Date Seed Coffee (Caffeine-Free Coffee Alternative)
How to make date seed coffee with leftover date pits; a wonderful, all-natural caffeine-free coffee alternative that comes with several health benefits (and a great way to reduce waste!)
Gather all of your date seeds (I fully recommend making a big batch of date syrup or date paste, and that will leave you with plenty of seeds!). If they are very sticky, you may want to first soak them for 45-60 minutes and then clean them.
Make sure they are dry before roasting them - I like to allow them to air-dry for a few days first. Alternatively, you could use a dehydrator if you have one.
Roast the dried seeds in the oven at 350ºF/175ºC - 30-45 minutes on a parchment-lined tray. Then allow them to cool.The roasting step is critical, as it is with coffee beans, too, to develop flavor.
Step 2: Grind the seeds into a powder
Once cooled, transfer the dates to an electric coffee/spice grinder (you may need to do this in batches) and grind into a powder.
Sieve the powder and re-grind any larger pieces. Then the date seed powder is ready to use immediately or store for later.
Step 3: Make the date seed coffee
Heat the water to 195ºF/90ºC (just before it begins to boil).
Combine the date seed powder and spices and mix well. Transfer this mixture to a coffee filter over a jug (read the FAQs for more methods to prepare the ground date pit powder into coffee).
Pour the water over the powder and allow it to drip until you have enough for your date seed coffee.
You can then drink the date seed drink as-is or enjoy it with a little of your favorite sweetener (I used date syrup) and a dash of milk (I used oat milk).
How to Make Ahead and Store?
Make ahead: Okay, technically, this isn’t ‘making it ahead.’ However, a top tip I’ve found is to collect all of my date seeds over time. I like to wash them, allow them to naturally dry for several days, and then keep them in an airtight container in the freezer until I’m ready to make a batch of date seed powder for coffee.Store: Store the powder in an airtight container in a cool, dark location (like a pantry or kitchen cupboard) for several months. The sooner you enjoy it, the better the flavor will be. However, you can enjoy date seed coffee for months and months to come, and the taste doesn’t drop off too much over time.Freeze: You may be able to store the ground powder in the freezer, too. Though, this isn’t something I’ve tried.
Notes
New to date seed coffee? If you want to wean yourself off your regular cup of jo, then I recommend using a 70/30 blend date seed powder to coffee to begin with and reduce the coffee content further over time.
Cleaning the date pits: If you don’t clean the date pits then the sugars on the seeds can end up caramelizing/burning in the oven. Reduce the risk of burn flavor by cleaning them well.
Experiment with roasting time: Just like how coffee beans have that ‘sweet spot’, the same can be said for date seeds. Experiment with roasting them between 30-50 minutes until you find your sweet spot!
Using enough date seed powder: It’s important to make sure you get the ratios correct for the best results. A study conducted by the Asian Research Consortium found a 9% date seed powder ratio when combined with water, milk, and sweetener tested almost identically to their control ‘coffee’ (whereas the lower %’s didn’t do nearly as well).