Wednesday, September 26, 2001


Well, sorry to have to say it, but the Ayurvedic texts don't seem to favor coffee much at all. Amadea Morningstar is the only one I found who places coffee on the "okay" list for Vata(!) which is something I do not agree with for sure.

Coffee is, if anything, a dieuretic and is therefore drying. Vata, as air and space doesn't need drying! In fact, as we go more into Vata season (Autumn) Vata needs more moisture and warmth. Besides dying you out, coffee has been known to be stimulating, or as we yogins and yoginis say, "rajasic." Foods that are rajasic, including coffee, garlic, onions, peppers and many spices move the body and mind into action. Vatas are the movers -- they seem to be unable to stop and their minds are filled with waves of activity. (I am speaking generally and archetypally here) So, between the drying and stimulating qualities of coffee, we just have to say that Ayurveda doesn't recommend it to Vatas.

For the very same reasons, plus the additional fact that there are acids found in coffee that can aggravate Pitta, coffee should not be the drink staple of firy Pitta. That leaves Kapha and here I am happy (as I am also Kapha) to report that coffee in moderation is just okay by Ayurveda. Kapha's heaviness and moistness are both alleviated by the stimualting and drying qualities that are such a bane for Vata.

Now, all that said, it would be unfair of me not to offer a way that anyone can have a cup of coffee and not get their doshas in an uproar, so I pass along to you a recipe given to me by Melanie and Robert Sachs. Don't I take good care of you?

Ayurvedic Coffee

1/2 Cup Coffee Beans
2 Almonds with skins
3 Cardamom Pods
3 Cloves
2 Star Anise
Small Cinnamon Stem (1/4 Teaspoon Powdered)

Grind this up in your coffee grinder and prepare your coffee as usual.
It's kind of like Coffee Chai.

posted by Poep Sa Frank Jude | 2:12 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments