5 Healthy Coffee Alternatives To Energize You All Day

Caffeine is life but did you know that coffee isn’t the only source of it? AND it isn’t only caffeine that has energizing properties!? Coffee can come with some pretty bad side effects, especially if you’re drinking a lot of it. I mean, too much of anything is never good for our health.

There are other plants that are healthy coffee alternatives with energizing properties, and these are my top five!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Healthy Coffee Alternatives With Caffeine To Keep You Going all Day Long

Why You Might Want A Coffee Replacement For Caffeine?

Let’s be real, coffee is great, but it isn’t always our friend. Maybe coffee makes you instantly run to the bathroom (I’ve been there!)? Coffee can also stress you out with extreme caffeine jitters and a fast heart rate?

There’s also the impending side effects once the caffeine from coffee wears off. Perhaps you go through caffeine withdrawal with some terrible headaches? Or you’re met with a complete energy crash at the end of the day? And these are just some examples of the negatives side effects to coffee.

Top 5 Healthy Coffee Alternatives

Wether you want to cut off coffee completely or you’re looking for some caffeine alternatives for energy, here are my top five coffee replacements!

	Caffeine (mg / cup)	Read More
Coffee (Filter)	80-100^*^{MedicalNewsToday}	/
Black Tea	64-112^*^{MedicalNewsToday}	Click Here
Matcha	75-177^*^{MedicalNewsToday}	Click Here
Yerba Mate	80 ^*NCBI	Click Here
Guayusa	40-90^{*average from several sources}	Click Here
Yaupon	50-60^{*average from several sources}	Click Here

*The amounts are all averages that vary from brands, how many grams you use, and how long it’s steeping in 1 cup of water.

1. Black Tea: Caffeine Alternatives

The most popular caffeine alternative to coffee is black tea! Black tea comes from the leaves of the Camelia sinensis plant. The Camelia sinensis plant also gives us white, green, oolong, yellow, and dark tea. Any of these types of teas will have caffeine, but black tea has the most.

Black tea also very similar to coffee, making it an easy switch from your morning cup of coffee. It’s dark, a tad bitter, and can be mixed to your liking with milk and sugar! There are even specific breakfast blends to get you through the morning hump. Try out the different breakfast blends, like English, Irish, and Scottish! (See the difference between each one in my comparison post!).

P.S. You can also read about the differences between the types of Camelia sinensis teas .

a mason jar sits on it's side, spilling out the contents on to the white stable below it. It's a stark image, could be black and white. The tea inside that's spilling out has a light brown hue though. English-Breakfast-teas

Black Tea Is A Healthy Alternative To Coffee Because Of L-Theanine

Black tea has less caffeine than coffee but that’s not why it’s so much better than coffee. Black tea also has the addition of L-theanine, an amino acid that balances out the caffeine to give a more slow and steady energy boost over a few hours

That means say goodbye to those horrible caffeine crashes and jitters! L-theanine is more of a relaxing, stress-reducing source of energy – if that even makes sense! So black tea is one of the best coffee alternatives if you’re looking for some energy without the complete end of day crash! Pick up some black tea for your next morning or afternoon caffeine fix!

P.S. Did you know that tea is also so powerful that it might even help you live longer!

coffee vs black tea for a caffeine alternative. A double walled glass mug holds an amber liqueur, this is black tea. It's much lighter and more see through than the small glass mug that sits behind it with coffee. It's a dark brown colour that you can't see through. There are coffee beans in a semi circle around the mug in the back and some tea leaves around the mug in the front.

2. Matcha Tea: Coffee Alternatives For Energy

If you’re looking for a bit more of a caffeine boost than black tea, matcha is one of the best coffee alternatives for energy. Matcha is a type of Japanese green tea from the Camelia sinensis plant. As I mentioned, even though they are from the same plant, matcha and black tea could not be more different.

For starters, matcha leaves have been crushed into a powder. This means that when you make matcha, you drink the leaves themselves (instead of merely steeping the leaves for black tea). By drinking instead of steeping, you’re ingesting more of the benefits (and more caffeine!).

But on top of that, to be used as matcha, the plan also has to be shade grown. This increases the number of amino acids (which means there’s even more L-theanine and caffeine being produced). Remember L-Theanine from black tea? L-Theanine is responsible for a slow and steady energy release.

You’ll need a few things to make matcha at home if you want to make it the traditional way. But first I recommend seeing if you like the taste. Start with getting some good quality matcha and using some regular kitchen items you probably already have at home! Then if you like matcha, you can upgrade to a full traditional matcha set.

matcha as a caffeine alternative to coffee. Both options are displayed on a white background. There's a mason jar spilling over to reveal a semi circle of coffee beans. They encircle a pinch bowl filled with bright green matcha powder with a slender bamboo whisk inside. There's a traditional matcha whisk behind, and a matcha bowl filled with already frothed matcha that's ready to drink

3. Yerba Mate: Caffeine Alternatives

Yerba Mate (yer-bah ma-tay) comes from the Ilex paraguariensis plant. It’s part of the Holly plant family that includes over 500 species (and 2 others also contain caffeine, but more on those in a bit!). Yerba Mate is mostly popular in South America, where the plant originates. But over the years, it’s been gaining popularity for its health benefits and caffeine levels that rivals coffee.

