls for a coffeebutter and jelly sandwich

[@kohakuaiko]

​That sounds delicious ❤

[@carlosbarbe3417]

In the south of Chile there are very popular drinks, the "wheat coffee" and "maqui coffee" (maqui is a fruit similar to blueberries)

[@robojimtv]

The roasted acorns texture looks a lot like Turkish coffee and I suspect that's why they mentioned just brewing it in the pot and drinking with bits there. That also explains the cardamom in the powder. Unrelated, when I was a teenager, some kids would smoke acorn as a sort of cigar lol.

[@Talmiior]

I feel you gave the dandilion coffee a bit of a disservice. Usually you at least grinder the dandelion root, and preferably roast it, which removes a lot of the herbasious flavours of the root. I am sad to say that I can't drink coffee anymore due to medical reasons, but watching your videos I have found to be very educational when company comes and I make them coffee. Thank you! Anyways, ya, dandelion isn't a great coffee substitute, but I did find it to be health-wise, a better choice than chicory root. You need to roast it, and then grind it though for it to taste or look even a little bit like coffee.

[@szde]

'Wouldn't say I am a coffee roaster' - Mr Owns Award Winning Coffee Roastery

[@MelindaGreen]

What I learned is that I enjoy watching James taste things he hates! As for what was left out, I have to think kava deserved to be in the line-up. Perhaps you could do a comparison of "caffeine" substitutes as a complement to coffee substitutes.

[@ardentdrops]

My grandfather used to drink something called Postum, because of how common it was during the depression as an affordable alternative to coffee. He retained a lot of habits from those days.

[@thebob5240]

I don't drink coffee for religious reasons so i really appreciate you talking about coffee substitutes/alternatives though i have been subscribed to you for some time i apply your advice to my coffee substitutes XD

[@gailjoe7217]

Loved this vid. After taking psych meds and weening off them, my partner was really sensitive to any caffeine, even decaf levels. They had to switch to these coffee substitutes since they loved coffee but had a zero tolerance to caffeine. We ended up with a barley blend that was alright tasting as a coffee sub.