Metatalktail Hour: Hot beverage, anyone? January 9, 2022 5:29 AM   Subscribe

• You're upset and need soothing with a hot beverage; what hot beverage should we offer you?

• You're not upset, but you are a bit chilly; what hot beverage would you enjoy right now?

• You aren't chilly, but you really love this hot beverage so much, you'll drink it during the dog days of summer. What is that hot beverage?

• You aren't upset or chilly. In fact, you are happy and cozy, and it's the perfect time for a special celebratory hot beverage. What is that hot beverage?

IOW, tell us all your hot beverage likes, dislikes, secrets, recipes, innovations, rituals, and discoveries. Go on, spill it. (Or just tell us what is happening in your life, or what's been on your mind lately — it's all good. Except politics.)
posted by taz (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 5:29 AM (114 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite

Great idea! For me it's coffee - boring, I know. I don't like iced coffee, so even in the dog days of summer I still get my Dunkin coffee hot with half/half.
posted by sundrop at 5:39 AM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]


Amusing hot beverate story: So I lost about 30 lbs between July and November of 2021. Which was great, but I had to stop drinking 1-1/12 cups of strong coffee in the morning and switch to a cup of mild brew of a cup of half decaf, half brew. Drinking java like my pre-weight loss self would keep me wired, up all night, and with a scarily racing heart. It's amusing to look back on and notice how much coffee was affecting me.

I still drink mild brew, even after gaining the weight back, because even milder forms tend to keep me popping awake now. Weird how the body works!

BUT GOD I LOVE THE TASTE OF IT!

Please, no comments about the weight loss, long story, thanks!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:51 AM on January 9, 2022 [12 favorites]


I throw together my own hot cocoa mix - two parts powdered sugar, two parts Nido (a fortified whole milk powder), one part baking cocoa, one part peanut butter powder, put in a Mason jar and shake vigorously.

Then all I have to do is throw a few tablespoons in a mug, add hot water and stir. (My husband uses hot milk, but milk plus the Nido already in there doesn't agree with me.)

I'm also a fan of mulled cider in the slow cooker. A bottle of apple juice, an orange, some honey, whatever fall spices I have on hand, on high for four hours. It also makes the house smell amazing.
posted by champers at 6:08 AM on January 9, 2022 [5 favorites]


By family I am an old southern woman, and therefore my hot drink of choice is ice tea.

I used to drink it loaded with sugar, which is proper, but, sugar bad, so now it's sugarless, and not even black tea, it's GREEN tea, what the hell, I'm sorry Grandma.

But it's still served icy cold. Oh yeah. I'm drinking it right now, looking out at the snow here in Maine.
posted by JanetLand at 6:12 AM on January 9, 2022 [9 favorites]


JanetLand, it's strange how tea has meaning.

I'm a half-Southern person, living in Maryland, and married to a New Yorker.

My first husband (an Alabaman) was rhapsodic with joy whenever I brewed a pot of lemony sweet tea, just like my North Carolina dad taught me.

Sigh, my beloved second husband gags. He likes unsweetened sun tea.

So now I drink hot tea, black, like my Australian mother.
posted by champers at 6:25 AM on January 9, 2022 [4 favorites]


I don't eat any dairy, I should get some actually non-dairy creamer, because I would so love a cup of tea with milk and sugar. Based ob a MeFite's comment on another site, I have been drinking hot broth, specifically from Osem, in the afternoon, and it's pleasant and warming. Because it's early in the day, I have hot coffee with stevia and sugar, and it is very good.

This is a winter answer; it's cold, gray, and sleety.
posted by theora55 at 7:01 AM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I love coffee, but if I drink it regularly, it really fires up my GERD. So I have a deal with myself and my wife that I only drink coffee when traveling. At home, I stick to tea - two mugs every morning. I bounce back and forth between tea bags and good teas. Lately I've been lazy and just brewing with Red Rose teabags, with one sweetener and almond milk. When my throat is feeling scratchy, I'll use a lemon wedge in place of the almond milk.

And iced tea is a year round drink in our home too. We cold brew it in the fridge and always have a 1 gallon pitcher ready to drink and another one gallon pitcher steeping.

Lifewise, we've locked back down until the Omicron spike passes. We left the house twice this week, grocery shopping, and a hike in the park yesterday.
posted by COD at 7:18 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm sitting here with my second cup of rooibos chai massai, flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, lemon peel, ginger, pepper, star anise and clove. I drink it with milk (and a little bit of brown sugar for special occasions). This is my comfort drink, especially in cold weather.
posted by amf at 7:20 AM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]


I'm American but I love me a cup of builder's tea. Every day, year round.
posted by cooker girl at 7:25 AM on January 9, 2022 [5 favorites]


The answer is almost always coffee. Hot and black. Pleasant Morning Buzz whole bean from Whole Foods is my brand.

Sometimes the answer is Peppermint Tea.
posted by bondcliff at 7:27 AM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]


English tea with milk and a shot of Jack Daniels Honey please. I was as horrified as you are now when I first heard this, but it's fantastic.

Jim Beam Honey will do in a pinch but you might need a tiny bit of extra sugar.
posted by ominous_paws at 7:39 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


A pot of Sir John's Blend in the winter... Which I first tasted 4years ago and now order by the kilo (ugh plus vat and shipping). It's a true indulgence and beautiful in inclement weather.
posted by larthegreat at 7:45 AM on January 9, 2022


Coffee in the morning, coffee at about 8:30pm. Those are usually KCups, whichever is around. Some mornings when I'm feeling fancy, I grind my own beans (currently Tim Hortons) and attempt a pourover cop. I used to have fancy pourover coffee at a shop in Philly on Fridays before work, but that hasn't happened since 2020.

I hate the winter cold and would drink hot beverages all day, but ... which one? I can't do coffee all day. I don't like the taste of most teas, and green tea is alright I guess. I thought I liked chai tea, but I really enjoy the milky sugary concoction I get in coffee shops.

Early in December I discovered peppermint tea, which is a perfect midafternoon hot drink. I look forward to it daily.
posted by kimberussell at 7:47 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm drinking moka pot espresso at the moment, with a couple drops of liquid stevia and some heated milk. I drink far too much of it, but it's molto buono! My moka pot is a Bialetti (the Venus), and the best grind for this is also from Bialetti — not too fine, not too coarse, and delicious. However, none of my grocers carry it, so I have to order it special if I want it, and I'm trying to keep deliveries to a minimum. So, next best, or one of them, at least, is Lavazza Rossa espresso grind. I've tried the gold, which is supposed to be more "premium" but I like the red. For the best moka pot brew, don't fill above the valve (it needs the space to get the optimum amount of steam!) and take it off the burner as soon as you hear it start to gurgle. (blatantly abusing my power to add this much later: also don't pack the grounds! Moka pot isn't like an espresso machine where you tamp down the coffee; it needs to have space to percolate!)

For fun coffee, I like espresso and Amaretto or Irish coffee (with Jameson's). But my coffee dipendenza doesn't mean I can't also be ridiculous about tea! I'm a filthy flavored tea lover, and my favorite is Noël à Venise from Dammon Freres ("lemon meringue and caramel toffee flavors," but it's not icky, like it could be. It's delicate, and divine, I think). I bought myself two bags at Christmas, and have already nearly finished one.

I also like a cup of cocoa on occasion, but then halfway through, I just can't anymore. Half Consumed Cups of Cocoa is my new band name. Also my old band name. The idea of hot cocoa is always more appealing to me than the actual cupful.

In the Nostalgic Hot Beverages department, I had something once that was amazing ... it was homemade mead served warm somehow (I don't know how it was mixed up), and that drink (at a pub, but not officially offered) haunts me. Not exactly the sort of thing one can order online, or offline, for that matter. Ahhh, my one night of mead love, how I still long for you!