You do have to watch out when drinking Yerba mate though. Although Mate might be healthier for you in some regards, it does come with some associated risks. Be sure to make sure it’s safe for you to drink! Also, if you’re hypersensitive to the caffeine in coffee, Yerba Mate may have the same effects for you. Read more about the benefits and risks or Yerba mate in my post.

Along with buying some yerba mate, you’ll need a few essentials to drink it the traditional way. Of course, you can make it with what you have at home, otherwise you’ll need a gourd and bombilla.

P.S. Yerba mate is also smoked, which isn’t the healthiest to consume and is a polarizing flavour profile. If you’re interested, you can find unsmoked Yerba mate on Amazon.

two hands cup a traditional yerba mate gourd between them. It looks like the hands are holding on tight to consume all the gourds warmth that eminates from the hot yerba mate tea inside. The tea inside looks like thick green chunky liquid. Sticking out is a stainless steel straw.

Yerba Mate Caffeine Vs. Coffee Caffeine

Yerba mate might be one of the best coffee alternatives for energy: it contains the most amount of caffeine, but like tea, it doesn’t leave you with the jitters or a crash. Yerba mata caffeine is able to stimulate while still be soothing. And this time it’s not thanks to L-Theanine, so how?

Yerba mate is what’s known as an adaptogenic. Being an adaptogenic means that it regulates all body systems. It’s able to adapt to your body and harmonize it – stabilizing different types of stressors.

Yerba mate also contains compounds like theophylline and theobromine. Theophyline (which is also found in tea) is connected to our airways. It relaxes our airway muscles, helping us breath deeper and easier. Theobromine, on the other hand, is a mild stimulant increasing blood flow to the brain (p.s. it’s also found in chocolate!).

Read more about the differences between Yerba mate and coffee.

yerba mate vs coffee visual representation. The yerba mate is steeping in a traditional gourd with a straw, bombilla, sticking out. There is a pile of shiny coffee beans next to it.

4. Guayusa As A Coffee Replacement

Guayusa (Gwhy-YOU-sah) is from the ilex guayusa plant. It’s actually in the same plant family as Yerba mate (holly) it’s just a different species of tree. Despite both Guayusa and Yerba mate being from the same plant family, they are quite different.

The Guayusa tree originates in northern South America, primarily the Amazon Rainforest and it’s primarily consumed in Ecuador. Versus Yerba mate which is grown and consumed in Southern South America: Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.

Guyausa does have slightly less caffeine than Yerba mate, but you might find it easier to drink and still makes one of the best coffee alternatives for energy. Personally, I find the flavours more mild, so I like Guayusa better.

two coffee alternatives are in their own pinch bowls next to coffee beans. Yerba matta is on the bottom, it's yellow bits and pieces of a leaf. Guayusa is a smilliar shape, ripped pieces of a leaf, but it is brighter green.

Guayusa As Caffeine Alternatives To Coffee

The caffeine content in guayusa is lower than yerba mate, but it’s not a huge difference and it’s still higher than caffeine in Camelia sinensis teas. Guayusa is similar to both mate and black or green tea in its compounds. In fact, it actually overlaps with both mate and Camelia sinensis tea, making it the best of both worlds!

Like tea, guayusa contains L-theanine, allowing the caffeine to give you an energy boost while still being relaxing. It counteracts the jitters and increased heart rate that comes with caffeine in coffee. This is also what’s missing from Yerba mate! But like yerba mate, guayusa contains Theobromine which increases blood flow to the brain.

The only compound guayusa is missing is theophylline (which is found in both mate and tea). Remember, this responsible for relaxing our airway muscles.

And another downside to guayusa is that it can be harder to find in North America as it’s not as popular as Yerba mate and tea. I bought it from Tealyra in Canada, but I also found this one from Amazon with good reviews.

a close up of guayusa green leaf pieces and the coffee beans sitting on the counter next to them.

5. Yaupon Coffee Alternatives With Caffeine

Yaupon (YO-ponn) is from the eIlex vomitoria family- which is also a part of the Holly plant family. This tree grows in a different region than both mate and guayusa. It actually grows in Southeastern North America (spanning borders from Texas to South Carolina).

Despite it being the only tea native to North America, it isn’t very known at all! And when compared to it’s South American cousins, there is hardly anything known about this tea, which unfortunately doesn’t make it the easiest tea to find.

I still have yet to find and try yaupon tea in Canada, but I’ve read that the taste has been compared to green tea with less bitterness (due to lack of tannins). You can find it in the States from Lost Pines, or different Yauapon blends from Yaupon Brothers.

Like guayusa, yaupon caffeine levels aren’t as strong as in yerba mate. But it’s still a very healthy coffee alternative tea to consume and the caffeine reactions are similar to other holly plants and Camelia sinensis.

The non-coffee caffeine effects are thanks to theobromine in yaupon. You can read more about the differences between coffee and yaupon.

Fun fact: Yaupon tea was actually used as caffeine alternatives during the American Civil War when coffee supplies were disrupted.

close up coffee beans next to Yaupon yerba mate and guayusa

Non Caffeinated Coffee Alternatives For Energy

If you want to avoid caffeine altogether, there are in fact herbs and roots that can be coffee alternatives for energy that don’t contain any caffeine at all! A very popular root is Ginseng – you may have seen that as an ingredient on several energy drinks.

But there’s a whole other list of herbs and roots you can try!