Giving up coffee? The cup that replaces it is closer to hot chocolate — brewed like coffee, and only as sweet as you make it
Hot chocolate is the drink everyone already trusts, and this is the bean it comes from — roasted, ground and brewed in a press or a drip machine exactly the way coffee is. It arrives unsweetened, so the sugar is a decision rather than a given. What it is not is coffee, tea, or a packet of mix, and the table below is every ingredient statement side by side.
Roasted, ground and packed by us.
What is actually in the alternatives
Ingredient statements as each brand publishes them. Two of the best-known coffee alternatives contain coffee or tea, which is not obvious from the packaging.
| Choffy | RYZE | MUD\WTR | Hot cocoa mix | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Roasted cacao, brewed and strained | Coffee with mushroom extracts | A powdered blend you stir into water | A sugar-based drink mix |
| Contains coffee | No | Yes, organic Arabica | No | No |
| Contains tea | No | No | Yes, organic black tea powder | No |
| Ingredients | 1 | 9 | 5 on the label | 12 |
| Caffeine in a cup | ~20 mg in 8 oz | ~48 mg a serving | 35 mg a serving | A little, from the cocoa |
| Added sugar | None | None listed | None | Sugar and corn syrup |
| Cocoa treated with alkali | Never | — | Not stated | Yes, as declared on the label |
| Gluten free | Yes, per our label | Read the label | Read the label — the mushrooms are grown on oats | Varies by brand |
| How you make it | Brewed like coffee | Stirred into water | Stirred into water | Stirred into water |
RYZE and MUD\WTR ingredients, servings and caffeine figures from ryzesuperfoods.com and mudwtr.com, read 15 September 2026 — MUD\WTR Original, RYZE Mushroom Coffee. Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate is used as the hot cocoa mix example, ingredient statement as published 15 September 2026. Our ingredient statement, caffeine figure and gluten-free status are from our own printed label; the caffeine figure is our own measurement rather than an independent laboratory’s. Labels and formulas change, so read the current packet before relying on any of it. RYZE, MUD\WTR and Swiss Miss are trademarks of their respective owners. Choffy Inc. is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them, and every comparison here is drawn from their own published materials on the dates shown.
What actually transfers, and what you will need
It is the ritual that transfers, not the bean
The thing people miss when they sit out the coffee round is not a stimulant. It is the warm cup, the smell in the kitchen, the pause before the day starts, and having something to hold when everyone else does. Brewed cacao gives you all of that in the same equipment, on the same timetable, and it is bitter and dark enough to feel like a grown-up drink rather than a treat.
You will probably need a press, and that is all
This is the part most of our pages take for granted. If there has never been coffee in your house there is likely no drip machine, no grinder and no press either. You do not need the first two — Choffy arrives already ground for brewing. You need something to steep and strain it in: a French press is about fifty dollars, lasts years, and takes up less room than a toaster. An infuser basket or even a fine strainer will get you started.
The complete answer, and where it stops
Whether brewed cacao fits your standards is yours to decide, and nobody selling it is the right person to rule on that. What we can do is be exact about what it is: roasted cacao beans, ground and brewed, with nothing added. It contains caffeine naturally, the way chocolate does — about 20 mg in an 8 oz cup against about 96 mg for coffee on USDA figures. That is the complete answer, and you can take it from there.
“I have been ordering Choffy online for about ten years, and this IC French Roast is my very favorite! I am not a coffee drinker, so it is so nice to have something warm to drink that I truly love.”
Loey · verified buyer, on Ivory Coast French Roast
Starting from nothing
The gentlest way in, the one closest to coffee, and the single piece of equipment either one needs.
Medium Roast Variety Set Choffy Brewed Cacao
Three estates at Medium roast — the softest and least smoky we make, and the right place to start if you have never drunk coffee and have no idea what you like.
Shop this
32 oz French Press For Choffy Brewed Cacao
A 32 oz French press. Nothing else to buy, nothing to plug in, and it is the same thing you would use for loose tea or cold brew later.
Shop this
Ecuador French Roast Choffy Brewed Cacao
Ecuador French — the darkest we make and the closest to strong black coffee. The one to pick if coffee is what you actually miss rather than something warm.
Shop thisStraight answers
Is there any coffee in it?
None. Choffy is 100% roasted cacao — the bean chocolate is made from. No coffee bean, no coffee extract, no coffee anything. It is brewed the way coffee is brewed, which is where the resemblance starts and ends.
What do I need to make it?
Whatever you already have. A French press is the classic — 2 tablespoons per 6 oz, boiling water, stir and steep two to three minutes, press down. A drip coffee maker works with a gold or nylon filter (never paper — it clogs). So do a pour-over, an AeroPress, a tea infuser, or a single-serve cup compatible with Keurig® brewers. If you own none of it, the press is about fifty dollars and lasts.
Is it sweet? Will my children drink it?
It is unsweetened — closer to dark chocolate than to cocoa. Plenty of families sweeten it and add milk, and the Medium roasts are the mildest. Treat it the way you would treat chocolate rather than the way you would treat a soft drink.
Why should I believe you about what is in it?
Because the ingredient list is one item long and you can check it on the bag. We roast, sort, destone, grind and pack it ourselves. There is nowhere for anything else to get in.
I am giving up coffee now. Will this actually make it easier?
It is the closest substitute we know of for the part people actually miss, which is the routine rather than the caffeine — the same press, the same three minutes, the same dark bitter cup at the same hour. What it will not do is take the withdrawal away. Cacao carries caffeine naturally — about 20 mg in an 8 oz cup against about 96 for coffee — so it softens the drop rather than replacing the dose. The first week is the hard one either way.
From people on both sides of it
Google, Amazon and Walmart figures last checked 11 September 2026. The on-site figure updates itself.
“We've tried all the varieties and Volta Dark is our favorite!”
“Love this Choffy, brew dark and smooth with a deep flavor.”
“Delicious! I love Choffy! My only complaint is that I feel like I need to double the amount of grounds for a single serving or else it's watery.”
Buying it for someone else
A lot of these orders are not for the person paying. If you are helping someone leave coffee, a variety set is the kinder first gift than a single bag — three roasts, so they find the one they like rather than living with one guess. And if it is not right, tell us and we will make it right.
Shop every roast →