My dad has always been something of a purist in what he eats and drinks, which may be why he will be 90 this month and still cuts and stacks his own wood.
Dad didn't drink anything with caffeine, so he would buy this stuff called Postum. It looked like instant coffee but was made of burnt grain or something and reminded me of what the "ersatz" coffee must have been like that Corrie ten Boom drank during the war.
Dad would stand in the kitchen and stir all kinds of mysterious things into his Postum--blackstrap molasses for one thing--and create a steaming brew that we wrinkled our noses at and made disparaging comments about behind his back. (Joke: What book of the Bible is like Dad? Answer: He brews.)
Well. Fast forward many years and you have me, enjoying a hot drink now and then but, with hormones and blood sugar going crazy, forced to limit caffeine and sugar or I get headaches and/or can't sleep. So coffee is out as an evening drink, and decaf seems to keep me awake too, and hot chocolate has too much sugar, and I'm tired of herb teas.
So. I. went. to. Safeway. and. bought. a. jar. of. Postum.
I. rather. like. it.
Dad is allowed to have a good chuckle at my expense.
Quote of the Day:
"We don't have caffeine-free coffee. All we have is decaf."
--a worker at Arby's
My Grandma has always eschewed caffeine as well and she's still going strong. Her hot drink of choice is Herbal Beverage from Nature's Sunshine. As a child I was ambivalent about what the grown-ups drank, but I remember certain of my elders having strong opinions on whether Herbal Beverage was a satisfactory substitute or not. :)
ReplyDeleteDorcas, Did you know that you can de-caffeinate regular teas? Just bring the water to a boil. Steep the tea ball or bag, or even loose for 30 seconds. Throw that on your favourite houseplant (after it's cool of course!) and brew the tea ball/bag as usual. 95% of the caffeine is gone (which by the way is all the de-caf' coffees and teas are is 95% caffeine free). It will open up a whole world of wonderful flavours for you. You might also try going to "Upton Tea Imports" online. They have great teas, and you can try a sample of nearly all of them for a buck. It's the one luxury my wife and I allow ourselves freely.
ReplyDeleteIain
So, how soon do you plan to enjoy oatmeal from one special dishly along with a tall glass of fresh goats milk?
ReplyDeleteo yes and J adds make sure you scrape that dish out good when your finished
ReplyDeleteNow, now, Annette. Dei vodda mechta dich veeeesht hame komma and you will have an uncontrollable urge to mix broccoli with your oatmeal.
ReplyDeleteYum, yum.. postum. I just saw my jar in the cupboard this afternoon. You know how I like it? Put a piece of buttered toast in my bowl, pour Karo syrup on it, then pour a hot cup of Postum made with milk over it. Now that is eatin'.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you ever begin talking about how to eat porridge, I'll add some 'thus saiths'
My mother would make me Postum while she drank coffee. King Syrup was my sweetener of choice back then. Dallas (Texas) has never seen King Syrup, so now I'll throw in a little honey. Good story about your Dad, good "Hebrews" joke. My wife said, "You Dutchey people all have the same sense of humor."
ReplyDeletePostum! It's been a long time, but I could stand a cupful right now--except my bed is more inviting at the moment. :-) I "grew up on" postum as a beverage. I liked it then, and still do. I think there's a jar in my cupboard and I had all but forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDelete--An Ohio Postum Lover
Postum is good!! I used to drink it back in the day when mom thought I was too little to drink coffee because she was sure coffee would stunt my growth. Why oh why didnt she let me drink all the coffee I wanted?!! :):(
ReplyDeleteI should have said KING syrup. Right on! When we got married, his parents knew that I liked King syrup. So when we returned from our honeymoon, guess what was on the table.... There was a can of King syrup for me and a jar of honey for him. I got the best of both deals. I don't know if I can still get it here on the East coast. I must check that out fine and dandy. ( Dorcas, when one speaks in tongues, one must have an interpreter.."Die vodda mechta..."
ReplyDeleteI love it! We all have to eat crow at some time or other, don't we? We HATED Postum too as kids & woulnd't you know it - the man that I married LOVED it! Go figure huh? Love your quote of the day too by the way!
ReplyDeleteOk, "the mrs.", here's the interpretation of the Dutch words:
ReplyDeleteYour words might you badly home come---or, in proper English, your words might come back to haunt you. One of Dad's favorite phrases.
Dorcas,
ReplyDeleteWhen you were growing up, did your family ever drink barley coffee? The Hutterites we lived with said they drank barley coffee during the Depression because they couldn't afford the real thing. I'm not sure if this means they cut real coffee with barley, as is done with chicory down South, or if they actually brewed barley into some sort of concotion. Either way, the only other reference I've ever seen to barley coffee, which sounds a lot like Postum, was in Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain, where he writes about the old-time Trappists drinking barley coffee instead of the real thing in order to be more "fromm."
Robert--No I haven't heard of barley coffee but I'll have to ask Mom and Dad about it. Our family spent two winters at a Hutterite colony in MT when I was quite small. (Dad was a teacher)
ReplyDeleteIain--thanks for the decaffeinating tip!
Arlene, i echo you. Mom would serve me Postum with thick cream and sugar so my growth wouldn't be stunted.......and look where that got me!
ReplyDeleteDorcas, i called phil and read this column to him- He snickered then replied - "Dad would really get on a blackstrap molasses craze. Ugh, the things he made us eat that tasted NASTY...Ach!"
sil, geneva