I just discovered that Kraft discontinued Postum back in January. Accckkkkkk!
For those of you who don't know: Postum is a caffeine-free, instant drink mix that tastes somewhat like coffee. It is by no means a substitute for the flavour of real coffee, but it is probably the closest thing to coffee that one can get, that doesn't have caffeine. Yes, there ARE many decaffeinated coffees, but decaf is not no-caf, and simply doesn't help for many people.
For example, without realising how much caffeine it contained, I once had four big mugs of Gevalia's decaf (it was just SO delicious that I had to have more). Well, my acid reflux kicked in, irritating my oesophageal ulcer, and also sending my blood pressure sky high - enough that I went to the emergency room thinking there was something happening with my heart. That was before I knew I had the reflux and the ulcer, so it was pretty scary. The doctors just gave me a carafate (something pretty strong for treating ulcers and similar problems), waited for my BP to drop (since I was no longer under the anxiety brought on by the ulcer pain, which was located near the same area as the heart), and sent me on my way. Ultimately, Nexium cured my ulcers and I am using Prilosec for maintenance, but I now know that I must be VERY careful with caffeine, even if something is "decaf."
Postum, on the other hand, does not bother be at all, since it doesn't have ANY caffeine. Unlike decaf coffee, which has had most (but not all) of the caffeine removed, Postum's ingredients don't contain caffeine, in the first place, so nothing needs to be removed.
In addition, it's amazing the flavour Postum has, with its wheat bran, wheat, molasses, and maltodextrin (which comes from corn).
Well, all of that - at least so far - is no more, now that Kraft has decided to stop making Postum. In fact, my mother is jealous of me because I still happen to be able to get Postum here, in Honduras, but only because it doesn't move very quickly, here, so there's still some back stock.
With all of that said, if any of the rest of you happen to enjoy Postum, I urge you to post a message on the Kraft message board, asking that they start making Postum again.
Here is what I had to say, there:
For those of you who don't know: Postum is a caffeine-free, instant drink mix that tastes somewhat like coffee. It is by no means a substitute for the flavour of real coffee, but it is probably the closest thing to coffee that one can get, that doesn't have caffeine. Yes, there ARE many decaffeinated coffees, but decaf is not no-caf, and simply doesn't help for many people.
For example, without realising how much caffeine it contained, I once had four big mugs of Gevalia's decaf (it was just SO delicious that I had to have more). Well, my acid reflux kicked in, irritating my oesophageal ulcer, and also sending my blood pressure sky high - enough that I went to the emergency room thinking there was something happening with my heart. That was before I knew I had the reflux and the ulcer, so it was pretty scary. The doctors just gave me a carafate (something pretty strong for treating ulcers and similar problems), waited for my BP to drop (since I was no longer under the anxiety brought on by the ulcer pain, which was located near the same area as the heart), and sent me on my way. Ultimately, Nexium cured my ulcers and I am using Prilosec for maintenance, but I now know that I must be VERY careful with caffeine, even if something is "decaf."
Postum, on the other hand, does not bother be at all, since it doesn't have ANY caffeine. Unlike decaf coffee, which has had most (but not all) of the caffeine removed, Postum's ingredients don't contain caffeine, in the first place, so nothing needs to be removed.
In addition, it's amazing the flavour Postum has, with its wheat bran, wheat, molasses, and maltodextrin (which comes from corn).
Well, all of that - at least so far - is no more, now that Kraft has decided to stop making Postum. In fact, my mother is jealous of me because I still happen to be able to get Postum here, in Honduras, but only because it doesn't move very quickly, here, so there's still some back stock.
With all of that said, if any of the rest of you happen to enjoy Postum, I urge you to post a message on the Kraft message board, asking that they start making Postum again.
Here is what I had to say, there:
Quote:
Instead of just an impassioned plea for the return of a Postum, I would like to offer Kraft some information that could help them to see why Postum is so important to so many people.
1. Postum contains no caffeine, so there are many people who
drink it because they cannot drink coffee. Those people
include:
A. People with acid-reflux disease or GERD, since caffeine is
a common trigger.
B. People with Irritable-Bowel Syndrome (IBS) - same reason.
C. People with high blood pressure, since caffeine can cause
problems for them.
D. People who don't want the caffeine in coffee to keep them
awake at night.
E. Mormons, and members of other religious groups that
refrain from caffeine consumption.
There are probably more, but that is sufficient for illustration.
2. Decaffeinated coffee is not completely caffeine free, and may
still pose problems for any of the above groups. I, for one,
suffer from GERD, and have had problems with decaf coffee,
but Postum does not bother me.
3. Postum tastes great and, although not exactly like coffee,
its taste is robust enough to satisfy those who like coffee,
where herbal teas, or the like, would fail to do so.
4. Although I haven't priced coffee in the U.S. for a long time,
Postum is concentrated enough that it is probably a better
value than coffee, since so little of it is needed to make a cup.
Again, there are probably many more reasons, but that should help to pull the major ones together, and to answer a few questions that other forum members may have asked.
My request to Kraft would be that they continue making Postum, but target the above groups in their advertising, not just "baby boomers," as they have tried previously. The market for Postum could be saved, not by appealing to large, general groups who may only wish to try Postum for the taste, but to specific groups for whom Postum would be the only alternative that would be like coffee, but completely caffeine free.
Thank you.
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?