Tuesday 8 January 2008

Coffee Alternative


I tried 'Ginger's Best Coffee' yesterday morning, instead of my usual industrial 80-proof coffee.

Tagged as 'The Official Drink of Superheroes Everywhere', I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Here are the ingredients:

*a scoop of Cacao powder
4 capsules of Fo-ti , minus the capsules (also called Ho Shou Wu)
a scoop of Maca
a tbsp of lucuma aka Lucmo
a squirt of yacon
a squirt of Agave
1/4 inch Vanilla Bean
dash of Nutmeg
handful of Cashews
cup of Ice
cup or so of Water

Where do these Superheroes live, anyway? I hadn't heard of half this stuff!

Off I went, determined to crack the mystery.

First I went to Capers, upstairs to their wellness department. This is where you'll find vitamins, protein powders, Bach's flower remedies, natural shampoos, toothpastes, that kind of stuff.

After showing the woman my coffee ingredients, I was (kindly) sent packin' across the street, to see if the Chinese Herbalist had any Fo-ti. He did, but only in 'bark' form...the hardcore stuff. I just wanted capsules because apparently, you open 4 and pour them into the blender. (Oh, did I mention this is a blender drink?)

She hadn't heard of yacon, either, and I didn't yet know it was a South American fruit-like vegetable, related to the sunflower, often made into a sweetener, tasting kind of like a cross between molasses and agave.

Nevermind Lucuma, we just looked at each other and shrugged.

So from these two places, I drove to Commercial Drive, to a place called Sweet Cherubim, known for its health foods and potions. They had had Fo-ti but none of the other stuff. I left, happy to at least know where to find it when the time came that I gathered my other ingredients. I was beginning to wonder if I would.

I was really eager to try it, because I have been really interested for a long time now, in quitting my morning coffee. This was apparently very satisfying and coffee-like, giving you great energy, in a natural way, unlike the whipping coffee does to your system. What I mean here is that I once read coffee stimulates your body in the same way a whip moves a horse into action...setting off movement based on negative stimulus.

I went home, wondering if I'd ever be a Superhero.

Later that evening, I had to go back to Capers and for no other reason than being a dog with a bone, I walked back upstairs to the wellness department. Maybe I missed something?

This time, a different woman was on shift, and she asked if I needed any help finding anything. I told her, "Well... I was in earlier, and I've been trying to gather ingredients for this coffee..."
and I pulled out my list.

Right away, she started nodding and talking.

"Okay... the Fo-ti, we have, but only in tincture form, but I can order capsules. The yacon I can also order in, and the lucuma is not available in Canada as far as I know, but I'll check my computer."

Well now!

I was bowled over with renewed hope, and I left my name and number so she could call me when my stuff comes in.

That was a week ago; tap tap tap tap tap.

Meanwhile, I have been collecting the other ingredients, so with cacao, maca, agave, vanilla bean, nutmeg, cashews, ice, and water, I set my blender a-crunchin' and a-whirrin'. I coulda woke up the dead with the noise it made. Steve was still asleep so I threw my down jacket over it to muffle the noise, but he still came out, squinting, and scratching his armpit. Ooops. Aheh.

Bjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjklkskljjjjjj that's the blender, back on.

After a minute or so, I poured out what looked like a latte into a tall glass.

Holy cow, it tasted like one too. This drink was surprisingly coffee-like! It was delicious and went down easily! Typing about it now makes me want one again.

About 1/2 hour after ingesting it, I started to burp cashews (sorry, tmi) and realized that DOH! I hadn't soaked them overnight, so they would be harder to digest. Within an hour I was ok again, so it was a mild reaction, and otherwise, I felt clear and primo all day.

Not having Fo-ti and yacon in it, well, I don't know what I was missing, and it still tasted good. The Fo-ti is for energy, and I'm not convinced I need more of that ;) but it's on order, so I'll deal with it when it comes in.

I have a new drink. Now I need a cape. :)


*not cocoa powder...this is very different. Cacao ('ao' switch) is raw, unrefined, pure chocolate, and cocoa is the common 'Quick' stuff we all throw mini marshmallows in. In its raw state, it is ripe with antioxidants and dare I say, medicinal properties. I haven't yet found the powder, so I threw 'nibs' into the blender and it seemed to do the trick, though as I say, I don't know what I'm missing. :)

4 comments:

alissa said...

yum. that sounds fantastic! i'll have to put on my goggles and see if i can find those secret ingredients...

Rawkin' said...

It is pretty darned good, alissa :)
Very latte like. Superhero goggles...of course!
xo
Rawkin'

alissa said...

when i lived in seattle, my friends an i had superhero alter egos. mine had x-ray vision. but she needed to goggles for it (which made her prone to blindside attacks)...

Kristen's Raw said...

Love the post :)

Cheers!
Kristen's Raw

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