An adventure in giving up coffee.
In an attempt to give up coffee for a while, I decided to try Raja’s Cup.
On Robb Wolf’s podcast, Robb vouched for Raja’s Cup as having adaptogenic effects and contains licorice to prevent degradation of cortisol; hence coffee replacement in the morning. It came with one warning: Keep an eye out for blood pressure if you use it every single day. Price was cited as ~$13 for a can that makes 100 cups of coffee. It was recommended that you get a local health food store to order it for you.
Raja’s Cup Taste
When the package arrived I decided to start in full force using the strongest ratio and wrong equipment; Call me a hero if you wish. Despite the canned product being meant for drip coffee makers, I decided to go for a french press. The recipe on the back says 2 cups of water to 1-1.5 tsp of Raja’s Cup mix. I brewed in the french press for 4 minutes and then went in for a taste.
Imagine something that tastes very much like coffee, with an unmistakable nuttiness, and a flavor I can only associate with those bitter woody planks at the center of pecans. Surprising. Frightening. Still, I love strong and unusual tastes. I was enjoying my purchase but I wanted to keep tinkering; the current appeal was too much like tea, yet it was improved by adding tea. (More on this below.)
My journal, the first day with Raja’s Cup: I’ve only had it once (drank the entire few cups) but I do think the effects were tangible. I was really alert for a period of several hours. I had some tequila some time later when guests were over and I felt like I was in a dream state; Hyper alert but with fuzzy edges. I was very slightly suspicious I was actually dreaming. It was a novel experience.
Since then I don’t think it has affected me quite as heavily, but I have been enjoying the drink as an additive to tea.
Raja’s Cup as a Tea Additive
I’ve since had a chance to make several cups of Raja’s cup. I’ve been able to adjust the flavor to my palate considerably by brewing Raja’s Cup as a background to tea. See, I don’t really like tea because it bores my palate very quickly. Typically it doesn’t matter what I put in it, I still get tired of tea after half a cup; Not so if I add the coffee flavor of Raja’s Cup in the background. What follows is my own creation.
Example Raja Tea Recipe
1. I brew 1/2 tbsp of Raja’s cup and 1 green tea bag (or any tea; standard serving) in a french press with 2-2.25 cups of water. The additional notes from the tea helps round out the flavor.
2. Time does not appear to be a factor in the flavor, at least no variation above 3 minutes. I’m afraid to brew for less because I might be wasting the herbs. I typically go for 4 minutes to mimic coffee french press recipes.
3. Serve at a hot but not scalding temperature. Just like tea.
4. Add just the right amount of honey in the cup so it’s still just slightly bitter–not over-sweetened. Stir honey in thoroughly to integrate, so the honey doesn’t sit at the bottom and throw off the taste as you drink it.
5. A tablespoon or two of coconut cream also helps trick the taste buds into thinking it is a nutty flavor, not bitter.
Summary
While I can drink Raja’s Cup straight, this tinkering has made this into a very specific drink that I really enjoy. It adds a coffee background to all my teas that I otherwise don’t enjoy by themselves.
And yes, I haven’t had any coffee in a while.
Thanks for sending me a sample of it. I’ll be sure to try it soon! As someone who works at a coffee shop, it would be nice to have an alternative to coffee that’s as pleasing to drink but not as boring as tea.