Beverage of Choice

DEBORAH CROMBIE: It was so heartening to see how many people responded to Hank’s check-in post a few weeks ago saying that JRW was the first thing they read while having their morning coffee or tea. But that sent me off (not unusually!) on a tangent, wondering how and why people choose what they drink.

I grew up in a perked coffee household. My mom made it every morning in the white Corningware percolator with the little blue flowers, and both parents would refill cups of black coffee throughout the day. The coffee smelled good when it was brewing, but imagine my horror the first time I tasted the bitter black liquid! I couldn’t imagine how anyone could drink such a thing, and my opinion remained firmly fixed until I lived in Mexico City the summer I was eighteen. There, coffee was the social thing, and many hours were spent in coffee shops drinking cappuccinos, although I still had to add sugar to make it palatable. It was only on trips to London in the last decade or so that I discovered the latte—along with the fact that if you drank coffee instead of tea, you spent much less time desperately searching for public restrooms, which are in short supply everywhere in the UK.

But although I drink coffee (unsweetened now) when I’m out and occasionally at home, tea is still my first, passionate love. A perfect cuppa satisfies in a way coffee does not, and most mornings I cannot wait to make that first cup.

Dearest REDS, are you coffee, tea, neither, or both? And how did you come to love your beverage of choice?

JENN McKINLAY: Coffee! So much coffee! Imagine my delight when Hooligan 2 became a barista. My morning cup is essential and I steam and froth the milk just to be fancy. Afternoons are for tea. It helps me make it through the day.

RHYS BOWEN: Need you ask, since my Facebook group is called Tea with Rhys!  Tea drinker from birth. I have to start my day with a cuppa ( made from John’s special blend of teas)  Then is coffee mid morning. Tea at teatime. And at night alternating flavors of herb teas. Well Rested. Maringa ginger turmeric depending on mood. When I am in the road I carry my own British tea bags but it’s no good unless I can get boiling water 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: There are days when the ONLY thing that lures me from my comfy bed is the knowledge that I get to have coffee. 

I often steam the milk, too, and it is transporting. I love it beyond all love. And in the summer, I love to get iced lattes. I mean–heavenly. During the day, I am Diet Pepsi, because I am out of coffee mode. Then after dinner, I always have camomile tea and half a cookie, and I am so cozy.

How? I remember, very clearly, I did not drink coffee until 1971. It just wasn’t a thing at our house. Although my father had it every morning, percolated? I wasn’t involved. 

But then, a boyfriend in Washington DC offered me coffee with cream and sugar, and because I was trying to be cool, I pretended that’s what I always drank. I was instantly–instantly!--hooked. Deliciousness! Caffeine! Sugar! Oh, I still remember that first cup. Now I don’t use sweetener, and only skim milk, but I am just as happy.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Passionate tea drinker here, which has been an uphill battle in the coffee-obsessed US. If I had a dollar for every time I ordered tea at a restaurant or diner and got a baggie alongside a tiny carafe of hot (never boiling) water… 

My mom, on the other hand, was a coffee fanatic. You could track where she had been in the house throughout the day by the half-empty cups of cold coffee she’d forget as she moved on to her next project. Ross was also a tea drinker, so we had no way to make coffee at our house, a point that was driven home when Mom stopped in at a CVS on the way to Spencer’s baptism (!!!) to buy us a Mr. Coffee machine.

HALLIE EPHRON: I like coffee and I like tea, but neither one passionately. I’m sure it’s partly because I’ve never been properly educated. Tea, for example, I don’t know how to BUY it, keep it, or brew it. I use a cone and a filter to make my morning coffee and it’s very hit or miss. 

I should love coffee – my mother always saved the last of her dinner cup of coffee, mixed in some extra sugar and cream, and gave it to me. Maybe that’s why I’m so partial to coffee ice cream.

DEBS: Hallie, glad to give you a crash tea-drinking course, anytime! I am a certified Tea Master from a course I took in London.

