Last Updated on January 19, 2023

If you’re looking for the best coffee replacement that tastes like coffee without caffeine, try Capomo Herbal Coffee! This gluten-free herbal alternative to coffee is perfect in the morning to start your day with a natural energy boost loaded with health benefits. Enjoy this herbal coffee hot or iced as a part of your morning routine.

About a year ago, after a long fight with myself to give up caffeinated coffee, I started my hunt for coffee alternatives. It has not been an easy feat, with many attempts that ended up back on the coffee train. I freaking LOVE coffee. Coffee, however, does not love me. It was time to ditch this comforting, warming, energy-inducing drink once and for all after I started suffering some pretty significant symptoms.

I’ve always been sensitive to caffeine, if I drank too much I’d get acne breakouts, have the jitters, and become very irritable. But the smell and taste of coffee outweighed those symptoms, so instead of giving it up completely I wanted to try other ways of still enjoying coffee. I tried to buy high-end, “clean” pesticide-free coffee grounds. I thought that was the fix, but then on top of the acne, jitters, and irritability, I started experiencing some other significant digestive and cardiovascular issues. It got so bad that I had all kinds of medical tests done because I thought something was seriously wrong with me. I tried low-acid coffee, half-caff, even quarter-caff coffee (yes! It exists!), and decaffeinated coffee (which still contains small amounts of caffeine) with no reprieve. I fought it every step of the way, months and months of not wanting to let go of my beloved morning Cup of Joe…

Finally, after spending a lot of money in medical bills, I decided to pull the plug (on the coffee machine 😉 ) to see if just that small cup of coffee in the morning could be causing all of my issues. I started to wean off of it completely and I went through withdrawal symptoms for weeks, but finally started to feel better! Omg. It was the coffee. I couldn’t believe it. I never had more than one cup in the early morning!

Health Benefits I Experienced From Ditching Coffee

Once I got off coffee:

☆ My skin cleared up.

☆ The GERD symptoms went away.

☆ My heart palpitations subsided.

☆ My anxiety and irritability got better. The coffee wasn’t increasing my stress hormones any longer.

☆ The jitters stopped.

☆ It was easier for me to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.

But I just couldn’t give up my morning ritual of waking up to a nice hot cup of something… so I started the search for the best coffee replacement and here’s what I tried and my opinion of each:

Roasted Chicory Root: Yuck. Very bitter and definitely doesn’t agree with my body. Doesn’t taste like coffee to me.

Roasted Dandelion Root: I love roasted dandelion root tea, it’s one of my favs actually. But it just didn’t fulfill that coffee craving. There are lots of health benefits from drinking dandelion, it’s a great liver detox, so try the tea when you’re in the mood for tea! It is a diuretic, so be mindful of when you drink it (if you don’t want to be up peeing all night long lol).

Brewed Cacao: I drank this one for a little while. It was doable, although it tasted more like hot cocoa than coffee. This is my second choice for a coffee replacement. You can brew it in your coffee maker, it’s less acidic, and contains a naturally occurring stimulant, Theobromine, that doesn’t leave you with an energy crash like coffee does. Cacao Coffee is a great source of magnesium, polyphenols, flavonoids, fiber and enzymes. Also, even though cacao is like 99% caffeine free, there still is a tad bit of caffeine. So really, it’s a GREAT swap, but the flavor wasn’t quite what I was looking for for a coffee replacement.

Brewed Fig: This one was… ok. Honestly, not that memorable. It did have a hint of coffee flavor and I love that it’s made with 100% dried figs. Some of the benefits are digestive support, respiratory system support, skin and scalp hydration, supports circulation, energy boost without jitters, and a good source of antioxidants.

Sip Herbals Coffee Substitute: This coffee swap actually tasted pretty good, but still not super coffee-ish. It’s a blend of chicory, dandelion root, and carob- again, with the chicory, it didn’t sit well with my body. I like that they use carob for the chocolatey flavor, which is 100% caffeine free. They offer different flavors too, which I never tried, but this might be a good replacement if you like different flavored coffee.

Dandy Blend: I discovered Dandy Blend a long time ago and used to really like it. I get a little bit worried that they use barely, which is NOT gluten-free, even though they claim their product is gluten-free, so maybe it’s how they process the product to remove the gluten. Either way, it still makes me nervous. It tastes pretty good and I like that it’s instant so you don’t have to brew it, but doesn’t taste that much like coffee to me.

