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Tuesday 14 June 2022

Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, and Me

I mentioned in my last post that I don't drink coffee, although I'd like to do so because of the caffeine boost which would come in handy at times. 

I have drunk coffee in the past, and tea as well, but they don't agree with me. There are a few other things that don't agree with me, too, but after being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome a few years ago and cutting out certain things (caffeine, including chocolate, and -- the worst one by far -- sugar alcohols, used in sugar-free gum and other foods), I felt so much better.

As I also mentioned in  my last post, I do break out the chocolate from time to time and if I don't overdo it, I'm okay.

The fact that I can't drink coffee doesn't mean I have to avoid coffee memes, though.

 








 

 

 

 

 

A different caption for the same picture. People are endlessly inventive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


And a couple I've used but really like, so I'll repeat them just so I have all my coffee memes in one place. Yes, I might be a bit . . . what's the word I want here? organized??? yes, that's a nice way to put it . . . ha ha ha . . .

 

Probably more than $5 now, with recent inflation

 

 





 

 

 

*****

My hot drink of choice now is hot milk and water, mixed half and half. I tell myself I'm helping to ward off osteoporosis. Sometimes when I'm feeling festive I put some hot chocolate powder in it.

What's your favourite hot drink? Please note: a hot toddy definitely counts.

 

  

31 comments:

Janie Junebug said...

I'm really not a drinker of hot liquids. I fix hot cocoa sometimes during the winter. Sweet Cheeks likes it more than I do. I love your coffee memes.

Love,
Janie

Boud said...

Golden milk is the evening choice. Turmeric, black pepper and hot milk.

Elephant's Child said...

I can no longer drink coffee (though I still like the smell). My dodgy tummy means that tea is often off limits too. I drink water most. Hot or cold.
Thanks for the coffee meme - which has me smiling.

Marie Smith said...

The coffees ordered at Starbucks are like the ingredients in a witch’s potion. So far from coffee…unbelievable.

Joanne Noragon said...

I love coffee, but drink less and less of it. More and more memes are good, though!

Bonnie said...

I'm one of those that has to have coffee in the morning but I can't drink more than one cup any more. I like a cup of green tea with mint in the afternoon. I love the memes!

Martha said...

I like coffee but I don't drink a lot. At most I'll have 2 cups in the morning. Anything more than that and I get heart palpitations! Only tea in the evenings and preferably herbal types. Loved the funnies! We can never have enough of those in this nutty world.

jenny_o said...

Janie Junebug: If I lived where you do I don't think I'd be drinking many hot beverages either. Our winter is long so we're always looking for ways to keep warm. I should have asked what readers' favourite drinks are, hot OR cold!

Boud: I suspect that may not be a very common drink! Sounds like it would clear the sinuses :) I've never tried turmeric in a drink before.

Elephant's Child: The smell of coffee is heavenly. I'm so sorry you can't enjoy coffee or tea like you used to. I've tried plain hot water and it's not horrible but it's not great either. Food and drink are such a big part of life; it's hard when they have to be extremely restricted.

Marie: Can you believe I've never set foot in a Starbucks? And even if I could drink what they're selling, I'd be too intimidated to order, I think!

Joanne: I love the flavour of coffee with cream, but that smell is divine no matter what else is in it or even if I can't drink it :)

Bonnie: Ah, an equal-opportunity drinker! lol

Martha: I've just been over at your blog catching up on the last few posts. Somehow I got behind in commenting. You've been a busy lady! Heart palpitations are kind of scary - I've had those after one cup of coffee. Just one more reason to avoid it, I guess.

Infidel753 said...

I don't drink coffee, only tea (my parents were immigrants from Britain and brought the culture with them). The pretentious complicated names for types of coffee these days are pretty silly, but evidently profitable. They should just be honest and price it at an extra 50¢ per each added fancy word.

jenny_o said...

Infidel753: Do they even offer plain black coffee at the fancy places anymore? If so, I wonder what weird name it goes by. Do you like your tea steeped briefly or boiled? I'm thinking British tradition would say steeped briefly :)

kylie said...

hot coffee, iced coffee, turmeric latte, chai, milo, hot chocolate, tea, licorice tea....
I'm not fussy

Great memes

Mike said...

