Fiction Friday: A Far-flung Blog Collection

Coffee, Tea, and Taste

Originally posted by Laran Wuldor to alexisdonkin.com blog, 4-15-16

There is nothing like the scent and taste of freshly brewed pinyon berry tea. It's like hot forest in a cup. Notes of clay, peat, and pine fill the nose and mouth. In the cup, its color is as complex as its tree – recalling it's forest origins.

Like all plants, climate and soil composition impact the flavor. This is something grape and coffee growers understand. It's no different for pinyon berry trees. It's why I planted a stand in Kolmarden. The forest is perfect for pinyon berries. The temperate climate and steady stream of natural fertilizers through compost and foraging creatures creates the ideal environment for pinyon berries. With the ideal environment comes the perfect cup of tea.

You can't get a better pinyon berry tea than I make here at Kolmarden. I've tasted around the Sidhe veil, and nothing else compares. The Seelie try, and the closest is probably Asgard, but it's still not Kolmarden quality.

My wife doesn't get it. That's okay. She grew up with coffee. Everyone likes things that are familiar. I get it. These familiar things hold special places in our hearts.

But pinyon berry tea is so much better than coffee!

It's not just the familiarity.

Coffee doesn't affect Otherworlders the same way it does humans. Yes, it is a mild stimulant, but our bodies don't react the same. We process caffeine more quickly so it doesn't have time to work. We'd need to drink probably twenty cups to feel what a human might at two.

Pinyon berry has different compounds that function similarly for Otherworlders as those in coffee do for humans. The health benefits and side effects are similar.

Besides this, Otherworlder cuisine works with pinyon berry tea. Just as coffee is paired with human dishes, pinyon berry tea impacts the flavor profiles of Otherworlder dishes. It makes sense. Why would we cook something that didn't taste delicious with our favorite hot beverage?

My wife started a little coffee plantation on the Sidhe island province of Tir Tairngire. The province ruler, Lady Nyx, invited her to do so, partly from curiosity and partly from friendship. The island is really the best climate for coffee, and even though my wife could jump to any veil at any time to get a cup of coffee, she's steadily weaning herself from human convenience. We can't expect their society to continue as it has, and who knows what the human world will look like in 30 years? It's better for her to have her own supply.

I'm not sure how much longer she'll have this taste for coffee. I'm holding out for a conversion experience with pinyon berry, but as they say, there's no accounting for taste. I could be waiting a long time.

*****

Laran Wuldor is a character from the Khloe Alwell Series, first appearing in book 2, LOVERS AND RIVALS.