Roasted Date Seed: This was kinda weird when I saw it, but I was intrigued. The kind I tried was date seeds roasted with cardamom and I was not a fan of the flavor. Maybe it’s more the cardamom than the roasted date seeds that I didn’t like. What I did like is that it’s high in antioxidants, and rich in minerals that supports the digestive system and it helps to relieve constipation. It’s also supposed to boost heart health and boost weight loss.

Capomo Coffee: This is the WINNER! I’ve been drinking Capomo Herbal Coffee for a few months and I’m loving it! It brews like coffee, it tastes like coffee, it kind of smells like a mix between coffee and cocoa, it pairs so nicely with my diary-free oat creamer, and it gives me a clean boost of energy that doesn’t make me jittery or cause that mid-afternoon crash.

I am sure there are others out there, I know there are mushroom coffee alternatives and there’s more and more being created.

What is Capomo Herbal Coffee?

Capomo, also know as Maya nut grows in abundance in Costa Rica, home to one of the five blue zones regions of the world. Although capomo coffee is made from maya “nut” but a drupe, which is any fruit consisting of an outer skin, a pulpy middle layer, and a woody innershell enclosing a single seed. It’s not considered a true nut but actually the seed a large tropical rainforest tree native to Latin America and the Caribbean. It does not contain any allergenic compounds or alkaloids.

☆ Toasted and ground into powder, they can be used in baked goods as a flour replacement; or simmered into a hot, ready-to-eat breakfast cereal; or they can be mixed, blended, or steeped to create a drink similar to coffee, with a wonderfully nutty, mocha-like flavor.

☆ Capomo herbal coffee is gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free, pesticide-free and allergy-free!

☆ Maya nut trees are resistant to drought and new research shows that they have the ability to withdraw carbon.

Capomo’s Health Benefits

☆ Capomo is one of the richest plant sources of ALL of the amino acids– the building blocks of protein that are responsible for repairing cells, stimulating antibodies to fight bacteria and viruses and to carry oxygen throughout the body. Especially important these days and for vegans!

☆ It is especially high in methionine, which helps the liver process fat and toxins.

☆ Capomo is a superfood providing nutrients such as protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, folate, iron, zinc, and vitamins A, B, C and E.

☆ Capomo is naturally rich in an amino acid called tryptophan, which aids in relaxation and a sense of well-being, improving your mood.

☆ Contains protein.

☆ Capomo is acid free! So even if you find you can’t tolerate decaf (hello me!) it’s due to the acid in coffee beans.

☆ A cup of capomo provides a natural energy boost from the nutrients and vitamins and is different from the effects of caffeine.

☆ I also read that capomo is good for arthritis.

☆ Capomo is also high in folic acid, making it a wonderful dietary addition for expecting mothers, as well as being a natural galactagogue, it was used in traditional medicine to help pregnant or nursing mothers increase milk production.

What Does Capomo Coffee Taste Like

Not 100% like coffee, more like a cafe mocha. A hint of coffee with a hint of cocoa and mild notes of cinnamon. All things I love 🙂 But like I said, this is by far the alternative that tastes most like coffee to me.

How To Make Capomo Herbal Coffee

It’s easy to make capomo coffee in your coffee maker! You just add the grounds/powder to the coffee filter, add filtered water to the coffee machine and brew like you would regular ground coffee! They suggest you use 1 tablespoon of powder per 8 ounces and I found that to be a little too strong and bitter for me, so I use 1-2 teaspoons per 2 cups of water to make one cup of coffee.

You could also make it in a French press. I tried making it in a Keurig and it was way too watery- even with 1 tablespoon of capomo. I think it needs the drip-style coffee to really enhance the flavor.

I enjoy mine with a splash of diary-free oat creamer that is already sweetened. You could drink it however you enjoy your coffee, but I find with the creamer it really resembles coffee flavor the most. Iced Capomo is great too!

So, not only did giving up coffee prove to be beneficial for me, but adding this amazing superfood enhances my health offering many benefits to start my day off on the right foot. Is it a 100% perfect replacement? No. But I’d say it’s definitely the best out there and totally worth a try. Remember, if you’re at the point you’re ready to give up coffee too, to wean off caffeine slowly.

Where To Buy Capomo Coffee

I get mine from Cafe Capomo. You can find it on amazon too. They do offer different flavors as well. I hope you love this healthy, gluten-free, vegan quick and easy breakfast! Let me know what you think down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating so that others can discover this superb coffee alternative! Tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!

Resources: Blue Zones & Cafe Capomo