I can't stand coffee. Not even the smell. Coffee is way too bitter and there is nothing you can do to it to make it uncoffee.

You do know there is very little chocolate in milk chocolate. Dark chocolate has the most caffeine.

"According to the United States Department of Agriculture: Dark chocolate contains 12 milligrams of caffeine per ounce. Milk chocolate contains 9 milligrams of caffeine per 1.55 ounces. White chocolate contains zero caffeine."

River said...

My favourite hot drink is hot chocolate, with plenty of the chocolate part. "Extra chocolate please". I really hate ordering a HOT, hot chocolate with extra chocolate and getting something warm that tastes of milk.

Infidel753 said...

It depends. When using a tea-bag, I boil the water in a kettle and pour it over the tea-bag. When using a teapot, I pour the boiling water onto the tea in the teapot, then let it sit for long enough to get to the desired strength. The teapot is more culturally authentic, but the tea tends to get too strong over time.

Black coffee would be "ebony pure dairy-free au naturel traditional" or something like that (there, added, $2.50 to the price).

dinthebeast said...

I should probably start drinking coffee, as I have backslid on my soda stoppage in order to drink a little Pepsi to keep me awake through the boring reading I tend to do in the mornings.
I used to drink a lot of strawberry soda, but my doctor sort of convinced me to cut down on the sugary drinks and I stopped drinking soda altogether about a year and a half ago. Then I bought a little bottle of Pepsi in case I got sleepy in the mornings, and now I drink a little pretty much every morning, like I would coffee if I drank coffee...
I used to be a little bit allergic to coffee, though, but only in large quantities, you know, like the kind of quantities you drink when you're a musician and work at a restaurant.
I'll probably stick with the Pepsi for a while, though, as I don't really have anywhere to put a coffee maker.

-Doug in Sugar Pine

e said...

I drink decaf tea or coffee and buy in bulk, make at home and if I want to fancy it up I froth the milk myself and sweeten with stevia. I also make hot cocoa when desired using chocolate powder. stevia and milk.

jenny_o said...

kylie: Wow, you'd be an easy houseguest!

Mike: Yep, I did know that. I get the semi-sweet chocolate chips and eat them straight, not in cookies or otherwise diluted. I don't know how their caffeine compares to coffee but it's enough for me to notice it. lol I've only known one other person who finds the smell of coffee repugnant, but I'm sure there are others out there. It must be really unpleasant to eat out anyplace that serves coffee as a main item (I'm thinking of donut shops with meals on the side), or walk through a mall with a coffee shop in it. So do you have an alternative beverage you really like? Can I guess what it might be? ha ha

River: I hear you. Actually I'm the same about most foods too, so it just becomes easier and nicer to "eat in". That way I always know what I'm getting and I always like it.

Infidel: I think you have a talent for naming fancy drinks; you need to exploit that somehow :) My folks always poured the hot water over the tea bags in the (glass Pyrex) tea pot and never boiled it, but my husband's parents put the teabags in the pot and turned it to high, shutting off the burner when the tea reached a boil. It was strong! It's a regional habit, I think.

Doug: Caffeinated soft drinks are truly addictive. My sister-in-law can't function without her Pepsi, just as many people can't function without coffee. Large quantities of either can make the most dependent person have side effects, though. And withdrawal is another thing - my husband used to be a heavy coffee drinker. If he didn't have coffee first thing in the morning he'd get a pounding headache. He eased off in later years but still had three cups first thing in the morning until he became unable to drink much late in his illness.

e: That sounds like a good choice. I always preferred my own "brew" too.



Diane Henders said...

The coffee memes made me chuckle! I love the smell of coffee, but the flavour is always a bit disappointing after that glorious scent. Even half a cup makes me vibrate; so I only drink coffee if I'm in a social situation and it's the only thing available.