In Greece, there is a hot winter drink called Salepi ("Made from One Thousand Orchids") that is (was?) sold from carts on the streets, and the best was walking by the seaside in winter in Thessaloniki, enjoying the lighted decorations and sipping hot Salepi as the steam curled above our paper cups. Perfection.
posted by taz (staff) at 8:01 AM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]


Either hot strong coffee, black with no sugar or hot tea with no milk or sugar but sometimes a little lemon.
posted by octothorpe at 8:01 AM on January 9, 2022


Amusing hot beverate story: So I lost about 30 lbs between July and November of 2021. Which was great, but I had to stop drinking 1-1/12 cups of strong coffee in the morning and switch to a cup of mild brew of a cup of half decaf, half brew. Drinking java like my pre-weight loss self would keep me wired, up all night, and with a scarily racing heart. It's amusing to look back on and notice how much coffee was affecting me.

I've always been more sensitive to caffeine than most people. (A cup in the afternoon means I'll be wide awake and jittery past midnight, for example.) But my sensitivity has been slowly getting worse over the past few years, and I know I need to stop drinking it in the mornings. It's a real addiction, though, and every time I try to quit, I make it a few weeks and then backslide. At some point, though, the bad consequences of the coffee will outweigh the nice parts to the extent that I'll have to quit for real, and I am starting to think that this is going to be sooner rather than later.

I haven't found anything else that fills that space in the mornings. I like the bitterness and the smell especially (plus of course the way your brain knows there is caffeine within the first couple of sips). I've liked the taste of rooibos when I tried it a while back; that might become the replacement if I can't find something better.

In the evenings I like a cup of herbal tea (usually Red Zinger but others are ok too) with honey, or sometimes instant cocoa.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:02 AM on January 9, 2022


Cold brewed coffee, black. And jasmine green tea.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:02 AM on January 9, 2022


And, oooh, I almost forgot: London Fog. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ So good. For some reason, my London Fog cravings seem to come at 3 or 4 in the morning. Sipping this in the dark and silence in front of my glowing monitor, maybe glimpsing the moon from the window. Very cosy and silly. (Silly because well, I've woken up at 3 in morning, so what should I do? Definitely consume some caffeine. However, I will say that if I feel like sleeping, I can sleep after having caffeine with no trouble, and if I don't, nothing will discourage the wakey-wakey, so eh, maybe a little London Fog to pass the time.)
posted by taz (staff) at 8:26 AM on January 9, 2022 [6 favorites]


I’m a coffee lover-a couple cups strong coffee, half and half or cream, and a little raw sugar or stevia. I can’t have it after noon or I’ll pay. Brandon Blatcher-I used to be able to drink core any time of day without effect but that stopped after my first child was born. I’ve always attributed it vaguely to being mostly off caffeine during pregnancy but your story makes me wonder if it there was something about the weight gain/loss that was part of it. Hmmmm.

I’m not a huge tea fan but my 12 year old is-got him an advent calendar from David’s Tea and it was so lovely. Little tins with a couple tablespoons maybe of delicious smelling tea inside, so now I think I’ll try experimenting.

And for indulgence-homemade hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps. And Russian Tea-anyone else make or remember this? Instant tea, lemonade mix, Tang (god I loved tang as a kid in the 70s-would eat the powder by the spoonful) and warm spices. It’s so good. And obv so authentically Russian!
posted by purenitrous at 8:26 AM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]


To satisfy all three categories, I offer HOT LEMONADE. Made at the stove from simple syrup, lemon juice, and simmered water. Please. Yes.
posted by scratch at 8:32 AM on January 9, 2022 [6 favorites]


Ha. Although contrary to what you might think, I'm not actually my favorite hot bev. The one that I would drink when chilly, at a summer brunch, or when feeling celebratory is coffee mit Schlag.
posted by HotToddy at 8:37 AM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


ibarra hot chocolate w/whole milk
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:37 AM on January 9, 2022


I love an oat milk mocha! I really don’t like the taste of coffee otherwise.
posted by ellieBOA at 8:46 AM on January 9, 2022


Hills Bros cappuccino - it comes in a variety of flavors (sugar cookie, French vanilla, English toffee or double mocha). A cup in the morning before I head off to work, or two on my days off (along with a good book to read on my front porch).
posted by Roger Pittman at 8:53 AM on January 9, 2022


I enjoy a decaf chai latte from time to time. I used to drink strong black tea with a bit of milk once or twice a day, but no longer. I still like hot chocolate but it is a rare treat (thanks to my GERD or whatever). I have fond memories of drinking hot, fruit-flavoured jello on some camping trip when I was young. It was delicious! Have never had it as a hot beverage before or since, but it was great. I now live in a place that has no jello (the tradeoff was worth it), but the memories of that one night linger.
posted by Bella Donna at 8:53 AM on January 9, 2022


In the morning, decaf tea. Earl & Lady Grey, Paris, or chai are great flavours. In the afternoon, herbal tea. Hibiscus with berry or lemon is fun, ginger, lemon, and/or peppermint are also nice. There's a Celestial Seasonings tea called tension tamer that does, indeed, seem to soothe tensions. I like that.

Now that I drink decaf, I could do it at any time. But having already demarcated my day by types of tea, I find I'm inclined to keep them as they are. It's nice to have the exact same taste I want in the morning (even if I can't have caffeine now) but why mess with an afternoon that works? It's nice to have a time for tisanes.
posted by blueberry monster at 8:57 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm bouncing back and forth between chicken broth and ginger honey tea from the local Asian market. I also have been getting their frozen bubble tea and making it with skim milk (meant to be consumed cold). As far as coffee, I brew a pot of decaf and stick it in the fridge. I take mine with skim milk and Splenda. I try not to drink my calories.
posted by kathrynm at 8:58 AM on January 9, 2022


Right now I'm drinking Clearspring Organic Japanese Green Tea with Roasted Rice Genmaicha. Previously, I drank a lot of black tea with an embarrassing amount of sugar - in restaurants, I'd try to hide how much I was using from my friends. I started drinking green tea for health reasons, and it took me a while to learn to like it. Now I'm a fan.

Trying to cut back on sugar just led me to the discovery of Republic of Tea's double dark chocolate mate. I hate their pretentious ad copy and their ridiculous "Minister of Leaves" stuff, but this tea really does have a rich chocolate taste, and I love it.
posted by FencingGal at 9:04 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


Most mornings I use a French press to brew a small pot of coffee. I buy basic medium roast beans and grind a supply once or twice a week. I add a little soy creamer, no sugar. It’s a ritual I follow while also making old fashioned oatmeal with chopped apple and raisins. The whole process takes 12 or 13 minutes. But I recently picked up a box of Maxim Mocha Gold coffee sticks at a local Asian market based on a recommendation and it’s such a nice treat – no waiting, no need to add creamer (it does have added sugar, but not too much). So now, if I don’t feel like making oatmeal, I just go with yogurt, banana, and use a coffee stick – and my breakfast is ready 10 minutes quicker. On Saturday nights I’ll sometimes go to a nearby independent coffee shop for a creamy spiced chai latte, decaf, but I haven’t been able to do this in a long while due to Covid.
posted by kbar1 at 9:27 AM on January 9, 2022


Hot buttered rum. Irish coffee for pirates.
posted by BobTheScientist at 9:45 AM on January 9, 2022 [4 favorites]


I do not routinely drink hot drinks, because my mouth burns easily and once a drink is lukewarm I don't find it at all appealing. But if I'm really cold and needing to warm up, I like a mug of miso soup. I also occasionally just need some instant hot cider, for nostalgia.

