Buzz-less Brew
It’s about 2 am, you’re on your last ten pages of Milton, and you’re staring at the bottom of an empty coffee mug. Your throat scratches and your stomach grumbles…but your mattress is calling. Decaf is good enough. But delicious decaf? Much better.
There are lots of decaf coffees out there, and chances are you’ve had bouts of buzzless mornings before. Either voluntarily (you want to show your roomates/significant other/self you can kick the habit) or involuntarily (your roomates/significant other want to show you they can kick the habit), a couple weeks of decaf coffee can be the lent of the coffee drinker’s liturgical year.
I say it’s high time we buzz-seekers embraced the decaffeniated bean. Here are a few delicious variations on decaf drinks that won’t kick you into high gear at the end of a study session or make you yearn for that delicious black buzz at O-dark-hundred on a weekday morning.
First, Sanka. Instant granules of deliciousness so often overlooked. I have been drinking this since age ten, when I wanted to be like dad. Here’s his recipe:
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1 teaspoon Sanka 1-2 teaspoons sugar 1 cup of milk Warm the milk and stir in the rest. |
Second, Postum. Though not actually made from coffee beans (in fact, it’s made from bran), Postum still has a hint of coffee flavor that makes it an excellent complement to cocoa and spices. Here’s a basic mix, but feel free to experiment with other spices, sweeteners, and the like:
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1 teaspoon Postum 1 teaspoon bitter cocoa 2 teaspoons sugar 1 cup of hot milk 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Heat milk and mix in other ingredients thoroughly. Alternatively, you can leave out the cocoa and vanilla and sprinkle in some nutmeg. |
Both of these drinks are great for an evening of sitting on the futon with friends, or for warming up a rainy March morning. Enjoy!
