Teeccino Herbal Coffee

I found this great product on a blog about a year ago shortly after I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis and put on a very restrictive diet. My doctor told me to stop drinking coffee immediately. Acidic foods and caffeine were now off the menu. I was really upset. I love coffee and I didn’t want to give it up. I looked forward to drinking it every day. The sound and smell of the coffee maker early in the morning made me WANT to get out of bed. Brad and I had been roasting our own coffee at home for the past 2 years and I didn’t want to stop that either. I decided to cut back to 1 cup a day, but not to avoid it completely. To my disappointment eliminating 1 cup didn’t make much of a difference and I still felt horrible. So, finally I understood that I had to give it up completely if I wanted to get better. I stopped drinking coffee and my symptoms slowly improved. Even though I knew it made me sick I still missed it. I went to a few health food stores to search for a substitute. I tried a few instant brands that tasted nothing like real coffee. Also, I bought an expensive one made out of dandelions and one made out of chicory. They just weren’t the same. I found a blog about living with Cystitis and there was information on safe coffee substitutes that didn’t cause flare ups. According to the blog, Teeccino was safe for IC patients and tasted the best. The Teeccino website said it was caffeine free, non acidic and made from Ramon nuts that grew in the rainforest. Hmmm… Sounded strange, but I was getting desperate for a replacement, (and irritable from caffeine withdrawal) so I ordered the sampler pack. I wasn’t too optimistic when it arrived. Maybe I’m just too picky about this stuff? I opened a pack and it looked just like coffee grounds. It smelled OK too. The instructions said to brew and serve just like coffee. We made the Organic Caffé flavor in the coffee maker and it smelled pretty good. It wasn’t exactly the early morning coffee smell I remembered, but I liked it for some reason. I drank the first cup black. To my surprise it was actually good! I was amazed at how much it tasted like real coffee. Yes! There really is something that tasted like coffee and didn’t make me sick. Yahoo! FYI- if you want to try it I would recommend ordering the sample pack. The cost is $12.99, (free shipping) for a pack of all 10 flavors. Each pack makes 6 cups in the coffee maker and there is instructions on how to make it with a french press, iced, or in an espresso machine. I thought they all tasted good, except maybe the Chocolate Mint flavor. Not a fan of that one! If you sign up online for their “Healthy Tips” newsletter you can get a free trial size packet of your choice. If you want to cut back on your coffee consumption, quit without tears, or you are forced to stop due to a medical condition like I was then this product may help. The website is http://www.teeccino.com or you can click the link on this blog. Do you know of a similar product? We would love to hear about it. Thanks!