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coffee alternatives

All About Coffee

COFFEE blog

How to Biohack Your Morning Cup of Coffee, Caffeine Alternatives That Actually Taste Good, & Why Cutting Out Caffeine Could Help Save Your Hormones

Did you say Coffee? Heck yes, of course I love coffee. I don’t know many people who don’t. Especially when it’s paired with your favorite creamy frothed nut milk, full fat coconut cream, or a little raw honey and a dash of cinnamon. Wait a second, isn’t this article supposed to help me get off the coffee craze?!  Well, kind of. The key is not to completely eliminate your favorite beverage all together. We want to help you find new (and perhaps tastier) ways to consume your favorite stimulant, but it’s possible that after reading this you might be excited to try other alternatives. The point is that you are choosing a morning beverage that is supportive and balancing to your individual health while also maintaining the rituals that you love.

Caffeine, like any strong stimulant, is highly addictive. This is why it can become increasingly difficult when it comes to limiting your consumption. Unfortunately, too much of a good thing is never really all that good. There is a famous quote in the Bhagavad Gita explaining, "that which seems like nectar at first, eventually will taste like poison.” The key is finding the appropriate balance and applying moderation to everything you choose to take into your body. Finding balance will differ from person to person and is best discovered after you have first eliminated the stimulant, allowed for a detox period, and then slowly added it back in. (This goes for most foods and allergens). Another way to determine whether or not you tolerate coffee is through genetic testing. It might sound extreme, but genetic testing can give you a lot of insight to what’s going on internally. However, I’ve found that the elimination method is super effective. It is only then that you can really figure out where your sweet spot is and whether or not you’re overdoing it with your caffeine intake.

Overloading your system with caffeine can lead to some unwanted negative side effects to your health. Caffeine, especially coffee, elevates your cortisol (your body’s main stress hormone) which can wreak havoc on your endocrine system (especially if you are a woman). And, when your hormones are out of whack this can then lead to a lot of other issues like: sleep disturbances, weight gain or a stall in weight loss, PMS, increased anxiety, increased blood pressure, and that unwanted jittery feeling.

Ugh, sounds like a lot right? 

The good news is there are SO many amazing coffee alternatives out there with tremendous benefits to your health. Once you get past your initial caffeine withdrawal you might even like your new replacement beverage even better than your usual beloved cup of coffee.

Our Favorite Coffee Alternatives

Rasa Original Herbal Coffee: Backed by Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rasa herbal blends are packed with herbs and adaptogens to give you more wakeful energy without stressing out your nervous system. Also in Rasa’s line up:

  • Rasa Cacoa Herbal Coffee
  • Rasa Dirty Coffee
  • Shakti School insiders get a discount with the promocode SHAKTIXRASA

LAKA Matcha Green Tea: Although green tea still has caffeine is has significantly less and it also includes L-Theanine which helps to calm the nervous system

Paavani Hydrating Blend: Another ayurvedic herbal alternative. They have also a nice Rooibos Tea

Four Sigmatic Reishi Cocoa Blend & Foursigmatic Matcha Green Tea

  • For 10% OFF Four Sigmatic with promo code SHAKTIFOUR

If You're Still Going to Drink Coffee...

Don’t worry, there is an upside to all of this. The good news is that it is true there are some benefits to drinking small amounts of coffee. Coffee contains chlorogenic acid which is the main component contributing to it being a good source for antioxidants. Additionally, studies continuously show that drinking coffee increases your lifespan, aids in liver detoxification, increases insulin sensitivity and improves beta cell function, and not to mention it leaves you with a little boost.

If you have determined that you can tolerate coffee (through elimination and reintroduction or by testing your genetics), you still want to be extra careful when it comes to which coffee you choose and how you prepare it. If you’re not ready to kick coffee to the curb, here are some helpful tips:

  • Always Buy Organic: Non-organic coffee is one of the most heavily sprayed crops. Those narly chemicals & pesticides go straight into your morning brew and have an affinity for female reproductive organs.
  • Always Buy Mold-Free: Unfortunately, coffee is one the #1 food item in the grocery store that is highly susceptible to mold. Make sure to do your research on your favorite roasts to ensure that you’re drinking the cleanest coffee possible. Many coffee companies are starting to advertise for mold testing.
  • Choose darker roasts: darker blends actually have the least amount of caffeine
  • Don’t Filter Out the Healthy Oils: Using a metal filter, a french press, or any other brewing method where you’re not losing the oils to a paper strainer (those oils are the source of antioxidants
  • Use Spring Water
  • Properly Store Your Coffee: Coffee beans are best stored in an opaque, airtight container, not in the freezer or stored in glass on your kitchen counter. Coffee is highly absorbent so it’s best to keep it away from moisture, sunlight, oxygen, or other odors that could diminish the benefits of your coffee.
  • Consider Adding Fat: Blending your coffee with fat such as grass-fed butter or coconut oil may help to avoid a blood pressure spike which could also cause  an increase in cortisol.

Our Favorite Coffee Products

  • Kion Coffee
  • Bulletproof Coffee
  • Kimera Coffee
  • Coffee Gator For Proper Storage

Herbal Cacoa Latte
(can also be made with coffee 😉

-1 cup of hot rasa coffee (or your favorite mold-free coffee)  

-1 tablespoons organic cacao powder

-1 tablespoon coconut butter 

-1 tablespoon cashew butter

-1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon 

-1 scoop of collagen (optional)

-¼ cup of warm nut milk (optional) 

-A tiny dash of cardamom

Place all ingredients in a high powered blender, blend on high for 15 seconds, pour into your favorite mug and enjoy!