And did you all see that researchers are now saying that brewing tea can help remove heavy metals, including lead, from water? How cool is that!

How about it, Reddies, what do you drink, and how did you come to love it?

Mushrooms in my what? by Jenn McKinlay

This is a two pronged blog post, so the first part is about...

Mushroom Coffee. Yes, there was a sign outside a coffee shop in San Diego that made me stop in my tracks. Mushroom coffee?  What did that even mean? Cue brain explosion. Naturally, I went into the cafe and asked the barista.

He served up a whole lot of chatter about reishi, lion's mane, chaga and adaptogens, blah, blah, blah, but I mostly wanted to know what it tasted like. So, I ordered some. 

Coffee. It tasted like coffee. Because it is coffee but with a ton of mushrooms added to it. It was a little earthier, sure, but not noticeably so. Fast forward to being home from vacation. I decided an afternoon cup of mushroom coffee might be healthier than my usual coffee (I drink A LOT of coffee). So, I went out there on the Internet and read up on a bajillion different mushroom coffees. I set price parameters and then started buying different brands to find the one I liked best.

Along the way, I read up on what the mushrooms were supposed to give you as adaptogens (in herbal medicine: a natural substance considered to help the body adapt to stress and to exert a normalizing effect upon bodily processes). So, the mushrooms are supposed to help with focus, clarity of thought, thinking, etc. without giving you the jitters. You can see the appeal.

My favorite so far is the Laird Hamilton (surfer dude) brand. But if you stick the word FOCUS on any product, I will likely buy it because...writer. Yes, this is the "take my money" portion of the experiment. But also, his tasted the best with subtle notes of chocolate :)

So, now here is the second part of my post. I'm horrified by how much time I spent searching online for mushroom coffee. It became an obsession. Words got stuck while writing, I went shopping online for coffee. Latest episode of HBO's Righteous Gemstones stressing me out, scroll through the phone looking at mushroom coffee because, of course, once I searched it a million ads popped up in my social media feeds. 

I'm not sure if it's where I am in my life (newly empty nested) and I just have more time to fritter away on these things or if living for two years in quasi-lockdown has damaged me but I do not ever remember having a worm in my head like this one. 

So, my question for you, Reds and Readers, is do you get mentally stuck on things like this? Is there something that you stumbled upon and it just consumed you and, if so, what was it? How did your obsession end?

Mocha, She Wrote by Ellie Alexander

JENN McKINLAY: Anyone who knows me at all knows that my breakfast of choice is dessert. Well, one of my fave cozy mystery series which includes plenty of dessert is Ellie Alexander's Bakeshop Mysteries. Her thirteenth is coming in June, so I had to invite her to visit and tell us all about it. Take it away, Ellie!

Ellie Alexander

Ellie Alexander: First off, thanks so much for having me on as a guest today. The thirteenth book in my Bakeshop Mysteries, Mocha, She Wrote comes out in June, and what better subject to cover with mystery writers and readers than coffee?

Nothing pairs better with word count or a good book than coffee in my humble opinion. I’m a Pacific Northwest native and I have to tell you that we take our coffee seriously here on the west coast, as in deadly serious. It’s almost impossible to go more than a half of a block without running into an artisan coffeehouse. I love the vibe of a cozy bakeshop where customers savor a creamy latte while plotting out a new mystery or escaping with their favorite read. 

 

However, there is a dark underbelly in the world of coffee that I’ve discovered in many hours of “research” AKA spending way too much time sampling custom drinks at my local coffee shops. I’m talking about absolutely murderous new coffee trends. I must warn you that the following crimes against those heavenly beans we brew up each morning just may have you running to your kitchen for a plain old fashioned cup of Joe. 