I am trying very hard to switch from a terrible Diet Coke addiction to iced tea. It's not going very well.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:57 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm not a big hot beverage fan, but I do drink coffee sometimes when I need help staying awake at an evening meeting or on a long drive and I basically enjoy it. If there's a Starbucks handy I'll get a mocha latte. Otherwise, I stop at a convenience store and fill a coffee cup between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way with hot chocolate and the rest of the way with medium roast coffee, topped off with a bit of half and half.

I recently made this hot chocolate for my daughter and it was quite good. But I'd rather have my dessert in a non-liquid form.
posted by Redstart at 10:17 AM on January 9, 2022


Horlicks!
posted by dhruva at 10:17 AM on January 9, 2022 [4 favorites]


coffee. but for the sake of the premise: 1. cider w/ cinnamon stick; 2. tea; green tea or ginger tea; turkish-style tea; 3. coffee; 4. turkish-style tea. but really coffee for all given preference; in a pinch anything will do so long as there is a caffeine fix available.

wanted to share milestone i posted in open blue chat thread because i was a few hours to early for talktails:
it was a proud parent today whose child, playing nearby on their seventh birthday, selected only the word "motherfucker" to echo back at the tv from some program in which the dialog had been in german and french until one fantastically blue telephone conversation in english, heavy on the emphatic motherfucker. mother and i both did not react and kid went back to playing and soon enough mother selected a different program. someday i'll have to be, like, "think of the whole word and write down the sounds. you already know how to spell mother, right? so what's next?" and so on. not quite yet though. just the beaming silent pride for now.
posted by 20 year lurk at 10:36 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


In the alcoholic variety, I'm fond of my own very weird version of a hot toddy: strong tea (typically black, but herbal stuff works - mint, light camomile, and mate are subtle enough not to overwhelm, hibiscus and licorice are good but will absolutely take over the flavor), brandy or not-peaty whisky, honey, lime juice, cinnamon stick, cloves or allspice, optionally a few drops of vanilla extract and fresh mint or basil. When I'm impressing guests, I'll garnish with cirtrus slices.

Lately I've been avoiding alcohol (and I never remember to buy milk), so my nightcap has often been strong rooibos with cacao shells, sometimes with a bit of honey or spiced orange mixed tea added. It's as close to hot chocolate as I can get without milk to and strong enough to feel special.

I've spent many weeks in the last few months in hotel rooms, I remain astonished by how little tea people in my country seem to drink. The number of long-stay hotel rooms with refrigerators and giant televisions but no way to make tea that isn't tainted by the pouring the water over the remnants of shitty hotel coffee is astonishing. I've learned to bring a cup and an immersion heater with me, but it's still slow and annoying. It's pretty rare that I'm ever at home or at work without a hot cup within arm's reach. There are many things about traveling in Argentina that I find frustrating, but they sure get the free hot water at every corner store thing right.

On preview, cheers for Horlicks. I'm also a fan of the less-sweet Asian ovaltine served hot. Which reminds me that suutei tsai exists. It's probably good for my health that I don't do so often in all of these cases. Not that they're fundamentally unhealthy, just that salt and dairy aren't particularly good for me, personally.
posted by eotvos at 10:43 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


Green tea, black. (Or should I say green?) No sweetener. Decaffeinated if it's past 10 a.m.

If you're willing to go to some trouble, you could make me a pot of Morrocan mint tea, with fresh mint and lots of sugar. There used to be a little crepe place in town which we frequented as much for the mint tea as anything else. They closed down a couple of years ago and I miss them terribly.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:43 AM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I don't like hot beverages. My wife doesn't either. Neither do my kids. We keep tea and coffee in the house for visitors, but they rarely ask for them, probably because both packages are about five years out of date and a bit dusty. We're terrible hosts.
posted by pipeski at 11:07 AM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I think this earl grey loose leaf tea with unsweetened soy milk most non-workday mornings. Workdays I drink the shitty hospital coffee (same soy milk). I do like indulgent sweet coffee drinks but something about the combo of caffeine + hot + sugar bomb makes me feel like I’m dying shortly after.
posted by obfuscation at 11:20 AM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Started drinking coffee when I was 16, took it black and made it with a filter, just like my Dad. After awhile, despite his objections, I learned that adding milk and sugar made it so much tastier. Then I went to Italy and discovered not only espresso (and more importantly, cappuccino) but also how much tastier and un-nasty freshly roasted and ground coffee could be. Came home, bought an espresso machine and a grinder, found a source for green coffee beans and learned to roast my own. After a couple decades, had to de-caffeinate, and when my father died, I kind of just lost my taste for the decaf, haven't had any in years. A hot chocolate would be nice, but I'm pre-diabetic now... and just you try to find sugar-free cocoa. So, I just drink tea now -- so much, I'm afraid I'm re-caffeinated, but that's what I'll have, thanks. Green, black/red, even the occasional mint and/or herbal would be fine, and also iced (but none of that way-too-sweet Southern, please) -- just don't try to fob off that Pu'er tea on me -- stuff tastes like dirt, no thanks. Or just a cup of hot water.
posted by Rash at 11:20 AM on January 9, 2022


Mexican chocolate mocha…
And/or coffee and Kahlua…
posted by calgirl at 11:33 AM on January 9, 2022


I am addicted to my morning coffee – will get a terrible headache in the afternoon if I am out of my routine and don't have my two cups. I am lucky that my husband grinds the beans for us every morning and makes a huge pot and I actually take a thermos of coffee to the office with me everyday. I worked from home many years and loved sitting down at my computer with a hot cup of coffee to start the day and he would take a thermos of coffee to work with him everyday. Now it's reverse, he goes into work around midday most days and enjoys coffee at home and I take a thermos to open when I am settled at my desk to start my day. I am a person of routines, and I love this one.

We have also started having earl grey tea in the evenings and making the occasional London Fog which I somehow just learned about recently and they are fabulous and make use of my tiny electric milk frother.

I also bought hot chocolate bombs from a fancy local chocolate shop around the holidays and this lazy gray and windy day is just to the day to have one of those for a treat!
posted by blacktshirtandjeans at 11:44 AM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Coffee is the only consistency for me. On weekdays I make a cup first thing at home, and then have a second cup when I get to work; that's my allotment for the day. This is Coffee As Caffeine Delivery System, so while I go with something in a French Press at home, I make do with the Keurig at work. Milk, two spoons of sugar.

On the weekends, I often downscale to a single big mug of cafe au lait in the morning instead; one cup of double-strength coffee added to one cup of warmed milk, a little sugar, and then pretend I'm in Paris. Or in February, I dig out the can of Cafe Du Monde coffee and use that to make it instead, and pretend I'm in New Orleans.

Otherwise - I switch it up a WHOLE hell of a lot.

* I have a whole lot of little tins and jars and boxes and baggies of teas in a staggering array of flavors, blends, manufacturers, styles, etc. There's the three tiny tins I got from a tea shop in Rome; one is Assam, one is Darjeeling and I forget the third. There's a couple of pretty tins I got in New York's Chinatown, with one Persimmon Black Tea and one Lapsang Souchong. There's a tin I've filled with Genmai Green Tea. There's a weird herbal blend I got thrown in for free when I ordered something from an online shop once. There's the leftovers from an herbal tisane sampler my brother got me for Christmas one year when he was stuck and didn't know what else to do. There's a couple of random baggies of stuff from the Brooklyn Tea Company, a local tea shop that I coincidentally went into on its first day it opened as a brick-and-mortar shop and the staff was so relieved that "omg yay someone DID come in" that I was welcomed like a long lost friend. There's the peppermint and the chamomile I keep on hand for occasional stomachaches or sleeplessness. That's probably only half of what I got.

