A Healthy Substite For Coffee That Tastes Great
Want the java monkey off your back without headaches, cold sweats, and an ever-present fear of falling asleep at the wheel? This delicious raw beverage was created during a two week living foods cleanse to keep my husband from going postal on anyone within five feet of him. I find it eases the transition off the bean, keeps me awake, focused and clear-headed. It puts an extra pep in my step like coffee but without the 10am come down that has me jonesing for sugar or another cup o’ joe. Try it for yourself and let me know your results.
"The Maca FACA" 1 teaspoon Maca Powder 1 tablespoon Raw Cacao Powder 1/4 teaspoon DoMatcha Green Tea Powder 1 to 1 1/2 cup Almond Milk (easy to make your own) 1 teaspoon raw honey dash of cayenne pepper
In a blender (Magic Bullet works great for this small job) mix all ingredients until well combined. Adjust the Matcha Green Tea Powder as needed to keep yourself caffeinated. For most ¼ teaspoon in combination with the Maca and raw chocolate is plenty, but there is no need to suffer through the transition. Maca is an adaptogen and will help you through the change. It is also a stimulant that helps with focus and mental clarity (and some say sexual prowess- bonus!). This beverage will give you the pick me up of coffee without taxing your system. Once you no longer physically crave the caffeine you can cut the green tea powder.
Dollars and Sense
A quick mention on cost is in order since you will be laying out some cash up front for the organic ingredients in this beverage. When you add up the Maca (about $18 for 16oz), Raw Cacao ($14 for 16 ounces), Matcha Green Tea ($25), and the raw honey ($7) you get a grand total of $64. Not cheap (prices shown are what I found on Amazon today). Keep in mind that this should keep a single person stocked for two to three months if not longer. It bares mentioning that coffee gives you mental stimulus but no nutritional value, whereas the Maca Facka contains a bounty of antioxidants, phytonutrients, bioflavinoids, and even iron. All that and for less than the price of 16 cups of coffee at Starbucks. You are worth it! Also note that you can taper down the use of the matcha green tea and use that as a yummy, antioxidant rich treat on its own.
Whether or not to invest in a Magic Bullet is a question of efficiency and clean up time. A VitaMix is the only blender you’ll ever need, period. I got one of these as a gift and thought, “pisshaaw, I’ll never use this goofy little machine. I have the mighty Vita-Mix.” I was wrong. I busted it out to make baby food for my son and it has been out and actively used in my kitchen ever since. Love it for the Maca Fack, small or single servings of smoothie, salad dressings, and baby food. It’s definitely not a MUST-HAVE, but man is it handy if you hate the blender clean up as much as me.
Im not a big fan of coffee but this is a delicious alternative. Did this work on travis, has he made the conversion?
Hi Joy,
I was very skeptical about trying this drink at first. I loved my hot coffee in the morning and when I have tried to go off before I suffered horrible headaches. I started this 2 weeks ago and I am happy to say that not only have I not had a cup of coffee but I feel soooo much better. I don’t crash during the day my stomach is not bloated and my skin is looking great! This is a wonderful alternative and I am so happy that I found you. Thank you again!
Carla,
Thrilled to hear about your success. If you ever want to heat this beverage up, go for it. It’s still better for you than coffee, but don’t denature it by popping it into the microwave. Heat it in a pan on the stove. If you dig it cold, it keeps all the raw benefits as well. If you need a mid-morning pick me up a nice, anti-oxidant rich green tea will give you the satisfaction of a warm drink as well. Good for you for making a healthy switch! Thanks for sharing with me.
To your good healthy,
Joy
Dru,
Thanks for asking. Way to watch out for your bro! Travis did great on this drink during the raw cleanse. He still does the bean- he loves Two Dollar Tuesdays at Dutch Brothers! But he has cut his consumption considerably and drinks it by choice when he wants to instead of waking up like a zombie joensing for that first cup-o-joe. The idea is to get the monkey off your back. Remember this revolution is all about balance, not abstinence of what your love to eat/drink.
To your good health,
Joy
Hellz Yes! Can’t believe it!
This recipe for Maca Faca ROCKS. Caffeine has been my Monkey for much much too long. I would have never thought I could get off coffee without going thru that 10 days of Migrane-Pain. My Yo-Yo diet with coffee has an ongoing struggle for decades. This is the first time that I’ve gone off coffee AND felt good while doing it. I actually enjoy this recipe for Maca Faca as much as I enjoy a good cup of coffee. Also, the process for making it is much like my ritual for making French Press. I think I like the process and ritual of making my morning drink as much as I enjoy imbibing it as well.
Thanks for coming up this recipe Joy. It worked for me!
Oh, Lordy. I cut out caffeine 30 years ago. But a year ago, I had a tiny cup of it, and, long story short, now am totally addicted again! Talk about an addictive drug. I’d like to try your recipe to get off of it again. Is the green tea only to add a little caffeine, to help the body adjust without headaches? I don’t like the taste of green tea. Is there something else to substitute? Or is it so little, you don’t even really taste it?
Thanks,
Constance
Constance,
You are correct! The green tea is to ween you off caffeine without any ill effects. You are also correct in assuming that the amount is so small it does not effect the taste. Another easy way to do this is to mix half coffee and half maca and reduce it down until you have ZERO coffee and ALL Maca FACA. Either way, you will be off the bean in no time.
Keep us posted!
Joy
[...] Cayenne from a brand called Simply Organic. Since I consume ample cayenne (almost daily in the Maca F.A.C.A. recipe I use to replace coffee), I am not concerned about getting the extra heat units. The organic certification from products [...]