What can I use instead of Acorn Coffee? You can substitute acorn coffee with a traditional cup of joe if you don’t mind the caffeine content. However, caffeine-free alternatives include chicory root, dandelion root, chai tea, grain-based coffee (mostly barley, rye, and spelt), peanut coffee, and Maya nut coffee.
Acorn coffee is a caffeine-free coffee substitute made from cooked, roasted, ground acorns and some spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves). It has a distinct spicy, earthy, and charred aromatic taste with a hint of chocolate.
You can serve acorn coffee with sugar, honey, cocoa powder, cream, milk, or spices. If you can’t find acorn coffee at the store, consider using the following substitutes.
The Best Acorn Coffee Substitutes
Regular Coffee
Acorn coffee is generally a substitute for regular coffee made from roasted (sometimes ground) coffee beans.
However, you can revert to your beloved cup of joe if you aren’t phased about the caffeine content until you refill on acorn coffee.
Coffee is ubiquitous in modern culture. Along with its energizing effects, coffee boasts a list of potential benefits, giving us all the more reason to spill the beans and get them brewing.
Coffee has a similar nutty aroma with hints of chocolate to acorn coffee. However, it lends a unique, refreshing acidity and subtle bitterness.
Restrict your coffee intake to about four to five cups a day to prevent the caffeine overload from increasing anxiety, impacting your heart health, and affecting your sleeping patterns.
Chicory Root Coffee
Chicory root coffee is the most popular caffeine-free substitute for acorn coffee. It has a similar flavor profile while offering health-boosting properties.
Chicory root mimics the taste of real coffee, lending a deep, dark, rich, roasted, and slightly bitter taste. In addition, the earthy and nutty notes of chicory root are similar to acorn coffee.
Chicory root boasts some surprising health benefits. It contains inulin – a prebiotic fiber – that can help treat inflammation, osteoarthritis, abnormal blood sugar levels, and digestive issues.
You can brew pre-ground, roasted chicory root like regular coffee grounds or use around two tablespoons of chicory grounds per cup; adjust the ratio based on preference.
Dandelion Root
Dandelions may remind you of common weeds, but their roots make a fantastic acorn coffee substitute.
Dandelion roots have an invigorating flavor profile with a deep chocolate hue, mimicking some of the primary notes in acorn coffee.
Dandelion root coffee is often mixed with sweet beets, barley rye, and chicory root to emphasize the coffee flavors.
Besides the rich flavors of dandelion root coffee, it boasts several health benefits, including an array of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.
Chai Tea
Acorn coffee generally includes cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves to enrich its flavor. In addition, a mix of similar spices is seeped into chai tea, making it a suitable acorn coffee alternative.
Chai is steeped with rich, aromatic spices into a delicious tea-like beverage.
While recipes and ingredients for chai vary wildly, the traditional spiced tea blend includes black tea mixed with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and black peppercorns.
Chai tea is prepared slightly differently from acorn coffee. Instead of brewing it in water, chai is brewed in a blend of warm milk and water. Like acorn coffee, you can sweeten chai tea with sugar or honey.
Grain-Based Coffee
Grain-based coffee is another caffeine-free alternative if you run out of acorn coffee. Grain coffee is made from an assortment of cereal grains, roots, herbs, plants, and nuts.
Grain-based coffee substitutes have been around for decades. Barley, rye, and spelt are the most common grains used to make grain-based coffee.
Then, roots, herbs, vegetables, and dried fruits are added to play with the bitterness or sweetness and emulate traditional coffee’s complex flavors.
The slightly sweet, nutty taste of grain-based coffee mimics acorn well.
There is an assortment of grain-based coffee products on the market. The most common commercial grain-based substitutes include Postum, Cafix, Inka, Pero, Roma, and Teechino.
These java-like alternatives are typically in a powder you can dissolve in hot water before enjoying.
Peanut Coffee
If you’re a peanut butter lover and you’re feeling adventurous, try substituting acorn coffee with peanut coffee. It is a delicious, jitter-free coffee alternative.
Peanut coffee is made during the process of extracting oil from peanuts.
After the extraction, a fine, powdery substance closely resembling espresso is left behind. The fine peanut powder is blended with a coarser particle size to mimic traditional ground coffee’s consistency.
Peanut coffee has a smooth texture with a rich roasted coffee-like and nutty flavor. You can prepare peanut coffee the same way to making traditional coffee.
Maya Nut Coffee
Maya nut coffee is another exotic alternative to acorn coffee.
The Maya nut, or breadnut, is a drupe that can be toasted and processed into a powder and used to enjoy a caffeine-free beverage.
The drink lends a mild flavor with cinnamon and mocha notes – two standard flavors of acorn coffee.
Although caffeine-free, Maya nut coffee provides a natural energy boost. This nutrient-dense powder can be enjoyed as a hot or cold drink or in baked goods and breakfast cereals.
Add one tablespoon of steamed nut milk or hot water to make Mata nut coffee.