* I also once in a blue moon will clip some sprigs off my lemon verbena plant, chop the leaves up and make a tisane out of that. Sometimes I'll just make a big enormous pot of it, pour myself a couple cups over the course of a few hours, and then save the rest for iced tea later.

* I make hot chocolate the old-school way - heat up milk on the stove, dump in chopped chocolate, stir until melted. A couple years ago I got this book for if I want to really mix things up - add spices or seasonings or other flavors or booze or what have you.

* A few years back, red wine hot chocolate was a Thing on Foodie blogs; I tried it, and it's surprisingly good. It doesn't really taste "wine-y" - it's more like, if you were making from-scratch hot chocolate (which basically you are), but you happened to choose a single-origin chocolate with a fruitier note than usual.

* About an hour ago I came back from an outing to Brooklyn's Botanic Garden, where I'd picked up a few little plants - and this book also caught my eye, largely because of a couple intriguing-sounding non-chocolate drink options, one of which involves simply steeping a couple sprigs of rosemary in warm milk and then adding a little honey.

* Finally - this book has the recipe for a mulled cider punch, where you spike a mug of hot cider with a couple different liquors in varying quantities and then a cinnamon stick. I made a mixer batch of the liquors in a bottle so I can more easily make this when I have cider in the house (heat up cider, add a shot of the Punch Mix, boom).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:22 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Jamoca is my best self. I mix coffee and hot chocolate (heavy on the dark cocoa powder) and enjoy my reward for getting up to face the day.

If I'm feeling it, in the afternoon, another cip is consumed.

Always, at night, my jamoca is topped with either marshmallow fluff or whipped topping. Yummy repast to bookend the day.
posted by mightshould at 12:33 PM on January 9, 2022


Tea (by that I mean boiling water poured over a black tea bag, left to mash for a while, then a splash of cold milk and white sugar) or coffee (dark roast, french press, hot, nothing else).

The Builder's Tea link above doesn't include enough boiling. Building site/factory canteen tea is extremely fierce.
posted by scruss at 12:48 PM on January 9, 2022


About two years ago, a dear friend shipped me a clutch of little pu-erh cakes, the ones that are about as big as the end of my thumb, and I have been rationing those out as she cannot remember where she got them. I should just order some more but I get basically instant analysis paralysis trying to work out what kind I should get and if I am really the sort of person who should buy a whole big cake of it and if so, where would I keep it? If anybody had a pu-erh of the month club, I'd subscribe.

When coming in from outside, lately I've also been enjoying amaro caldo, about equal parts amaro and boiling water. Amaro Nonino Quintessentia is the pack leader, but Amaro Montenegro and Cardamaro, caldo, are also quite nice.
posted by gauche at 12:48 PM on January 9, 2022


I have a cup of coffee every morning - dark roast with flavored creamer. But that’s not a treat it’s a necessity.

I do love hot drinks. Chai lattes, anything espresso based, hot tea - black not green. My favorite hot drink, though, it steamed milk with vanilla. For Christmas I got a new milk pot that I cannot wait to use. Maybe tonight!
posted by lyssabee at 1:12 PM on January 9, 2022


All my adult life, up until about 10 years ago, well-brewed black coffee had been the one and only daily hot beverage for me. Then I suddenly started liking tea...a bit. After some experimenting I found that I prefer Scottish Breakfast or a hearty Irish Breakfast tea for their round robust flavor (and caffeine jolt). They still have an astringent quality - completely different from coffee's "bitterness" - that I'm not crazy about, but stirring in about half a teaspoon of sugar tempers it without making the drink obviously sweet (I don't like milk in my hot beverages). Now I go back and forth between coffee and tea depending on my mood. Lately I've considered springing for genuine pu-erh tea - I got some cheap from Amazon in teabag form that's tasty, but as I read more I've come to doubt it was the real thing at that price.

Whenever I spend about 3 hours making a big stew pot of chicken stock, after straining out all the spent bones and vegetables I pour myself a mug of delicious hot broth as a reward for honest labor. The rest of the liquid goes into a clean pot and reduced until it's thick, dark, and unctuous, then poured into ice cube trays to freeze. The cubes are easily reconstituted into regular-strength stock or, if I'm feeling a little under the weather, a restorative mug of hot broth.

If I have a really bad cold and a raw sore throat from coughing, the best thing in the world is a toddy made with 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice, a few coarse grinds of black pepper, a tablespoon of honey, a cinnamon stick for flavor, and a generous glug or possibly two of Yukon Jack liqueur, topped off with hot water. Absolutely nothing more soothing and comforting! That's not something I can go overboard with, though - I imagine waking up with a combined cold and hangover would be pretty miserable.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:23 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


>If anybody had a pu-erh of the month club, I'd subscribe.
Seconded.

Just checked none of these are security questions, so here's the options from my zip code in leftfield...

Cold days get pints of squash mixed hot with half kettle water and half cold tap.

Some digestive issues get settled with kettle-diluted whole milk, varying between 1/3 and 2/3 kettle water.

And then colds get honey/lemon/ginger with guest stars from flakes of chipotle and ancho peppers. (I drink the full-chicken broth cold, after it's simmered for about an hour with half a lemon in the cavity and carrot, ginger, onion, a halved bulb of garlic and a few quartered sticks of celery.)
posted by k3ninho at 1:50 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Contrary to my username, I drink decaf coffees and regular caffeinated black teas more often than green. Most days I drink two large cups of decaf (currently on a Wonderstate Coffee binge) with a little sugar and some oat milk, followed a few hours later by a cup or two of tea (masala chai, darjeeling, English Breakfast, whatever I have at hand). Most of my green tea drinking is in the afternoons if I'm in the mood - current favorite is genmaicha.
posted by sencha at 2:18 PM on January 9, 2022


hot water, baby.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:39 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I start the day with a big mug of Pu-Erh tea, drink black tea throughout the day, and another Pu-Erh after dinner.
But for special occasions, and if you're offering: YES I would definitely enjoy some hot cocoa. Made from real cocoa powder, go easy on the sugar; cow milk, oat milk, coconut or even soy are all fine.
Splash of brown rum? Don't mind if I do!

When I have a cold, ginger tea is a good option; if things get bad, I make a big pot of what I call Golden Tea. It's made with fresh ginger, fresh turmeric, black pepper and liquorice root. It's soothing, warming and desinfecting. It actually numbs the pain from a sore throat for quite a while.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:52 PM on January 9, 2022


Wait! You're going to give me a hot beverage, and then I'm supposed to spill it???

Heh.

And endless pot of strong black decaf tea that tastes exactly like strong caffeinated tea, for me, please. And a bit plate of assorted tea sandwiches, and a plate of scones. And an endless afternoon. Thanks!
posted by kristi at 2:54 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I have a single cup of hot coffee in the morning, never more than one, never later than morning, every morning. Either make it myself or pick up one from the really good shop in town if I have the time. Decent beans at home since one won't break the bank.

I upped my tea game a few years ago to improve staying hydrated since it can help reduce how often I get a migraine. I tried mint tea for a while until someone in here dropped the bomb that mint tea is diuretic so was undermining my goal. Now it have a rooibos bit with 'winter spices' from the excellent Tea Pigs. The spices take the bitterness off the rooibos and I make about a pint of it hot once or twice a day. They do a honeybush redbush option as well, with the honeybush also naturally sweetening the redbush.

Coming to tea in my middle age (Brits tend to start earlier), it took me a while to get into the thread of making tea regularly, there are so many modes of failure. Filling the kettle and forgetting to turn it on. Putting the kettle on but forgetting to come back and finding the teabag sat in the otherwise empty mug hours later. Pouring the water after not having turned on the kettle. Pouring the hot water but then forgetting to drink the tea and finding a lukewarm stew hours later. Making the tea but then leaving it somewhere around the house. I am lucky that I like to keep my spiced rooibos steeping indefinitely so I am naturally proofed against the banal failure of just letting it stew a bit too long.

