It’s our last national day to discuss – and I think this one is my favorite. It’s National Coffee Day – and we all know how much I love coffee! It’s also Julie’s (as Julia Henry) release week – we’re still celebrating Wreathing Havoc! Congrats, Julie – and we need to discuss Lilly’s coffee habits too.
So let’s get to it – love coffee or hate it (gasp!)? If you love it, how do you take your coffee (black, loaded with cream and sugar, lattes only)? When did you start drinking coffee? If you hate it, first, what’s wrong with you (I’m kidding) and second, why? What do you prefer instead? What about your characters? Can you tell I’ve had too much of it already today?
Jessie: Congratulations, Julie! I laughed out loud at this question, Liz, as I thought of your face as you imagined people not liking coffee! I love it too but am rather picky about how it tastes. I love it very strong and black. Last year we added an espresso machine to our kitchen and I have been drinking a double espresso each morning since. In cold weather I sometimes have an Americano in the afternoon and have been enjoying espresso tonics through the summer months in the heat of the afternoon. My character Edwina Davenport makes terrible coffee and is an avid tea drinker. Her sleuthing partner, Beryl Helliwell, loves the same sort of coffee that I love but has not found it easy to obtain in rural 1920s England!
Julie: Thank you all! I love coffee, but alas can’t drink it anymore. I miss it terribly. I loved it black, but was also a huge fan of cappuccinos and specialty drinks for treats. Lilly drinks coffee in the morning, and tea in the afternoon. And in Wreathing Havoc, which came out yesterday, there are eggnog lattes, which are so, so good. Though not necessarily in this case. 😉
Sherry: I’m so happy for you, Julie and can’t wait to read Wreathing Havoc! Liz, I’m glad you still love me even though I don’t drink coffee, Liz. It’s my mom’s fault (hi, Mom)! When I was in second grade we were sitting out on out our tiny front porch and I asked if I could taste her coffee. It was the bottom of the pot and the bottom of her cup and it was AWFUL. The Wickeds are well aware of my Coke (a Cola) habit and I go through cycles of drinking it and giving it up. (I’m in a giving it up cycle) I do love tea — hot or cold. Both Sarah and Chloe drink coffee but they aren’t addicts.
Barb: Congratulations, Julie! I would sit down for an eggnog latte with Lilly any day of the week. My two huge cups (bowls) of coffee every morning are one of my favorite parts of the day. I don’t care if it’s hot, so I can linger luxuriously, the best part of working from home. Both Julia and Jane drink a lot of coffee and tea, and iced tea and lemonade in the summer, and wine and beer in the evening, as they make their sleuthly rounds. So much that one thing I do during a revision cycle is delete some of those drinks, to make sure my sleuths don’t get the jitters or float away!
Liz: Sherry, I guess I can forgive you…. kidding! Everyone knows how much of an addict I am, and like Jessie I drink it strong and black. I will definitely do specialty drinks, especially iced ones, as a treat, like lattes with oat or almond milk. And, not surprisingly, Stan, Maddie and Violet are all big coffee drinkers – mainly because I wouldn’t know what they would do in the mornings otherwise!
Edith/Maddie: First, congratulations to Julie for yesterday’s release of Wreathing Havoc! I’ll be picking up my copy at my local indy bookstore tomorrow. Coffee – I would be bouncing off the walls if I drank as much coffee as you, Liz. I learned to love good coffee as an exchange student in Brazil (my parents back in California drank instant…). I’m a fan of a good dark roast with a bit of whole milk in it, and I carry it in a travel mug upstairs to my desk so it stays hot as I work. But I only drink two cups in the morning and that’s it (unless I’m out to an excellent dinner and then I’ll ask if they have decaf espresso), and I almost never buy coffee out. Rose Carroll makes coffee in a stovetop pot back in 1890. Robbie and Mac drink coffee but I don’t make a big deal about it.
Readers, what about you? Love coffee? Hate it? How do you take it?