![](https://simonataylor.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cup-coffee-with-leaf-design-it-1024x683.jpg)
Have you noticed how the girls of Palmetto Plaza—Frankie, Shelby, Myla, Raya and Ruby Red—just can’t seem to get enough coffee? In every book in my Falling For You series, the girls get together to brew a few hot mugs, nibble on some of Myla’s or Ruby’s baked masterpieces, and dish about the hot but troublesome men in their lives.
Who can blame them? Coffee holds the rare distinction of being a drug that has dramatic, documented effects on your mind and body (and I dare say, soul), and yet it’s not only socially acceptable but flat-out encourage and lauded. What other mind-altering substance can you get away with toting around all day in gorgeous mugs, drown in syrup or whipped cream, and announce blithely, “Well, time for another fix!”
What to learn a few interesting facts I’ve unearthed about coffee? Here goes:
- Historians say that people have been drinking coffee for more than 1,200 years. (I call shenanigans on that; I’m sure it’s much longer.) According to the tall tales going around, goat herders noticed how happy their goats seemed to be whenever they munched on a certain bean. Full of energy, you know? So they tried the beans themselves … and discovered that caffeine is God-sent.
- You’ve heard about cat poop coffee (the beans are gathered from the poop of the Asian palm civet cat who loves to eat coffee for some reason.) It’s considered the world’s most expensive coffee and sells for US$600 a pound. But have you heard about monkey spit coffee? (Don’t say ‘Eeeww’ ‘til you’ve tried it. Which I haven’t. Monkey spit coffee is gathered from the ground in India and Taiwan after rhesus monkeys and macaques have sucked the pulp off the seeds and spat them out. Apparently, their digestive juices do … something … to the beans that enhances their taste and value. Ookay, then.
- Coffee drinkers tend to live longer. The drink has played a part in reducing the chances of developing Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and type-2 diabetes. So maybe the Palmetto Plaza girls are onto something.
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(image courtesy freepik.com)
Anyway, you know I’m a recipe-loving girl, so here’s a link to a recipe for a quick and easy Bailey’s Flat White Martini. Let me know how you like it.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/261437/baileys-flat-white-martini
Recipe and image courtesy Allrecipes.com, where I can always find something worth making.
Try it and let me know how it goes for you!