Whatever will I do?

Today is the 11th day of my fast and all I can think about is my coffee-free future. Sunday mornings were made for coffee, in fact, just the word 'Sunday' triggers happy thoughts of a big greasy breakfast and large, bottomless vats of coffee - I can smell it now... Whatever will I do now that that avenue of pleasure is being cut off? As I sat around pondering the situation I felt myself developing an increasing hostility towards the Kraft Foods company for discontinuing Postum. Postum was my favorite coffee substitute and a pretty darn good one at that. It was healthy and hot. It was brown (which really helps when you are trying to pretend that you are drinking coffee). It had that coffee-ish flavor that made me feel like a grown-up when I was a kid and reminded me of being a kid as an adult.

I learned about the demise of Postum after the fact. I was shocked and saddened. It was like hearing about the death of a friend two weeks too late and missing the funeral. I missed the mad rush to the grocery store to hoard all remaining jars on the shelves. I was left Postumless. I even ransacked my grandparent's pantry in the hopes of finding a jar, but no such luck (I really thought my chances where pretty good considering that they still have jars of pearl onions dating back to the 40s). Then I looked on Ebay. Jars were going for $60 a piece! I guess I am not the only one in need of the mighty Postum.

Sigh.

So, what do I do now? I am sure that there are other coffee substitutes out there but will any of them measure up to Postum? Any suggestions? :)

Comments

Rosanne said…
Is there too much caffeine in decaf for you? Maybe if you /we wrote and asked Kraft why they quit and won't they start up again?
I've cut way back on my caffiene but I don't think I could cut it out totally. Good for you if you can. $60 for a jar? That's just not right!!!!
hmstrjam said…
i can't live without my coffee! one delicious cup a day is enough though- did you read the study that suggested just the smell of coffee could have the same affects as drinking coffee?
becca.elpy said…
OMG! OMG! OMG! We *loved* Postum. My family never drank coffee much but Postum was delish! We were so sad when it was discontinued, but aside from an aunt, knew of no one else who'd even heard of it. (which explains the discontinuing, right?) We did hit up the grocery stores and had a little stock of it, which is down to one jar, which none of us dare to touch. heh
Anonymous said…
Ah! Tea is the solution for you!
Earl Grey my dear-- You can't go wrong with a steaming cup of that!

Cheers,
Clayrn Darrow
M.IV
Jake Gorst said…
Grandma still has a container of Metamucil from the 60s in the downstairs bathroom cabinet. Perhaps we should break that open the next time you visit. :-)

Seriously though, I'm pretty certain we can find a Postum substitute. Becca.elpy - can you take a look at the ingredients on your last remaining jar and let us know what it was made out of?
jeweledrabbit said…
Have you ever tried chicory?
I've never tried Postum, but I drink Teecino which is a coffee tasting non-coffee that I think is delicious! I get it from the health food store, and the flavor "java" is my favorite. My stomach does not handle real coffee well anymore, even if it's decaf, so this has been a wonderful substitute for me. Good luck...I can relate!!
SummersStudio said…
OMG no coffee ever again? Unthinkable. No reason to get out of bed for me if I can't have a nice espresso in the morning. But good luck in your quest!
Gaea said…
Oh! I. Am. Sorry. That is a total bummer! I have used Celestial Seasons Roastaroma and it is coffee like. I've never tried Postum so I don't know how it would compare. http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/herbal-teas/roastaroma

I also saw this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_substitute

I hope you find a good sub!
becca.elpy said…
Postum Ingredients:

wheat bran, wheat, molasses, maltodextrin (from corn)

My parents have tried teeccino. I tried the Hazelnut, it was really harsh w/o a good amount of milk and sugar.
peacockfairy said…
I'll do some research for you and ask around. I live in Battle Creek and used to smell Postum being made every morning - it smells like burnt coffee. I work for the competition (Kellogg's) but I'll see what I can do. :-)
Tell me again why you're giving up the elixir that is coffee?
Michelle said…
one would think if it is selling for that much on ebay that they might consider making it again... I am so going to check out grandmas pantry
Anonymous said…
I've had both postum and Inka, which is made by a company called Krakus in the Chernobyl area--we used to call it fallout coffee. They taste really similar and I bet you'd like it, if you can find it.

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