I've mentioned my SO likes to mull in here before, cider & wine mostly. But mulling season is now officially over. OVER. Don't make her come round. Actually she won't come round, she'll just pity you without comment.

I can't believe no one has segued this conversation into dunking biscuits as yet. Bourbon creams in coffee are a long (self-)banned treat. I do find I am conflicted between fancy chocolate digestives with a layer of caramel, against the lack of reaction the caramel has to being dunked. Fuck that Fermat guy, meaningful biscuit solutions is the sort of thing mathmos should be addressing.
posted by biffa at 3:03 PM on January 9, 2022


I have tons of teas and drink different blends in rotation, but the most savored and most valued is my Mariage Freres French Breakfast loose leaf. They make renowned teas and they're worth every penny, but the French Breakfast is so wonderfully malty and rich, and whenever I give my coffee-drinking friends who think they don't like tea some, they become converts. Throw in some cream and some orange blossom honey and my mood is instantly improved.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:25 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I am another non-hot drink person. Even hot chocolate, which I ought to like, but...no. It's the sensation, not the taste (my once-per-week treat is a chocolate frappe--not warming, exactly, but does lend an added zip to my administrative emails, I suppose).
posted by thomas j wise at 3:28 PM on January 9, 2022


• You're upset and need soothing with a hot beverage; what hot beverage should we offer you?

Non-caffeine tea: licorice (awhile before bed) or apple cinnamon (definitely bedtime).

• You're not upset, but you are a bit chilly; what hot beverage would you enjoy right now?

Before 2pm, coffee. After, non-caffeine tea.

• You aren't chilly, but you really love this hot beverage so much, you'll drink it during the dog days of summer. What is that hot beverage?

Coffee. Coffee coffee coffee. What is this "cold brew" nonsense? Hot drip, bay-beeeee.

• You aren't upset or chilly. In fact, you are happy and cozy, and it's the perfect time for a special celebratory hot beverage. What is that hot beverage?

Penzy's hot chocolate mix with whole milk, or hot watered wine (1 part boiling water to 1 part table red wine), or mulled wine (if multiple people) or glogg, or a hot toddy.
posted by curious nu at 3:32 PM on January 9, 2022


Well I gave up coffee a couple years back for several reasons, including the heart palpitations (not necessarily related). Now in the morning, especially in winter, it's a hot mug of Dandy Blend (dandelion, chicory and some other things, and very satisfying) with oat milk - sometimes a lot of oat milk, and then it all has to be reheated.

In the evening, it's Bengal Spice tea with oat milk as part of my not eating anything after 9pm except herbal tea thing I am trying this year. (It's going good!)

If I'm really upset, then please ply me with some vegan hot chocolate if you actually have some that blends well, made with any sort of plant milk will be fine. Even after 9pm, because rules are meant to be broken.
posted by Glinn at 3:41 PM on January 9, 2022


Hot chocolate with brandy, please. I've only ever had it at a backpacker cafe in Dali, southwest China, but it became something of a daily ritual during the Lunar New Year I spent there twen--- let's just say a long time ago. I'd go out with friends, hiking, biking, whatever, and we'd come back, grab a table at one of the many cafes, and I'd get a cocoa with brandy.

I don't have brandy, and can't say I've ever had it in anything else, but a couple of nights ago, I got a little nostalgic, and added some spiced rum to a cup of hot chocolate, just enough for the flavor of the spice to come through, and it was just as good and pleasant and "there are good things in the world, and you are holding one of them as it warms your hands and nourishes your soul" as I remembered it.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:54 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I used to love caffeine, and I was wittier and more productive when I drank it. But caffeine plus anxiety is no good, so I cut it out (except in dire emergencies like writing deadlines).

I still consume chocolate, though, because one must have some pleasure in life. And I have to say that for me, hot chocolate with almond milk has basically retired the cow. Hazelnut milk is less widely available, but makes a Nutella-esque hot chocolate that is absolutely lovely.

I tend to make my own hot chocolate so I can control the flavour and sweetness level.

Cocoa powder as a base, then:

- just a dash of vanilla and some honey, or
- cinnamon, nutmeg, shot of Amaretto if feeling frisky, or
- omit the cocoa altogether and add vanilla, cardamom, ginger, few threads of saffron

I've found that Mexican hot chocolate tablets go well with almond milk, too.

I've just come back from spending most of December in the US after not having visited for two years. In Britain it is damn near impossible to get American-style apple cider (non-alcoholic, cloudy, brown). So I went all-out for hot spiced cider the entire time I was there. Luckily the farmer's market near my Dad's place was full of apple producers selling their own cider, apple butter, apples etc.

Singer's remedy for colds is to boil water with chunks of fresh ginger, then serve with lemon and honey. I add the lemon juice in the mug rather than the pot: ginger water keeps for a while, but lemon juice loses its flavour quickly. When I have a cold I just keep a covered pot of ginger water on the stove to periodically add to and re-boil.

Other than that, my usual go-to drink is camomile tea.
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:00 PM on January 9, 2022


All this talk of hot chocolate has reminded me that adding a splash or two of Kahlua or Tia Maria to hot chocolate tastes wonderful - if one is into that sort of thing, of course.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:24 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


Mexican chocolate is the my choice for hot caffeinated beverage, but not after noon and these days I'm making it with coconut milk. I can't bear black or green tea or coffee, the bitterness of either is overwhelming. Herbal tea with anise is the best for warming up in the evening.
posted by buildmyworld at 5:37 PM on January 9, 2022


I am very basic. My answers to these questions are:

- coffee (maybe a home made latté from the Mr Coffee espresso maker)
- coffee (not particular)
- iced coffee (I can not drink hot beverages when it's beastly out)
- hot chocolate with marshmallow vodka and marshmallows

I'm one of the few people who I know who has coffee preferences but they're not strong ones. I like darker coffee. I like my aeropress, though I'm a little mad at it after a paper filter mishap resulted in a mild between-the-fingers scalding resulting in some interesting skin peeling (anyone suggesting metal filters DON'T BE THAT GUY, thank you). If I've got guests, vanishingly rare but sometimes Jim comes over, I'll make a pot of French press. In the summer, I've got a Keurig and it's fine but I usually keep a jug of iced coffee in the fridge. My go to brand is Vermont Coffee Company (dark but not extra dark) and when COVID hit, I bought a few cases (five bags) and it's been so long that apparently they've been purchased by some other terrible retailer and that's a darned shame.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:42 PM on January 9, 2022


Another reflux-y type person who misses their coffee and cocoa. Ive been grimly drinking bone broth and various potions
to “ regrow my micro biome” but have recently rediscovered chai and it’s been a revelation drinking it w oat milk- just a fluffy robe and heated slippers w a puppeh in your lap type of a drink. I’m so grateful to have regained a drink that helps me recenter instead of feeling like another prescription
posted by jacy at 5:46 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


Second'ing you, jessamyn: I prefer a couplefew types of coffee from the roaster down the road but, to be honest, I'll drink anything as long as it isn't super-weak. Coffee is the ultimate expression of hope, a statement that what's coming up is worth being awake for.

