My journey from coffee to alternatives

Breaking Up with Coffee (And Finding Something Better)

I’ve been drinking coffee for as long as I can remember. Since I was a teenager, it was a staple – part of the routine, part of the identity. The smell, the taste, the ritual. Morning didn’t feel like morning without it.

For years, it worked. Or at least, I thought it did. But somewhere around 25 or 26, things started to shift. My sleep was inconsistent, never quite enough. I’d wake up groggy, needing another coffee just to scrape myself off the mattress. My hands would shake after that second or third cup. The cold sweats, the jittery energy spikes, the inevitable crash. And let’s not even talk about what it did to my digestion.

So, I quit. Cold turkey. No coffee, no alternatives, just raw, unfiltered mornings. And yeah, I felt better in some ways – but also, something was missing. The ritual, the warmth, that moment of pause before the day kicks in.

Then I found mushroom coffee alternatives. Adaptogens, to be specific. Lion’s mane, cordyceps, reishi, chaga – ingredients that have been used for centuries to support focus, energy and stress resilience. I started drinking them with ceremonial cacao, and suddenly, everything changed.

No more spikes and crashes. No more shaky hands or afternoon slumps. My sleep improved – like, actually improved. I felt awake when I was supposed to be awake, tired when I was supposed to be tired. And in the mornings, I felt rested.

The Coffee Culture Dilemma

In Australia, coffee isn’t just a drink – it’s a way of life. Specialty cafés on every corner, baristas who treat their craft like an art form, and a national obsession with the perfect flat white. It’s so ingrained in our culture that we don’t really stop to ask whether it’s actually serving us.

The reality? A huge percentage of people experience the downsides of caffeine – poor sleep, anxiety, digestive issues, energy crashes – but ignore them because, well… it’s coffee. It’s normal. It’s what everyone does. The idea of giving it up? Unthinkable.

I get it. I was the same. But once I stepped away, I realised I didn’t have to sacrifice the ritual to feel good. Earthrise was born from that shift – a way to keep everything we love about our morning cup without the trade-offs.

Instead of relying on caffeine to push through the day, Earthrise blends adaptogenic mushrooms, ceremonial cacao and Ayurvedic spices to deliver clean, steady energy without the crashes. It’s packed with antioxidants, immune support and mood-boosting benefits, designed to help you wake up naturally and feel energised all day long.

If you’ve ever felt like coffee might be doing you more harm than good but kept drinking it anyway, you’re not alone. And if you’re looking for a better morning ritual, you might just find it here.

Trust me – it’s worth it.