There was no good coffee: what they drank in the USSR in the morning

Despite the myths about the most delicious food in the USSR, the quality of food and drink in Soviet times left much to be desired. The situation was especially bad with products that did not grow in any of the Soviet republics.

Such products include, for example, coffee. It was almost impossible to find decent beans in the Union. However, people invigorated themselves with some drinks that were supposed to replace coffee. OBOZ.UA tells you more about them.

Coffee drink

On the shelves of Soviet stores, you could see boxes with the inscription "Coffee drink". It was almost impossible to find even a little ground coffee in such mixtures. It mainly consisted of barley, rye, oats, and ground chicory root. Sometimes soybeans or even acorns were among the ingredients. The brewed powder resembled coffee only vaguely; it tasted more like burnt grain, which was often masked with milk. And only those mixtures that contained chicory had a tonic effect.

Kombucha

Nowadays, the product of this amazing organism is called kombucha and is sold as a fashionable and healthy drink. Indeed, the liquid fermented with kombucha brings certain benefits to digestion and is also good for refreshing in the heat, in particular, due to its natural carbon dioxide content. But kombucha should be consumed in moderation. In addition, its tonic effect is rather low.

Tea

Unlike coffee, tea grew in some Central Asian and Caucasian republics of the USSR. For example, in Georgia and Azerbaijan. The quality of the collected leaves was not very high, because the correct technology of its collection and fermentation, which is known in traditional tea regions, was poorly observed. Nevertheless, this drink contained caffeine and thus had a tonic effect. To improve the taste of Soviet tea, lemon, if available, or jam was added to it. Often, tea was also drunk with milk.

Pomegranate juice

If you were very lucky, you could get a three-liter jar of pomegranate juice at a vegetable store. This is a healthy drink, because it contains a lot of vitamins and minerals and, when consumed properly, helps improve digestion. It is similar to coffee in terms of its rich flavor and certain astringency. But it does not invigorate, because it does not contain caffeine.

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