SC - Coffee, Tea, and OOP

[Laura C. Minnick]

Hi everybody!

I'm still trying to get caught up- hard when things keep coming in! A
little like trying to paint the roof while it's raining...

I was wondering, about the coffee/tea stuff, and noticing the scramble
to come up with alternatives (tisanes, etc.)and it occurred to me- do we
have any reason to believe that Sir Jay Random of England (or whoever)
was in the habit of drinking hot drinks regularly? I'm not talking the
occasional hot toddy or medicinal posset here. Think about your own hot
drink (coffee/tea/herbal) consumption. We don't drink coffee for the
sake of the 12 oz. of liquid- we drink it for the 'social' aspects- the
behavior, not the beverage. We, modern folks mostly in North America
(I'm trying to be diverse and inclusive here- how 'Eugene' of me!), have
a whole CULTURE built around the consumption of hot drinks, mostly
caffeinated. I see nothing like it- no analogue- in period culture. I
don't think I've ever seen anything in an illumination that looks like a
hot drink. No demitasse cups, no footed mugs, no cardboard cozies. In
the inventories presented in wills, etc.- no espresso machines. No tea
kettles. No fancy silver service. No gold mesh filters. No little mesh
balls. No Krups or Braun grinders or brewers. No... well I think you
have the idea.

Did they REGULARLY drink hot drinks? How do we know? 

If they did, why?

If they didn't, then why do we spend so much time on apologetics? Why
not say "I know my coffee/tea/whatever isn't period. So I drink it in
the privacy of my camp, and I will put period beverages in my mug/out
for the encampment." 

Why spend all this time and energy trying to replicate what is a modern
behavior? I suppose I could put cedar siding on my van and it might
_look_ a little more like a hay wagon (HA!) but it would not _be_ a hay
wagon, would it?

Just some ponderings. Your Milage May Vary. Don't shoot the herald (he's
too cute!)

'Lainie