Tea Time Anyone?

I'm a tea drinker. I love the variety of teas and different herbal infusions that are pretty much limitless. Tea offers enjoyable flavors for anyone who wishes to discover them.

In my second Yvonne Suarez travel mystery, set in Scotland, there are several scenes where Yvonne and her traveling companions have either taken "high tea" or  been offered tea while visiting other characters.

Weaving in historical and cultural information along with the legends and lore of the countries where my mysteries are set allows me to add interesting layers to the stories and is one of my favorite aspects of writing. Following is a snippet from Celtic Curse when Yvonne, Fiona, and Cameron visit an old friend of Cameron's who just happens to be a retired police constable:

“Thank you for the tea. It’s delicious. Do you mind if I ask what kind it is? I’ve never had any quite like it.” Yvonne set her cup in the saucer.

“It’s called Scots Teatime. The Scots are famous for blending braw teas. This is a blend of mellow teas from India, Ceylon and Kenya. Ye may have heard of our most famous Scot who traveled to Ceylon and worked with James Taylor to grow the Tea industry in the late 1800’s—Thomas Lipton.” Innes poured more tea into Yvonne’s cup. “For ower a hundred years the best tea merchants in bonnie Scotland is Brodie’s. Ye’ll see their teas sold in all the tourist shops.”

As you can see, the retired police constable, Innes, enjoys disemanating information. You may wonder if he had any pertinent information to help with solving the mystery. If you enjoy getting your history while being entertained like I do, perhaps you'll give Celtic Curse a read and see what might be discovered while sipping your favorite tea.