I drink one cup of flavoured green tea in the morning - any more than that and the caffeine hits me. Herbal tea or silver tea (plain hot water) are my go-to hot beverages for the rest of the day, although I do love hot chocolate or hot milk with a splash of vanilla as a treat!

jenny_o said...

Diane: Silver tea - I LOVE that name for it. I'm sure it would make it taste better to have such a fine name :) I've drunk it on occasion but just don't enjoy it much, although it's certainly healthy. And definitely low in calories. I've never cared for herbal tea but I wish I did. There are so many varieties out there.

Diane Henders said...

@jenny_o: I'm not fond of most herbal teas, either - they tend to have a lot of hibiscus, which gives them a sour, astringent flavour (to my palate, anyway). And rooibos tastes like dead twigs, blech. I buy mostly loose-leaf tea and stick with spearmint, chamomile, or honeybush. (But honeybush is expensive and hard to find, and a lot of places use 'honeybush' and 'rooibos' interchangeably. They're NOT the same thing.)

For tea bags, I like Celestial Seasonings Apple Cinnamon, Bengal Spice, or Sleepytime, which is a spearmint blend. (I have to admit that the adorable little bear illustration on the Sleepytime package makes me like it more!) I never buy any other brand of apple cinnamon, though - other brands are loaded with hibiscus. It's supposed to be great for your kidneys, but, yuck. ;-)

jenny_o said...

Diane: Thank you for the tips on herbal teas. The astringency is exactly what I don't like about them, too, so now I'll know how to avoid that! (dead twigs - lol)

Mr. Shife said...

I drink hot tea every morning. Must be my British roots. I was never a coffee person. Just didn't agree with me. Similar issues like you described. Take care, jenny_o.

37paddington said...

I drink coffee every morning of my life, have for decades, can't seem to quit it, though to be fair, I haven't really tried. It's the ritual of it I love, as well as the taste.

jenny_o said...

Mr. Shife: Tea is good, too! When I did drink it, I found it more restorative, instead of invigorating like coffee, if that makes sense. Coffee left me super-charged, but tea was just comforting.

37paddington: Rituals are nice, too, especially the ones we follow when we are just starting the day.

messymimi said...

If i had to give up coffee, i am not sure what i would do. It's a religion here.

Charlotte (MotherOwl) said...

I love tea, black tea, no funny flavours, just plain old black tea with a little sugar. And coffee, but good coffee. I drink coffee at home only - listen to why. I can drink one cup a day, sometimes two because of my stomach - like Jenny_o sugar-alcohols just kills me. Sigh, bye to onions, apples, garlic and worst mushrooms!
Back to the coffee. Hubby makes it from scratch - well almost :) Even if I actually have a coffee tree in my living room, we buy the whole, roasted beans. He grinds them in a hand held grinder, boils the water, and pours it at the right time. Served in our garden when weather allows, else indoors. The best coffee in the world!

Diane Stringam Tolley said...

I've never been a coffee-drinker, but I have discovered, just in the past six months, that half a caffiene pill eliminates my daily headaches! Long live caffiene!
My hot drink of choice? (This'll probably make you gag) hot jello! Sadly, the sugar content puts it out of the realms of possibility for me now. Sigh.

Daal said...

definitely laughing at these memes are a better way to start my day than with coffee lol

Daal said...

btw, in Iran, where my husband is from, all day they keep a small pot of strong tea steeping atop the opening of a samovar of simmering water. served in clear glass cups by mixing the strong tea with the hot water, they serve according to one's preference of dark, medium, or light. I often add non-traditional decaf green tea, etc, to the steeping teapot mix...

Daal said...

Infidel, an English friend told me that at least when he was growing up, when one had tea out at lunch places or the like, it was poured from a huge pot of premixed with milk, can't remember if one added one's own sugar... stuck in my mind because I like mine plain

Infidel753 said...

The way I make tea is the way my mother used to make it, which still feels like the only "right" way. She was from Sheffield in Yorkshire. It may be, as Jenny_o says, something that varies from region to region. Different bits and pieces of England have a lot of local idiosyncrasies.