Given the choice, my soothing hot beverage: hot coffee, half Funky Chicken decaf and half Leg Lamp or Farmhouse blend, a blorp of fresh Homestead cream, maybe a blorp of amaretto. Thank you for offering. :)
posted by introp at 5:52 PM on January 9, 2022


I will drink strongly-brewed hot coffee with cream any morning of the year. I’ve largely switched to decaf because of anxiety, though. Happy to have discovered that Trader Joe’s has an inexpensive lightish medium-roast decaf because I’m no longer the dark coffee fiend I was a decade ago. (I never saw that coming, but after a rough breakup I found myself especially sad/missing my ex when drinking coffee alone in the mornings, and somehow switching up my coffee routine—including to a different roast—helped.)

Hot cider, strong hot chocolate, chai lattes with soy, and matcha lattes are all wonderful if I’m cold or cranky or want to celebrate, though I rarely spend the $ on the latter two (the former two I make at home.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 6:08 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I have been drinking a ton of Swiss Miss lately. I just can’t seem to get enough.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:54 PM on January 9, 2022


Big Train Vanilla Chai has been the answer to this question for 20 years, and will probably be so for the remainder of my (sugar-shortened) years. (Chobani oat milk, please, and no water except to liquefy the powder.)
posted by mykescipark at 7:51 PM on January 9, 2022


Hot ume-shu kept me alive thru a couple winters in Japan, and now that I can find it here in Montana, can confirm it is still oishii.
posted by ikahime at 10:42 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Mulled wine always brings back happy memories for me, since it means spending time with friends, inside or outside. The Glühwein at the Nuremberg Christmas market gets special mention: it kept my under-dressed self warm while I killed time waiting for a train.

On a more ordinary day, black or green tea with honey and lemon is quite nice.
posted by invokeuse at 11:40 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I am definitely in the coffee camp - some nice arabic coffee with plenty of cardamom for enjoy your coffee time, big mug of instant for get me some caffeine so I can function time.

Also coffee should always be hot, even on the hottest days of summer - cold coffee only makes sense if you think coffee is a type of flavored milky sugarwater.
posted by each day we work at 3:34 AM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


Freshly opened Cafe Bustello, brewed in a Mokka Pot/Bialeti then mixed with heated milk, to which the sugar has already been added - or heated condensed milk also works. Served in a paper cup that you then take out to the truck and drink while driving over the bridge into town. There's always traffic, which might stop you half-way over and give you a chance to look at mid-town and think about Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" and how you, stupidly, can never recite any of it beyond "Flood tide below me! I see you face to face!" So you look out to the river and recite it, knowing that it could well be not the flood tide you're seeing but neap, ebb, spring - take your pic. Tide tables don't mean anything in a truck going over the bridge. Someone honks. There's a huge space in front of you. Get moving!
posted by From Bklyn at 5:30 AM on January 10, 2022 [4 favorites]


Churros and Hot Chocolate in Churreria el Moro, CDMX, of course. What else could it be?
posted by signal at 7:14 AM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]


Haven't had one for a long time, but I can always go for a God's Blessing. AKA Irish coffee. With a drizzle of creme de menthe on the whipped cream.
posted by Splunge at 7:37 AM on January 10, 2022


I love coffee, usually black, hot or iced. But pre-pandemic I had started a December tradition of having as many friends as I could reasonably stuff into my tiny apartment in for a big pot of mulled wine and snacks. I miss it so. I would get a box of nice Ontario red, put half of it in a pot, add a bit of orange liqueur of some sort and a couple of cinnamon sticks, a star anise or two, some orange peel and a little maple syrup (I mean, we're in Canada), and top everything up through the day.

Again one day.
posted by wellred at 7:49 AM on January 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


This winter we have been stuck in Trento in Italy and discovered Vin Brulé which is mulled wine you buy from the little wooden hut on the Piazza Duomo and drink sitting on the ice-cold steps of the fountain while taking in the tree and the architecture; there is also a street vendor who sells those slingshot/propeller light-up toys and he fires them up in the air, over and over again. Today they took the xmas market down, but the Vin Brulé huts are still around; I hope they stay for a while.
posted by niicholas at 7:50 AM on January 10, 2022


Some dear and thoughtful friends just sent me a surprise package with jars of Penzey's various hot cocoa mixes, plus some tiny marshmallows for toppers.

All I need is a jug of lactose-free milk, and then I sure know what morale-boosting hot beverage I personally will be drinking!
posted by theatro at 7:53 AM on January 10, 2022


My favorite is actually really hot but best served cold. Ballast Point makes a beer called Habanero Sculpin which is super hot, but as a cold beer ticks off two of my favorite sensations. Super spicy and refreshingly bitter.

My second favorite is Nongshim Shin ramen. And yes I make it in a mug using half the noodles and water required and sip and slurp my way through it. Spoon not required.
posted by Stanczyk at 7:55 AM on January 10, 2022


Last year, we were saving money in a jar for home improvements. Then our coffee maker died and somehow, we spiraled from "ok, let's dip into the jar to buy another" to "maybe we upgrade" to spending the entire jar on an Italian espresso machine. No regrets. It's the best thing we have ever bought ourselves.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:05 AM on January 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


I drink a lot of hot beverages, year-round. Wife and I split a French Press in the morning, and then in the afternoon I will make at least one, sometimes two pots of tea. I keep a kettle in my office at work and a decent stash of tea varieties.

I almost quit my last job over the availability of coffee. I had been "temporarily" relocated to a customer site going on six years or so, and I was completely fed up with being there. Management wouldn't let me return to the mothership. There were basically no amenities at the site or anywhere nearby, and the only coffee available was the "coffee club" which cost a quarter per cup of shitty Maxwell House brewed on one of those industrial coffee makers. It was right outside my cubicle, and those pots would sit half-full on the warmers all day long and stink of burned coffee.

After a time, I brought in my kettle, a French Press, and a teapot. My rituals of making coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon were the only things keeping me going while I got to listen to my customer "coworkers" talking over the cube walls about their gun collections and trading racist jokes about Obama and Middle Easterners.

And then one day the fire inspector came by. Apparently the power outlets in the cubicles weren't rated for something like an electric kettle, and I wasn't allowed to use it anymore. There were no other power outlets available - the properly rated ones were all in the outside walls of the building, and of course those walls were all part of people's private offices. To make matters worse, the inspector not only told me to my face to get rid of the kettle, but also found the need to inform our customer - that report went up their management chain and back down our management chain to my immediate boss who apparently got chewed out by his boss who... you get it. I was so demoralized I almost quit on the spot.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:07 AM on January 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


This Gunpowder green tea has been my Ride or Die tea for months now.

I prefer it with a splash of almond milk, but I can drink it straight as well.

If I absolutely need the caffeine, I'll have an Earl Grey.
posted by spinifex23 at 8:35 AM on January 10, 2022


Coffee* up until lunchtime. Copious and strong.

A mug of tea** after lunch and dinner and with the Saturday fish and chips. Occasionally, also, a mug with cake or biscuits in the afternoon. I have a macro set on my phone so I can quickly text my wife with the message "Kettle on!" so the tea's brewed when I get back with the fish and chips or cake or crisps or whatever unhealthy food I've gone in search of.

Peppermint tea the rest of the time.

*Whatever Algerian Coffee's monthly high-roast special is. This month, for example, it's Gourmet Noir, I think. I get four 500g bags of beans a month.

**English Breakfast Tea from Algerian, which I get at the same time as the coffee. Loose leaf, it's much better.
posted by Grangousier at 9:00 AM on January 10, 2022


I'm partial to hot lemonade and to various herbal teas to which I add a bunch of lemonade. I don't know how I got into hot lemonade, didn't get it from my family, but maybe from another family I lived with as a kid. The best hot lemonade is made with fresh lemons, a bit of honey, and some water. I was told many years ago by some food fascist that I was killing all the vitamin C in the lemons by heating them up. I don't, frankly, give a damn.
posted by mareli at 9:44 AM on January 10, 2022


Chai latte is my preferred hot beverage. Once, close to Christmas, I had a guy offer to make me one with eggnog instead of milk. I'm not a fan of the store bought eggnog (I make my own on Christmas Eve and it shames the stuff in a carton), but I tried it and actually really liked it. Went back there several times that season, but it closed sometime after that and I've never found another place that does it.