 

Here are some of the current crimes against coffee: 

1.    CBD Lattes. CBD is all the rage right now. From curing minor aches and ailments to calming anxiety, the compound’s many benefits have been highly touted. The jury is still out on whether CBD has lasting power or will become just another fading fad. There’s one thing I know for sure—don’t put it in my latte. I don’t want my latte infused with anything other than a strong shot of espresso. I certainly don’t want my morning buzz to taste like hemp. Ewww. 

 

2.    Edible Glitter. Yep. It’s a thing. Glitter isn’t just for clubbing anymore. Now your favorite coffeehouse drink can match your lipgloss. Edible glitter dust on top of a mocha might make for an Instagram worthy picture, but I don’t need special shimmer in my mouth. Save the sparkle for a Friday night, and please give me a classic, glitter-free latte. 

 

3.    Mushroom Coffee. The hype is off the charts for this one. Shroom coffee is being hailed as a healthy alternative to those caffeinated beans. It could be true. It’s an interesting concept to blend beans with foraged wild mushrooms. Okay, technically it’s ground mushrooms mixed with organic beans. But still, I can’t get past the thought of a fungus in my cup or the image of chunky mushrooms floating in my morning java. Hard pass.

What about you? Have you braved any of these trends, or can we all agree that every suspect on this list should be permanently banned from coffeehouses everywhere?

Coming June 29th!!! 

MOCHA, SHE WROTE: When a barista competition comes to town, Torte's favorite pastry chef finds herself sleuthing once again―in the next installment of Ellie Alexander's beloved Bakeshop Mystery Series, Mocha, She Wrote!

Summer has ushered in a new season in the charming hamlet of Ashland, Oregon. Torte is bustling with tourists taking in star-drenched shows at the Elizabethan, setting out to hike in the surrounding Siskiyou Mountains, and sampling the bakeshop’s summer lineup of raspberry lemon tarts and mint mojito cold brews. Jules and the team are buzzing with excitement when they learn that Andy, Torte’s head barista, has been selected to compete in the West Coast Barista Cup.

The prestigious competition draws coffee aficionados from up and down the coast to Ashland. The winner will not only claim to be best-in-brew, but also be awarded a hefty cash prize. Andy’s nervous about his chances, but Jules is confident that her star barista will shine. However, things take a grim turn when head judge Benson Vargas spits out Andy’s first offering, claiming it to be the worst thing to ever touch his lips―and hours later, is found dead clutching Andy’s creamy latte. Suddenly Torte’s favorite barista becomes the number one suspect. There’s no roast for the weary. Jules will have to sleuth out whodunit to clear Andy’s name and catch a killer before she ends up with one foot in the grounds.

ELLIE ALEXANDER is a Pacific Northwest native who spends ample time testing pastry recipes in her home kitchen or at one of the many famed coffeehouses and breweries nearby. When she's not coated in flour, you'll find her outside exploring hiking trails of Southern Oregon and trying to burn off calories consumed in the name of research. She is the author of the Bakeshop Mystery Series and the Sloan Krause Mysteries. Follow her on social media to learn more about her books, see her recipe videos, and participate in fun giveaways!

Find out more about Ellie and her books by visiting her here:
Website: https://www.elliealexander.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellie_alexander
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/elliealexanderauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliealexanderauthor
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BakeshopMystery
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/elliealexanderauthor

The more things change, the more they actually DON'T stay the same

JAN BROGAN - We often talk about how great things used to be, and how today's rude drivers, bad manners, cell phones, etc. annoy us. 

It's not that I can't complain with best of 'em, it's that every once in a while it's a good idea to take deep breath and put it all in perspective. One thing I've learned in historical research, especially when I was looking back at the 1970s, is that some things actually improve and we don't notice  We all have a tendency take the improvements for granted and whine about what's not up to par.

 I  hear a lot of people today complain about young kids in the workforce. They can't write complete sentences. Their spelling is atrocious. They can't take criticism because they have been praised all their lives.

