Sometimes you just need a little something to get you going in the morning. Or to keep you going in the afternoon. So ladies, which beverage is it that keeps you perky through long writing sessions?
Barb: In the morning it’s coffee, coffee, coffee. I drink two largish cups and they last all morning. I don’t care if it gets cold as it sits on my desk. In fact, I think I’m overly sensitive to hot. I have to drive for miles before I can drink a coffee I’ve picked up at Dunks or McDonalds. Unfortunately, if I drink anything with caffeine in it after 2:00 
pm, that night it’s like the scene in the Big Chill where Glenn Close takes the cocaine. So in winter, afternoons are herbal tea, and in summer iced herbal tea or water.
Sherry: Too funny, Barb! I don’t drink coffee. And as the Wickeds well know I’ve quit drinking Coke Zero. Over the summer they got a day by day, blow by blow, description of my “Coke” withdrawals. Now I drink Chai or ice tea.
Liz: I was probably the biggest coffee addict around for years. I couldn’t make it out the door without out a pot of heavy duty, black Starbucks dark roast in my system. Then just over a year ago I started drinking Chinese Pu Er tea recommended by my Chinese healer doc. Without even meaning to, I stopped wanting so much coffee. I mean, it was crazy. So now I drink the tea (the darker the better), and can make it through most days with just one cup of coffee – and somedays, none. It’s kind of a miracle.
Julie: I drink black coffee in the morning. In the afternoon, I move to tea. I love Starbucks’ Chai Tea Latte with soy, though it is more of a drink than coffee. And I’ve recently discovered London Fogs–Earl Grey tea with steamed milk. Delish. I have to balance the caffeine in the afternoon–I try to stop by 3 so I can get some sleep that night.
Jessie: I start each morning with a couple of cups of black coffee, no sugar, the stronger, the better. By mid-morning I switch to water. If we happen to have any in the house, I love to pour a couple of fingers of grapefruit juice in to a tall glass and top it with seltzer. In the afternoons I usually have tea with my children when they return home from school. Peppermint is my favorite but I like black teas too like Earl Grey and PG Tips.
Edith: I learned to drink coffee as a seventeen-year old exchange student in Brazil,
so I love a deep, rich dark roast coffee. But since I quit the caffeine habit twenty years ago, I’ve had to search out a deep, rich dark roast decaf. So now I fresh-grind and brew two cups of that (these days two-third decaf and one-third caf) and drink those with a little milk in the morning. After that it’s water all the way. Until it’s wine o’clock, of course.
Readers, which beverages bring a smile to your lips?
Winter: hot chocolate
Summer/Spring: sweet tea
I’m into hot chocolate, too, Especially now that we have this Keurig thing in the house.
Sweet tea. Oh my. I have to resist making that a habit. Just love it.
One pot of coffee in the morning–from Peet’s in California (I got hooked when I lived in the Berkeley area, and then they were kind enough to start up mail order service and open a few shops in Massachusetts). I switch to tea after noon, but more and more I’m finding that real tea packs as much of a caffeine kick as coffee. I’m trying decaf teas, but most of them taste like not much at all. All recommendations welcome.
BTW, what do you have your fictional characters drinking? I find mine are offering a cup of hot something to anyone who walks in the door, unless it’s mid-summer so it’s iced tea.
My niece, a serious tea drinker, refers to my afternoon herbal teas as “flavored water,” so I can’t make a recommendation.
For awhile, Boiled Over had three scenes in a row where the main character was offered tea and scones. I thought about making a joke of it, but finally mixed it up to tea and scones–nothing–late lunch.
Coke. I try not to drink it in the morning. In the late 90s, I realized I was addicted. I *needed* it in the morning. So I went off it cold turkey. That was difficult. I didn’t get the headaches I’ve heard others describe, but I was exhausted for a while. I was off Coke (all caffeine, really, except any small amounts I might get from occasional chocolate) for five years or so, when I work project necessitated caffeine. Now I drink Coke moderately, though on days I have none, I find myself dragging in the afternoon.
In other words, no coffee or tea for me. Coke or water.
I am off the diet soda wagon, so if I drink soda, it is Coke. I am trying not to, but sometimes there is nothing like it.
I’m a boring drinker. Water.
I never liked the taste of coffee, but I come by that honestly. My parents don’t drink it either. Tea is ok occasionally, and soda is good about once every two weeks. Funny story, when I went to college, I was so excited because I could have soda at lunch and dinner finally. By the end of the first week, I couldn’t stand it any more and switched to water. (The caf only had juice for breakfast).
I do occasionally get fruit juice to have with breakfast. But mostly it’s water. I like it, it’s easy, and it’s good for you.
I am getting more into the water habit now, but in college? Yikes. Not sure I would have made it through without caffeine!
Water really rules. My parents drank instant, so I sure didn’t learn to drink coffee from them! I still drank milk with meals in college, but I’ve never been a need-coffee-to-stay-awake type, either, Mark.
I love, love, love coffee. In fact, one of the proudest moments of my life was when a local roaster ( Zeke’s) made a special blend and named it for my shop! Everything that ever happened at our house happened while a pot of coffee was brewing. To me, a cup of coffee is comfort, a memory of home and family.
That’s a lovely view on the brew, Kim!
I love my coffee in the morning, usually 1 or 2 cups. In the afternoon when I’m starting to feel slumpy, it’s usually tea, either green or lemongrass & ginger, with a little honey – iced in the summer. I also drink lots of water all day long. At night when I’m all done, I have to admit a small glass of red wine helps me relax and feels like a reward. So to answer your question, all of the above!
And why not, Alyssa!
I love coffee. I have a Grind and Brew coffeemaker and use Eight O’Clock beans. Yum. If I’m out and pass a Starbucks, I have to stop. Over the summer, I discovered their iced caramel macchiattos–they are heavenly!
My beverage of choice in the evenings is good beer. Once in awhile I’ll have a glass of wine, just for something different.
Coffee in the morning, ice tea afternoon, glass of wine some evenings. Unless it’s winter then a cup of homemade hot chocolate with marshmallow crime ( not homemade). No carbonated drinks ever. 😉
I drink green tea in the morning because it’s the least caffeine that is still caffeine. (I get headaches when I go without even this small amount.) I had to get used to it, but now I love it (flavored with Earl Grey or Jasmine). But my addiction is Dr. Pepper. I allow myself DP only on the weekends to control my intake. I know it’s very bad for me, but I can’t just never drink it. I’ve never been able to drink coffee. It smells good, just doesn’t sit right inside me.