Mid-Month Mysteries: Tea

What can be cozier in the middle of winter than cradling a cup of your favorite warm beverage in your cold hands? For me, that beverage is tea, particularly green tea. My favorite type is jasmine pearl green tea, but I also enjoy other types like sencha and gyokuro. On the left is my teapot, also known as PorgPot. He's been my most valuable coworker at home.

There are several cozy mystery series out there featuring tea or tea shops, but many of the ones I've read feature not just the beverage, but the ritual of afternoon tea. I particularly enjoyed the Chintz 'n China series by Yasmine Galenorn. You can find the first book, Ghost of a Chance, here. It's been a while since I read that series, but I think the main character sells a lot of teapots in addition to tea. Another author who writes about tea shops is Laura Childs in her Tea Shop Mysteries (see link for the series list). I just finished the first book in the series, Death by Darjeeling. While her descriptions of tea are the best I've read in cozy mysteries, other parts of the book didn't work so well for me. However, I'm particularly looking forward to Erin Johnson's Spelling the Tea, which will be published later this month and is the first book in a vampire tea room mystery series. I enjoyed Johnson's Spells and Caramels series. Other tea cozy mystery books I've found on Goodreads but haven't read include Steeped in Murder and Pushing Up Daisies. 

Tea can feature in a mystery by being a vehicle for poison. The poison can either be added to the tea, or the tea can also be brewed with toxic plants. Hot water can also be used as a defensive weapon.

Abigail Ritter, the heroine of my upcoming Magic Lake Mysteries series, will be running a tea shop, but her focus will be on fruit teas and bubble teas. 

What's your favorite type of tea? Feel free to share in the comments.