But I've been working on a writing project, interviewing eighteen people under thirty. What I've been struck by is their dedication. What I've also noticed in this group,  and in my kid's graduating classes, a lot of young people have a strong sense of "giving back" and doing something worthwhile for the world. All the emphasis on community service in high school and college - that I thought was a lot of resume padding - actually had an effect. These kids are willing to work for very little money to take jobs in really rough places to try to make them better.

In my generation, a lot of people talked about saving the world, but in this generation, a lot people are actually making sacrifices to try to do it.

So that's the one thing I've noticed is getting better today, (that and the ready availability of really good coffee) So how about you, what's the ONE thing you notice is improving?



HALLIE EPHRON: So Jan goes right to charity and good works. Where does my mind go? Food! Oh, gosh, I can remember when eggplant was considered a delicacy in the supermarket, along with soppressata and fava beans. And the only breads you could get were "brown" or "white." Now, if anything, there are too many choices. Vive la global economy! Not to mention local farms.

And remember when you had to watch where you stepped on city streets? I never thought people would scoop their poop, but they do. Or not smoke. Remember when the minute the lights went out in the movie theater someone lit up? And how men in the work place used to think it was fine to say the most embarrassing things to women. And you not only had to deal with telephone calls from people selling you something you didn't want, they came to the door! Yes, some things have changed for the better.

RHYS BOWEN: I will blend both Hallie and Jan's comments and say that we are more aware that we live on a fragile planet and have to husband resources. Until recently the earth was seen as a big candy store from which we could take what we wanted. Now we're recycling, conserving and going back to local farming. All good things. As is the whole world speaking English, making travel so easy.

Smaller good changes? Women not having to sit under a hair dryer in rollers, no more recipes that include cool whip, jello or cream of mushroom soup.

LUCY BURDETTE: Rhys, you're right about conserving resources. It wasn't too long ago that bringing in a reusable bag to the grocery store was considered the territory of a nut job. Now everyone has cloth bags--hurray!

But Hallie's right about food, as usual. Farmer's markets everywhere...and no one would consider serving slimy chop suey out of a can, the way my mom did. Do you remember that stuff? The only thing edible was the crunchy noodles that you sprinkled on top.

And although I know some people love old cars, I have to say new cars have improved a lot--more comfortable, safer, better mileage...I wouldn't go back to my old Dodge Dart!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I agree with all of the above (except I am terrible at actually remembering to take my reusable bags into the supermarket...) but Rhys's comments about sitting under hairdryers in rollers cracked me up. I would add, having come of age in the era of the blow-dryer, that I think flat irons for women's hair are a great boon to civilization. I used to iron my hair straight on the ironing board!


And I second no-more-chow-mein from a can, and at least fewer recipes calling for Cool Whip or Cream of Mushroom Soup.

But one of the changes I'm most grateful for in my lifetime is the ban on smoking in public places. Oh my gosh, especially traveling in the UK, where often there was no place to eat other than the local pub. You walked into a pall of smoke. Your eyes stung, your throat hurt, and then you couldn't get the smell out of your hair or your clothes... I consider Smoke Free a huge leap forward for mankind.


ROSEMARY HARRIS: Absolutely agree with Debs on smoke-free. I grew up with 3 smokers - it's no wonder I love the outdoors, I started going out on my own at age 8! I would add nutrition labeling on food. I don't know what I did before that...I had a little calorie booklet that I bought at the market. And I can't resist the mention of technology. I've driven over 20 hours in the last 8 days and I don't know what I would have done without the GPS.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Ah, you don't have to get up to change the channel on TV? And you can watch whatever you want, whenever your want? Fine, maybe easier TV is not the one thing.  ATMs? On-line banking? I just read an article saying that deaths from traffic accidents have decreased--because cars are so much safer. Oh--sunscreen!
 
JAN BROGAN - See, life isn't so bad, after all. Tell us  Reds, what is the one thing you notice is getting better?