I've been looking for a cheap coffee substitute lately. I'm not going to give up highly caffeinated coffee. But I was thinking of alternating. Alternating between coffee, decaf and a coffee substitute. But I need an inexpensive one. I know they used to have Postum roasted grain coffee substitute in the coffee aisle of the supermarket. They don't really anymore. And Postum is very expensive online now for some reason. I heard chicory is a good substitute. Also I was trying substitutes using ingredients already in the kitchen. Like Turmeric milk. But that last one leaves a sludge in the bottom of my mug using Turmeric powder. It's okay if I drink around it, but I can only drink half the cup that way. Turmeric milk from whole Turmeric or something like that is harder to make. I like it when I can just pour an instant powder into a mug or pot or put it in my coffee mug. Etc. Any suggestions?
Did you know that beans grown above 2000 feet altitude have almost no caffeine? As a defence mechanism from insects and wasps etc, theres no need for it at that height or above because those beasties can't go so high. That might fix your problem with just one purchase (instead of three) and whilst potentially more expensive than your usual coffee, may be cheaper than buying all three that you mentioned.