If you’re like me and choose to abstain from coffee or tea, you’ll find yourself frustrated over many chocolate recipes. Coffee has a magical way of enhancing the flavor of chocolate, so there are many recipes which call for it. There is always the option to omit completely, which is just fine! I can’t ever find a reason anything chocolate won’t taste good. :)
If you are desperate to find a substitute that will enhance the flavor, without giving way to coffee, there are several substitutes on the market. Postum is made of wheat bran, wheat, molasses, and corn dextrin (maltodextrin). Pero is another option, having a coffee-like flavor; made from malted barley, chicory, and rye. Teeccino is a brand, which interestingly contains cocoa along with roasted carob, barley, chicory root, dates, almonds, natural mocha, figs.
I’ve never had coffee, so I cannot give you a side-by-side comparison. But, I can tell you that when compared to dishes made without it (chocoalte dishes, that is), there is a certain enhancement in flavor that is obvious. Postum has been my preference in the past, but unfortunately, Kraft has decided to no longer create it.
So, next time you stumble across a no-fail recipe, give one of these all-natural substitutes a try. You may be pleasantly surprised!
Happy cooking!
i like Inka a whole lot, too. good grain beverage.
I grew up loving Postum, If I could I’d buy the recipe and the rights to market it I would. My friend has perfected a new beverage made primarily from roasted Cacao beans and although brewed like coffee has more similarities to Postum , in fact one batch was very close after adding molasses. If you’d like to learm more or get some of this “Choffy” please contact me at “choffy AT mikeshaw.com” I really like this new product and it has no caffeine. I still like my Postum but with only 5 precious jars left it’s not something I can drink regularly.
You can get Postum now! I found it online, with various retail locations, too.