In the absence of a chai latte, hot chocolate is good as well.
posted by nubs at 9:58 AM on January 10, 2022


Coffee, one cup in the morning, maaaaybe two, black, no sugar please. Any later and I won't sleep at night. I'm one of the rare Brits who don't drink tea. Camomile tea in the evening sometimes or if I'm very cold in the afternoon.

Doing Dry January at the moment - I wouldn't say my drinking is problematic, but I am sleeping better and haven't required a second cup so far this year.
posted by altolinguistic at 10:06 AM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Churros and Hot Chocolate yt in Churreria el Moro, CDMX, of course. What else could it be?
You all should go there because you will almost certainly enjoy it. Everyone loves it. The staff are great. Personally, I don't think I've ever had to struggle so hard to pretend to be happy about eating something in order to avoid making the person I was with feel bad. They went way out of their way to share a special treat with me. (I doubt I'll ever see them again, so it's a small lie I feel okay about.) But, cheers! You can have my portion. I'll bring a thermos of cafe de olla from the hipster place around the corner and we can discuss the subtle details of desert aesthetics while you dunk your candy-filled bread. Then you can make fun of me for my entirely indefensible desire to eat a terrible lunch at Sanborns afterward.

There should be more IRL DF meetups. But, then, there should be more IRL meetups. And a world where it's a good idea to do so. Damnit, I miss traveling. I really miss eating food that isn't from my city. Drinks too, but those keep and don't require much effort.
posted by eotvos at 10:14 AM on January 10, 2022


I miss Trader Joe's rooibos tea with cloves. It was great iced or hot with milk.

Now I'll drink Equal Exchange rooibos hot with milk, but it's not as good as TJ's.

I love hot chocolate with Trader Joe's blueberry lavender almond milk!

And there's coffee in the morning, and sometimes black tea.
posted by jgirl at 10:47 AM on January 10, 2022


Upset: Nettle leaf tea. Non-caffeinated, but does a passable imitation of real green tea. Add peppermint for faux Morrocan.

Chilly: Savory tea: dehydrated vegetables, beet powder, and savory spices with a honeybush base.

Dog Days: Jin Jun Mei. $200 a lb, worth it.

Cosy: Hot buttered rum, recipe from the canceled chef whose name rhymes with Schemerill. Double the butter, halve the sugar, don't hold back on the rum.
posted by BrashTech at 10:57 AM on January 10, 2022 [4 favorites]


By subbing out the ice for hot water, this has truly become my favorite hot toddy variation.
posted by thivaia at 11:30 AM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


I like tea, generally hot though having spent a lot of time in the Southern US I do appreciate iced tea - especially iced greens. I honestly love the flavors of green and oolong teas best but end up drinking black teas fairly often for the caffeine.

Recently I've been gifted with a gorgeous Chinese white tea with pear and ginger (probably a mu tan, but the bag doesn't say) and a very differently gorgeous gunpowder green. My overall favorites are the super-floral high mountain Taiwanese oolongs - it's like drinking a hot cup of flowers, in the best way.
posted by bile and syntax at 11:48 AM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]


Hot apple cider, Fireball, Lipton tea, honey and lemon to taste.

Hot chocolate, Rumchata, marshmallows.

Vin Glogg, microwaved.
posted by eamondaly at 12:16 PM on January 10, 2022


We had knitting clinic and yaupon holly tea today.
posted by Don Pepino at 1:06 PM on January 10, 2022


I drink a lot of tea, and one pandemic development has been that I treat myself to good loose tea. I'm partial to Mariage Frères: Ruschka, Chai Chandernagor, and Alexandra David-Néel.

When I am sick, hot water with lemon and honey is good.

I like sage tea that you can get at Middle-Eastern groceries - the kind that is just dried sticks of sage, imported from Turkey or Syria. Also the mint tea that you can get in Middle-Eastern restaurants that is served super hot and super sweet (I drank a lot of Munt Tee when I was briefly living in Amsterdam).

Nettle tea is not, strictly speaking, delicious, and yet ever since I drank a lot of it while pregnant, I get occasional strong cravings for it. Also lavender/chamomile, or raspberry-leaf.

I miss the vats of chai at Vik's Chaat and other Bay Area Indian restaurants.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:36 PM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]


  • You're upset and need soothing with a hot beverage; what hot beverage should we offer you? HOT MILK AND HONEY best comfort beverage known to man
  • You're not upset, but you are a bit chilly; what hot beverage would you enjoy right now? TEA LATTE pretty much any kind of tea (maybe not the wacky ones or the fruity ones) brewed strong with milk and sugar, number one daily treat beverage
  • You aren't chilly, but you really love this hot beverage so much, you'll drink it during the dog days of summer. What is that hot beverage? PERSIAN TEA/CHAII (pronounced chai-ee) lifeblood, sustainer, perfect in any weather
  • You aren't upset or chilly. In fact, you are happy and cozy, and it's the perfect time for a special celebratory hot beverage. What is that hot beverage? MULLED WINE, okay, listen I given't a single shit about wine. But I made mulled wine recently and I thought about it every single day for like two weeks.
Love this prompt, looking forward to meeting new hot drinks
posted by meemzi at 1:57 PM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]


Wife bought herself an electric milk frother, been sitting on the counter for a month...any suggestions for a hot frothed milk based drink?
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 2:24 PM on January 10, 2022

I miss the vats of chai at Vik's Chaat and other Bay Area Indian restaurants.
Cheers! (The chai at Naan N Curry on Telegraph, now closed, wasn't nearly as good. But it was on the way to work and almost free. I don't really remember the other local offerings.)
posted by eotvos at 2:26 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


Comfort: Irish Breakfast tea with heaps of sugar and lemon.
When I want to feel luxurious: A shot of Bailey's Irish Cream in a proper hot chocolate.

(I attempted to order the second in a restaurant in Budapest. The waiter thought I was mad. I finally managed to convince him to bring me a hot chocolate and a double shot of Baileys and mixed it myself).
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 2:28 PM on January 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


I'll take a large Flat White, please.
posted by dg at 5:11 PM on January 10, 2022


Australian Milo. Sadly, I had to cut back from 5 teaspoons to 2 since it's super expensive to ship to Canada. No, I cannot drink Canadian Milo instead, that stuff is terrible.
posted by Kris10_b at 6:25 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


Hot milk with cinnamon and honey, please.

If ill, masala chai that is heavy on the fresh ginger (but no anise seed as that throws me off.)

I would like my mom to make both for me right now tbh.
posted by The Adventure Begins at 10:58 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


Milo! Thanks Kris10_b . . .
In the 00s, my son the doctor Milo shipped out to New Zealand just before his 30th bday because the NZ Government allowed young (less than 30 y.o. which is quite old: Alexander had conquered the world by 30) people to go out there to work for a year. He went down to the job centre and was delighted to land a billet at the local recycling centre. His visions of hugging trees and saving the planet were sorely dashed when he found out what he was expected to do.

Every few minutes a truck would unload a batch of mixed dry recyclables into a hopper and the refuse was passed in front of him by a rattling conveyor belt. The task was to pick out certain items from the stream and chuck them in particular bins. The belts were relentless and the work was flat-out. He couldn't believe that he had gone to the other side of the world to work in a sweat-shop for the minimum wage. "Fakk", he said, "I can't take this anymore, I won't come back after the dinner-break". As the morning hours crept by, this mantra changed to "Unless an empty tin of Milo comes by, I won't come back after the dinner-break". A few minutes later a mighty, industrial-sized tin of the malted milk drink passed before him, and he felt obliged to stay the full week working there. He spent the next 10 months working at the check-in counter for one of the local airlines - loved it.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:38 AM on January 11, 2022 [5 favorites]


Any suggestions for a hot frothed milk based drink?