Herbal Cacoa Latte

References

  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2257922/
  • https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/coffee-tips-tricks-hacks-or-getting-the-most-out-of-coffee/
  • https://chriskresser.com/rhr-is-drinking-coffee-good-for-you/
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TheShaktiSchool

Goddess - I can’t wait for you to get your hands Goddess - I can’t wait for you to get your hands on my Summer Ayurveda Recipe Mix Tape - where every slurp, sip and spoonful is a devotional act of beauty, pleasure and full-body honoring. 🍓💦 ⁠
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Inside its 30+ drool-worthy pages you’ll find smoothies that melt like silk on your tongue, hydrating herbal coolers that will kindle your inner flirt and goddess-approved, belly-loving meals that whisper: ⁠
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Because that’s what Summer of Love is really about.⁠
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👉🏽 Here’s the download. ⁠
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Right now we’re offering the LOWEST price, PLUS the highest-value free gifts, that we’ll be offering for Shakti Ayurveda School all year. Period. ⁠
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And it only lasts until August 11th.⁠
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Sign up for the 2026 Ayurveda School before 8/11 and you’ll get my Ayurveda Summer Recipe Mix Tape e-book FREE, plus:⁠
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Ready to claim 2026 as your most transformational, soul-honoring, juicy year yet and join us in Shakti Ayurveda School? ⁠
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What Vanilla ice has to do with our Ayurveda progr What Vanilla ice has to do with our Ayurveda program. Ice ice baby summer! 🔻🌺🪐😉🌹🙌🏻😝
The Summer of Love Sale is ON, babe. ☀️⁠ ⁠ The Summer of Love Sale is ON, babe. ☀️⁠
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This is your invitation to turn up the pleasure, turn down the heat and say YES to healing, soul purpose + reclaiming your innate feminine wisdom.⁠
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When you join our Ayurvedic Wellness Coach Certification Program now through August 11th, you’ll receive:⁠
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— 💸 $100 off tuition on any payment plan (which is already the lowest earlybird price you’ll see all year)⁠
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— 🍹 A downloadable, 30+ page Ayurveda for Summer Recipe Book chock full of brand new recipes like Creamy Cucumber-Mint Kitchari, Herbed Turkey Patties with Yogurt Mint Sauce and Strawberry-Rose Moon Smoothie (trust me, you’ll be drooling 🤤)⁠
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🎁 Gifts only available until August 11th. Grab your spot + your gifts now at the link in bio.
Katie here. The real one.  It is summer in Virgi Katie here. The real one. 

It is summer in Virginia and today it’ll reach 101 degrees. I’m covered in rose oil, drinking coconut water and main-lining some sweet watermelon chunks to power up the morning. 

In other words - it’s HOT.

And I seem to always forget how activating the summertime can be. It comes out of nowhere, right? The intensity. The anger. The insomnia. The hot-flash.

But, there is one thing I come back to time and time again - and that’s The Shakti School Basics. 

Here is what that looks like:

1. Stop. Pause. Lay down or sit down. 
2. Make a commitment to be still for a bit.
3. Feel and open to everything that is arising in this moment.
4. Breathe. Let your awareness drop in and down your body. 
5. Breathe. Let your awareness rise above your body. 
6. Breathe. Let your heart soften and open and receive. 
7. Rest in the opening and stillness and energy that is always there. 
8. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

This is the starting point for everything we do in Level 1 Ayurveda School, which BTW we have just opened for early bird registration! 

And in honor of cooling our collective summer heat - I want to give you SO much cool stuff. Plus, a way to connect and start studying with me RIGHT NOW! 

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✨A downloadable Ayurveda for Summer recipe book, straight outta’ Katie’s kitchen

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🍉 Sign up before 8/11 to claim your free gifts.

With sunshine + soul,
Katie + The Shakti School Team
The best food on the planet can’t help you if yo The best food on the planet can’t help you if you don’t have the digestive fire to transform and assimilate what you are putting in your body.⁠
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The ancient texts called this digestive fire AGNI.⁠
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Agni is what transforms and assimilates what we are taking in, whether it’s food, life experiences or thoughts. ⁠
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Ayurveda holds that many of our diseases start with the accumulation of toxins (ama) in the body. This sludge builds up when our metabolic fire is unable to burn what we are putting into the body. ⁠
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When our agni is functioning well, Ayurveda teaches that our body will be healthy, our skin radiant, our mind clear and our energy balanced.⁠
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The good news is this: You can start boosting your agni right now with this little tip. ⁠
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👉🏽 Add Ginger Pickle to your routine! And no - it’s not the kind of pickle you pile high on a sandwich - it’s more of an agni-honoring, pre-meal ritual.⁠
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A small dab (about the size of your thumb tip) is traditionally taken before meals to stimulate the digestive fire and awaken agni.⁠
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🫚Here’s the Ginger Pickle how-to: Slice a few pieces of fresh ginger. Add a pinch of rock salt and a spray of fresh lemon or lime juice. Eat before meals to kick-start your metabolic fire!

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