Ingredient guide · dossier № 24
Dates
MB2 · Ambrosia Activationoptionalteccino
Use organic date sugar (100% ground dried dates, nothing else) rather than whole dates — it disperses through a dry brew mix and sweetens the cup without refined sugar; note it steeps rather than fully dissolving.
Where to buy
- Date Lady$14.99 / 1 lbOrganic date sugar — 100% ground dehydrated dates; also at Walmart/Amazon; 30 oz bag ~$21.99
- NOW Foods$10.55 / 1 lb (iHerb)Organic date sugar, single ingredient; out of stock at iHerb at research time
- Joolies$7–12 / 12 oz (whole Medjools; date sugar wholesale-only)Organic Coachella Valley Medjools; date sugar/powder sold in bulk via sister company Desert Valley Date
Role in the beverage
Dates are Teeccino’s built-in sweetener: the blend gets its gentle, fruity sweetness from dried dates and figs rather than added sugar. In a DIY mix, date sugar (whole dehydrated dates ground to a coarse powder) is the practical form — whole dried dates are sticky, clump the grind, and won’t meter evenly from a jar. The date note rounds off chicory’s bitterness and deepens the caramel side of the roasted carob.
Quality criteria
- 100% dates, one ingredient. True date sugar is just ground dehydrated dates — avoid products cut with maltodextrin, rice flour, or oat flour (sometimes added as anti-caking agents).
- Certified organic, per the archive’s first rule; both Date Lady and NOW sell organic SKUs.
- Expect it to behave like a ground spice, not like table sugar: it softens and releases sweetness in hot water but does not fully dissolve (Date Lady labels theirs “will not dissolve in your coffee”) — in a steeped blend this is fine, since it infuses with the grounds.
- Fine, dry grind stores and mixes best; keep it airtight or it clumps.
Where to buy
Date Lady — Organic Date Sugar, $14.99 for 1 lb at Walmart/Amazon and ilovedatelady.com (12 oz ~$10, 30 oz ~$21.99, and a 22 lb foodservice box via WebstaurantStore). Organic, vegan, kosher, single ingredient. The easiest quality-verified buy.
NOW Foods — Date Sugar (organic), $10.55 for 1 lb at iHerb, similar at Vitacost/Fruitful Yield/Walmart; it was out of stock at iHerb at research time, so price approximate as of July 2026. The budget option from a large, reliable brand.
Joolies — the family-farm choice: organic Medjool dates grown in California’s Coachella Valley ($7.13–$11.99 for a 12 oz bag at Thrive Market/Walmart). Joolies does not retail a date powder; their sister company Desert Valley Date supplies date sugar and date paste at wholesale, so for a home-scale mix use their whole dates for eating alongside, and one of the two date sugars above inside the blend.
Backpacking form
Date sugar is the trail form: dry, light, shelf-stable for months, and pre-blended into the mix it means the drink needs no sweetener packets. One caveat — it infuses rather than dissolves, so it works best when the whole blend is steeped in a filter or settled like cowboy coffee.