Alternative to morning coffee? EDIT: Water. It will be plain water.

This is a Nestles powdered instant mix. Just like the Swiss Miss and others.
Only, it has a bit of cinnamon flavoring like good Mexican chocolate.

Hot cider might be a choice? Used to be available in packets like hot chocolate.

Yerba Mate, used in South America for ever

how about caffeinated swiss miss

I gave up caffeine a few years back, Wait, it was three years around middle of November.

Anyway. Like the OP i wanted to find something that tastes decent, and is a replacement for caffeine.
I can't even drink decaf now without it giving my body fits, and my head, aches.

But I still wanted something that tasted good, had a good mouth feel, (I enjoy tea, but it doesn't have the substantial mouth feel that coffee has.)

And something that I could mix a splash of whiskey or rum into it and it would still taste ok.

Well we ended up getting Inka, it's like Cafix a roasted root and barley drink. and it's pretty decent
An order or 6 magnitudes better then Postem.

Inka is nowhere near as good as a great cup of coffee,
but it's better tasting then most hotel coffee, or Via for that matter.
It comes in a fine powder that's easy to mix, (you can even mix it cold to make iced drinks and it will still blend out)
We order ours from that on-line place where you get everything from.

I still miss coffee, and especially espresso, (I worked for a few years as a barista and trainer, and managed a few coffee places)

Jetboil some water and use an Aeropress with the best decaffeinated coffee that you find to your liking. Buy the coffee in whole bean form and grind up enough before you leave to last during your adventure. I'd say that is about as good as it gets. And I'm a coffee snob; I like top-shelf, whole bean, gourmet, strong, black coffee. Blasphemy if you taint it with cream or sugar!

I've tried every feasible thing over the years and this has worked for me while riding all over the country as well as daily; even at work, so this is how I drink every cup of (caffeinated for me) coffee that I consume every day. It's that good. So, essentially there is no compromise for me whether I'm in the mountains, on the TAT, on a BDR, on an Ironbutt, in a motel, or a campsite, even on the side of the road or trail. Cleanup is an absolute snap also. I'm getting ready to press one right now. Cheers.

I was Aeropressing when I had to give up coffee. It does make a good cup. When it comes to making non-coffee, it's too much stuff to carry and too much hassle.

I'm probably going to drink water in the morning.

That'd be a sensible choice.

I do love building a morning coffee, especially when next to a river. I used to drink a lot of coffee, but now I’m down to maybe one decent cup a day (only in the morning) because of health issues. I’ve always drunk tea, loose leaf preferably - as stated above I like the building process as much as the consumption, but of course tea has caffeine and that’s the bit like you that’s causing me issues. I’ve switched to Rooibos:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos

You can get it in teabag form as well as loose leaf, there’s quite a few different blends and it certainly settles that side of me that craves the theatre of a morning brew.

Thank you, I was trying to remember the name of that stuff. My folks had some around back in the 70s. Can’t remember what that tasted like. Seems like a weird, hot breakfast cereal was popular at that time as well,” Ralston “. I do remember what it tasted like, gravel, except with a worse aftertaste.
And I agree with the chicory foulness, it tastes just like those little wooden pieces you get if you don’t get them out of the pecans you’ve shelled.

I just do tea. Have breakfast in my cup (usually just oatmeal with dried fruit & nuts) then brew my tea. Last thing I do is use the tea bag to clean out the cup.

I was also going to suggest rooibos, a.k.a. redbush tea. It's a little sweeter/less bitter than regular black tea, maybe different enough not to disagree with @Grinnin .

If you prefer milk in your tea but don't have a Goldwing with the optional chilled glove box to keep it in (pretty sure that's an option on those isn't it? ), powdered milk can work OK and keeps for months without refrigeration. Full-fat Nestle Nido is my preference; I can only get it in Indian supermarkets here, the mainstream stores only have skimmed powdered milk for some reason.

I have a colleague whose favourite hot drink is cider vinegar + honey + hot water, which is supposed to be good for you in some way, but based on the smell I'd hesitate to recommend it.

Canned original Coca Cola for me. Plenty of caffeine and the carbonation jolts me to life.

Have you tried this? I remember it being ok but I probably haven't tasted any for 45 years or so.

You like the taste of coffee but can't do caffeine, drink decaf. You want to wake up, have an apple.

Not the taste of coffee and not an aid to waking up. I'm awake too early if anything. Looking for something to sip on while quietly watching the morning unfold.

I'm not interested in instant decaf or fresh ground decaf as I explained in the post you quoted.

An apple may be a good suggestion for most people. Apples with good flavor are too tender to travel well. The prospect of a Red Delicious or Gala or Rome in the morning is not inviting. Today's breakfast will conclude with a Grimes Golden. Yesterday was a Liberty. Since apples with good flavor don't travel well, you won't find anything similar in most grocery stores and certainly not in small towns in Tennessee or New Mexico. I'll probably eat apples those months, but not as a treat.

Nothing is acceptable, nothing travels well. My suggestion is nothing.

Water. My choice is water. Worked well enough camping in cool temps last month.

How can you be sure good water will be available? When in Tennessee ask for "Spring Water".

I actually like the variety of flavors of well water. Years ago getting water from a farmhouse or rural roadside rest often resulted in a strong iron taste (great) or sometimes sulfur (not so great).