Mug 2/3 full of cold milk. Add spoon(s) of instant hot chocolate (my go-to was Ghiradelli Ground Chocolate which looks like it's been relabeled to the less-confusing Hot Cocoa Mix). Steam milk as you would for a cappuccino; the cocoa will mix in as you steam. When mug is warm in your hand, it's ready. Maybe sprinkle a dash of cinnamon on top, and enjoy!
posted by Rash at 9:07 AM on January 11, 2022


Upset, need soothing: mocha - coffee - any coffee - instant cocoa and a bit of heavy cream. Bonus points for Kahlua added.

Not upset, chilly: Earl Grey or Constant Comment.

Love it so much: my daily driver: Ethiopian (Sidamo) light roast, freshly ground with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of heavy cream for mouth feel - I don't want to taste the cream. I even found the beans decaf for the second cup.

Celebratory: egg nog, again with Kahlua or Tia Maria.

Yes, I like the flavor of coffee!
posted by jaruwaan at 11:04 AM on January 11, 2022


I'm not a big hazelnut fan in general (y'all can keep the Nutella to yourselves, I'm sure you'll be heartbroken to hear), but Frangelico in eggnog works surprisingly well!
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:54 AM on January 11, 2022


Hot chocolate. NOT from a packet.

Many years ago, my son and I were xmas shopping at the mall. There was a chocolate stand in the mall, and I ordered a large hot chocolate for us to share. The worker poured some piping hot milk into a cup, then moved to a cauldron full of hot, melted chocolate. They dipped a ladlefull of the chocolate and poured it into the hot milk, then stirred it up. Best hot chocolate I ever had.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:34 PM on January 11, 2022 [2 favorites]


I love hot milk that I pasteurized myself from raw milk. It's a completely different flavor than the ultra pasteurized milk you buy, and if you want an extra bit of comfort, adding honey is good.

I can't drink coffee, either caffeinated or decaf, but if I want a jolt that black tea can't give me, french-pressed ground chocolate nibs really hit the spot.

Both of these are expensive. I usually just drink builders tea in the morning, or hot water with strawberry jam in it in the evening.
posted by small_ruminant at 2:22 PM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]


hot water with strawberry jam you say .... hm hm. [hot fruity thoughts commencing]
posted by taz (staff) at 2:18 PM on January 12, 2022


I learned it from Russians, though they more often added it to tea. It turns out that a lot of things are improved by good strawberry preserves (or jam, if preserves aren't handy.)
posted by small_ruminant at 2:20 PM on January 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


Metafilter: I learned it from Russians
posted by taz (staff) at 2:21 PM on January 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


Years ago I used to ride my bicycle almost very weekday at around 10 p.m. from South San Francisco to my apartment in the Western Addition. It was always cold, with a headwind, and with the kind of heavy fog that soaks everything and chills the bones.

Smuggler's Cove was a one block detour from my normal route. Sometimes I would do a quick stop for a Hot Buttered Rum. They knew me well enough there that they would let me in the door in my soggy biking clothes, helmet and gloves and all. I would order, warm my hands with the hot cup, drink and leave.

The feeling riding the last few blocks was amazing. The warmth from the heat and alcohol slowly spreading through my body, my mind going happy places, my muscles relaxing. I would get home and sleep like a log.

I've tried Hot Buttered Rum in other places, and find it almost disgusting. I think it is to be had in dark foggy nights, soaked to the bone, with a headwind and an uncertain future.




We don't really get cold or foggy night were I live now, maybe for a week or so every year, and only at around 3 am. When I am lucky enough to catch one of these nights I make myself a drink I may or may not have invented, kind of a tea based hot buttered rum: Boiling hot strong Lapsang Souchong tea. Scotch when available, rum otherwise. Sweetened condensed milk. A tiny bit of spices. Serve in an uninsulated metal cup (i use an aluminum camping mug) so you can warm your freezing hands.
posted by Dr. Curare at 2:22 PM on January 12, 2022 [3 favorites]


Used to be coffee but I had a cold a few months ago and have not been able to stand the taste of coffee since, which makes me sad. I have experimented with tea but it doesn't really work for me. I used to drink coffee mostly cold after forgetting it, but cold tea is less pleasant. Currently drinking mostly either hot water or marmite. Had a cup of Earl Grey with grapefruit flavour yesterday which was ok for once, though quite strange.
posted by paduasoy at 3:55 PM on January 12, 2022


I worked as a contractor at F*ke from January 1 to December 31, 2018. It was an inexplicably weird culture focused on brand first, then capitalism, then third-world factory abuses, then segregation between employees and contractors and possibly something about athletics.

Do you have any idea how much employees who have drank the kool-aid will pay for aramark quinoa at lunchtime?

In November, as we sat at our elbow-to-elbow desks, black badges vs. white badges, trying to pair-program, a woman wearing something signifying Christmas - maybe an apron? - was wheeling a tea trolley through our pod. Hot chocolate? Coffee? Spiked? Double-spiked?

I have a whole ‘nother way-more-sassy story about glüwhein.
posted by bendy at 11:50 PM on January 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


upset and need soothing Black Earl Grey (if feeling ill: black orange pekoe with sugar).

not upset, but you are a bit chilly Black Earl Grey (if feeling ill: black orange pekoe with sugar).

aren't chilly, but you really love this hot beverage so much Long macchiato or short black.

happy and cozy Long macchiato or short black. If it's quite hot (>35c), possibly oolong or white jasmine tea.

So that's all boring, my actual contribution is:

Fresh brewed oolong, cooled and served over ice is awesome and bloody refreshing. Put the sugar away, it's just fine, and so simple to make.

I have cut down on coffee so much since *all this* because anxiety attacks are a real thing, and being hyper-caffienated doesn't help me at all. I got a hand-me-down espresso machine recently that's levels fancier than I've ever had, and I can barely use the bloody thing.



Used to be coffee but I had a cold a few months ago and have not been able to stand the taste of coffee since, which makes me sad.

Ummm..... maybe not a cold?
posted by pompomtom at 3:16 AM on January 14, 2022


• You're upset and need soothing with a hot beverage; what hot beverage should we offer you?

Tulsi Sweet Rose Tea (2 bags), 1 tsp sugar.

• You're not upset, but you are a bit chilly; what hot beverage would you enjoy right now?

Green Tea w/ Lychee is usually my go to. Sugar optional

• You aren't chilly, but you really love this hot beverage so much, you'll drink it during the dog days of summer. What is that hot beverage?

There is not a hot beverage I love so much that I will drink it in summer. There are too many delicious cold things to drink instead.

• You aren't upset or chilly. In fact, you are happy and cozy, and it's the perfect time for a special celebratory hot beverage. What is that hot beverage?

Hot Chocolate made in the very specific way of one hot chocolate packet for mixing with cream/milk (more cream than milk) combo, a dash of vanilla, additional packet of powder 1/2 for mixing into milk 1/2 for putting the powder on top to float, add marshmallows.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:28 AM on January 14, 2022 [1 favorite]


> Ummm..... maybe not a cold?

Not sure how you intended this to land, but it reads to me as if you are criticising either my understanding of COVID-19, or my knowledge of my own health, or my common sense and ability to get tested. Maybe it was just a throwaway joke, not sure.
posted by paduasoy at 2:24 AM on January 24, 2022


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