good morning all you coffee lovers out there! 
when i first showed up in feb. there was a topic going on coffee, but i can’t find it now…buried?
anyway, i wanted to suggest yerba mate. gets you going, packed full of vitamins, and doesn’t have caffeine (has a caf. relative) so you don’t get cof. wired or let down.
only if i do too much does it interfere with meditation. cheers!
Thanks, Alan. I’ve been trying a lot of non-caffeine drinks in the last month. Another excellent one is Roma. It’s like Cafix, but tastier, and when I make it extra strong it’s as close to coffee as I’ve yet found. Forgot about yerba mate - I’ll give it a shot.
Hi Alan,
I think you may be referring to this discussion earlier about coffee:
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=775
Alan,
Yes, when I’m tired and grumpy during prolonged physical labor, yerba mate puts a smile on my face. It is a great team-builder. I’m told, that is how it is used in Brazil where it is native.
I ordered mine from this place:
http://www.matefactor.com/
Bewell
hi bewell 
stuff’s good huh? puts a smile on my face too. i think i said it has vitamins, but also antioxidants, minerals and phytonutrients (don’t know what they are, but it sounds healthy). i’m looking at the package and i don’t really see what vitamins. i just get mine at the local food co-op, 16 oz ecotea brand, loose leaf for about $9.00. a year ago i finally put down a twenty year habit of “biker brew”, if you know what i mean. the mate gives me a clean vroom-vroom. coffee is good stuff, but jittery with a drop kick and a headache to boot. you’re a laborer too, eh? good for the soul, bad for the old body. peace
Yea, Alan, “jittery” and “headache” are two feelings I connect with regular coffee. Decaf, not so much. Decaf coffee is what I’ve been drinking lately, but I think I’ll have a mate right now. See ya, Bewell
from wikipedia:
Mate contains xanthines, which are alkaloids in the same family as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine, well-known stimulants also found in coffee and chocolate. Mate also contains other elements, such as Potassium, Magnesium and Manganese.
Mate products are sometimes marketed as “caffeine-free” alternatives to coffee and tea, and said to have fewer negative effects. This is often based on a claim that the primary active xanthine in mate is “mateine”, said to be a stereoisomer of caffeine. However, caffeine has no stereoisomers. “Mateine” is regarded as synonymous with caffeine.
Researchers at Florida International University in Miami have found that yerba mate does contain caffeine, but some people seem to tolerate it better than coffee or tea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate
Etherfish,
Thanks for the chemistry info.
In my experience, there is definitely a difference between the feelings I have with coffee as contrasted yerba mate. Coffee makes me buzz, Mate makes me smile. Coffee predisposes me to headache, not so with Mate.
I’m guessing the effect of the drink has to do with the complex synthesis of chemicals, rather than a simple caffeine=caffeine.
Have you tried it?
Bewell
Hi Bewell:
Have you tried a product call Cafix. I found out about it on this forum and have been drinking it for about 2 months and don’t really miss the coffee too much. I boil 3/4 milk and 1/4 water then pour in cup with cafix,also I add about 1 teaspoon of pure maple syrup. You can buy it on line or at any health food store.Delish
Good luck and welcome to the forum,sure hope you stick around and keep sharing your insights.
Guy
Interesting to check out for caffeine content:
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_info1.shtml
bewell wrote:
“In my experience, there is definitely a difference between the feelings I have with coffee as contrasted yerba mate. Coffee makes me buzz, Mate makes me smile. Coffee predisposes me to headache, not so with Mate.
I’m guessing the effect of the drink has to do with the complex synthesis of chemicals, rather than a simple caffeine=caffeine”
I didn’t mean to belittle the effects of mate, just the myth that it doesn’t have caffeine.
Yes, I’ve tried it, and like the buzz better than coffee. Feels more organic.
No belittling worries here 
. I beleive you’re right, Ether. The combination of caffeine and other chemicals make the effects different than coffee. This stuff is potent though, when made strong. I’ve had some problems with coffee, then cocoa, now mate’, since i’ve quit my intrav. meth. addiction as of a year ago. Seems I’m replacing the speed need. I know it sounds funny, but it’s a bit of a problem for me. I make the mate’ very strong. It does interfere with my meditation. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of emotional crutches and take the final steps to freedom. Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu Om santih santih santih
This is probably not funny to you, but since I used to work in the medical community a while ago, when you said intravenous meth, it took me five minutes of imagining to realize you didn’t mean a bottle of it over your bed, dripping into an IV tube! I was thinking, wow that is SO hardcore.
Yeah, caffeine affects my meditation too. What you can do, when you discover that you have too much caffeine, is practice meditation anyway. The easiest thing to do is say “I can’t do this now.” But sometime try doing the best you can, and using one-pointed concentration and will power to cut through the caffeine. Refuse to let jangling thoughts distract you from the mantra. You can get surprising results. Then apply the one-pointedness without the caffeine, and it’s like a jet engine.
I know this goes against Yogani’s instruction of “favoring” the mantra, but for me it’s the only way on caffeine.
Hi Ether; Yes. I do my best to accept my condition under caffeine and meditate through it, for I must have my meditation. My will-power to quit is so weak, but on the other hand if it helps ween me from the meth… Often I’m able to pass thru and go deep if I meditate long enough. If I keep the caffeine to a minimum, then no problem. Thanks for the note. LOVE
Steven Seagal’s energy drink with ginko, goji, ginseng, mate, cordyceps, guarana, b-vitamins, green tea!
http://www.lightningdrink.com/
I know coffee makes you mind more alert and keep you up. At the same time it makes your metabolism faster and your body flushes out more frequently.
Then you might need to take calcium supplement at the bed time to avoid bone loss.
To my knowledge calcium needs a longer time to process in the body which doesn’t happen with coffee consumption.