Starts to chew over coffee or alternative drink (5)
I believe the answer is:
cocoa
'drink' is the definition.
(cocoa is a kind of drink)
'starts to chew over coffee or alternative' is the wordplay.
'starts to' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letters of 'chew over coffee or alternative' is 'COCOA'.
(Other definitions for cocoa that I've seen before include "Chocolate-like drink" , "Lightish brown colour of a drink" , "Kind of chocolate drink" , "Main constituent of chocolate" , "Bean used in making chocolate" .)