The best coffee alternatives for steady energy pair less caffeine with something that keeps you fed. Matcha or green tea gives a gentle lift, black tea or yerba mate gives a bit more, and a protein drink with moderate caffeine, like our 60mg Caffeinated Chocolate, helps if coffee on an empty stomach leaves you jittery. If you want to drop caffeine entirely, chicory or a caffeine-free protein cocoa keeps the warm-mug ritual with 0mg.
In this article
- How much caffeine is in coffee alternatives?
- Coffee alternatives with caffeine, ranked
- Coffee alternatives without caffeine
- Coffee alternatives that are easy on the stomach
- Can you replace coffee with a protein drink?
- Rae vs coffee vs matcha vs a protein shake
- When to stop caffeine for the day
- How to cut back on coffee without the headache
- Where Bone Broth Protein Mix fits
- Quick answers
- Sources
I'm not anti-coffee. But as a nurse and a mom of three boys, I know the pattern: two cups before 9 a.m., nothing to eat, and a wall at 2 p.m. Here's how the common swaps compare, ours included, and where each one fits.
How much caffeine is in coffee alternatives?
| Drink (about 8 oz) | Caffeine | Protein | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewed coffee | About 95mg | 0g | The full jolt |
| Espresso, 1 oz shot | About 63mg | 0g | A smaller dose |
| Caffeinated Chocolate (Rae Basics), 1 scoop | 60mg | 14g | A coffee swap with protein built in |
| Brewed black tea | About 47mg | 0g | A middle step down |
| Matcha | Varies with how much powder you use | 0g | Calm, steady focus |
| Yerba mate | Varies by brew | 0g | A coffee-like lift |
| Brewed green tea | About 29mg | 0g | A gentle lift |
| Mocha, Classic Chocolate or Chai (Rae Basics), 1 scoop | 0mg | 14g | Coffee or chai flavor, no caffeine |
| Chicory "coffee" | 0mg | 0g | The taste of coffee, no caffeine |
Coffee and tea values are from USDA FoodData Central. Ours are from our Nutrition Facts panels, per 21g scoop, and the caffeine stays the same in 8 or 12 oz of liquid. Adding milk to any of these adds protein.
Coffee alternatives with caffeine, ranked
1. Matcha
Matcha is powdered green tea leaf. You drink the whole leaf instead of steeping it, so it usually has more caffeine than a cup of brewed green tea. Green tea also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that's been studied for calm focus. In one trial, people who took 200mg a day of L-theanine as a supplement for four weeks scored better on stress and sleep questionnaires (Hidese and colleagues, 2019). A cup of tea has far less than that, so think of it as a nice bonus, not a dose.
2. Caffeinated protein chocolate
Our Caffeinated Chocolate has 60mg of natural caffeine from green coffee beans per scoop, roughly two-thirds of a typical cup of coffee. It also has 14g of protein, 10g+ of naturally occurring collagen and 0g sugar. The lower dose helps, and the protein means you're not running on caffeine alone. If you like it cold, try our Shake-and-Go Iced Coffee.
“In the morning, I'll make Caffeinated Chocolate with hot water and a little milk when I want something warm and chocolatey that also gives me a boost of energy, but I don't necessarily want to drink coffee or take a pre-workout.”
Skotie Rae, RN, founder
3. Black tea
About half the caffeine of coffee, sold everywhere, and familiar. A good first step if you're tapering.
4. Yerba mate
A South American tea with caffeine and a long history as a stimulant drink (Heck and de Mejia, 2007). The caffeine varies a lot depending on how it's brewed, so start with a small cup.
5. Mushroom coffee
Most mushroom coffee blends are regular coffee with mushroom extract added, so check the label for the caffeine amount. When one feels gentler, it's often because the blend has less coffee in it than a normal cup.
Coffee alternatives without caffeine
- Chicory root "coffee": roasted and brewed like coffee, with a similar bitter, toasty taste and no caffeine.
- Warm protein cocoa: our Classic Chocolate, Mocha and Chai all have 0mg of caffeine. Mocha tastes like a coffee-shop mocha, so it's a good stand-in for that second cup. Try our Evening Mocha Latte.
- Golden milk or herbal tea: comforting, but little or no protein, so have it with breakfast.
Coffee alternatives that are easy on the stomach
If coffee on an empty stomach leaves you queasy or jittery, you're not alone. Three things usually help more than switching brands: eat some protein first or with it, lower the dose, and skip the giant cups. A warm drink with its own protein handles the first two at once. Our Mix is dairy-free, with creaminess from organic coconut and oat milk (it contains coconut), so it's also an option if a milky latte doesn't sit well. Stomach trouble that keeps coming back is worth mentioning to your clinician.
Can you replace coffee with a protein drink?
Yes, if you want to. What people tend to miss when they drop coffee is the ritual and the warm mug as much as the caffeine. A warm protein drink keeps both, and Caffeinated Chocolate keeps some caffeine too. You also get something coffee doesn't give you: protein early in the day, which is the meal where a lot of women come up short (here's how much protein you need in perimenopause).
Worried a bone broth drink will taste like soup? Read what bone broth protein actually tastes like. And if you'd rather keep your coffee and just add protein, our guide to putting bone broth protein in coffee covers that.
Rae vs coffee vs matcha vs a protein shake
| Rae Basics | Coffee | Matcha | Protein shake | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14g+ protein | Yes | No | No | Varies |
| Natural collagen | Yes | No | No | Varies |
| 0g sugar | Yes | Yes, black | Varies | Varies |
| Dairy-free | Yes | Yes, black | Varies | Varies |
| Caffeine | 60mg (Caffeinated Chocolate) or 0mg (other flavors) | About 95mg | Varies | Usually none |
| Served warm | Yes, or iced | Yes | Yes | Usually cold |
When to stop caffeine for the day
Caffeine lingers longer than most of us think. In one sleep study, 400mg of caffeine taken 6 hours before bed still cut total sleep time by more than an hour (Drake and colleagues, 2013). The FDA cites up to 400mg a day as an amount not generally linked with negative effects in healthy adults, but that's a ceiling, not a target, and some people are much more sensitive than others. My rule of thumb: caffeine in the morning, caffeine-free after lunch.
How to cut back on coffee without the headache
- Week 1: replace your second cup with a caffeine-free Mocha or a green tea.
- Week 2: replace your first cup with Caffeinated Chocolate or black tea, so you go from about 95mg to about 50 or 60mg.
- After that: decide what you actually want. Plenty of women keep one real coffee and swap the rest.
Cutting back gradually makes the classic caffeine-withdrawal headache less likely than quitting cold turkey.
Where Bone Broth Protein Mix fits
This is the morning we made it for. One 21g scoop of Bone Broth Protein Mix has 14g of protein, 10g+ of naturally occurring collagen and 0g sugar. It comes in four flavors: Caffeinated Chocolate (60mg natural caffeine per scoop), plus Classic Chocolate, Mocha and Chai, which have 0mg. Every number is on Rae Basics at a glance.
Quick answers
What is the best coffee alternative for energy?
For most people, a lower-caffeine drink with some protein: matcha or tea with breakfast, or a protein drink with moderate caffeine. The protein means you aren't running on caffeine alone.
What can I drink instead of coffee in the morning?
Matcha, green or black tea, yerba mate, chicory, or a warm protein drink. One scoop of Caffeinated Chocolate gives you 60mg of caffeine and 14g of protein in one mug.
Is matcha better than coffee?
Not better, just different. It usually has less caffeine than a cup of brewed coffee and contains L-theanine. It doesn't add protein.
How much caffeine is in Mocha?
None. Mocha gets its coffee taste from coffee flavor and has 0mg of caffeine. Only Caffeinated Chocolate has caffeine: 60mg of natural caffeine per scoop.
What is a good coffee alternative that is easy on the stomach?
A lower-caffeine drink taken with protein instead of on an empty stomach. A lot of women find a warm, dairy-free protein drink gentler than black coffee.
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central. Beverages, coffee, brewed, prepared with tap water (FDC ID 171890); espresso (FDC ID 171891); black tea (FDC ID 173227).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central. Beverages, tea, green, brewed, regular (FDC ID 171917).
- Drake C, Roehrs T, Shambroom J, Roth T. Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. J Clin Sleep Med. 2013;9(11):1195-1200.
- Hidese S, Ogawa S, Ota M, et al. Effects of L-theanine administration on stress-related symptoms and cognitive functions in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial. Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2362.
- Heck CI, de Mejia EG. Yerba mate tea (Ilex paraguariensis): a comprehensive review on chemistry, health implications, and technological considerations. J Food Sci. 2007;72(9):R138-R151.
