Coffee Blog

Honey in Coffee

Writing Sparkle

If we were having coffee…

This morning as I was spooning a dollop of creamed honey onto my toast and peanut butter while simultaneously enjoying the smell of fresh coffee brewing I thought of my grandmother. I could see her sitting slightly hunched at the round wood table in her cottage. The morning sun shining on her back and the sound of birds drifting in on the warm breeze. Her thin pink robe would be pulled tight around her. In front of her would be a small cup of coffee, more of a teacup size then a mug. On the rim of her cup she would be holding her spoon perched with honey on it and the warm steam from the coffee would be working hard to melt the honey off the spoon.

She would smile at me as she dipped the spoon into the rich black liquid and absently she would start to stir it around making soft clinking noises as her spoon danced off the sides of her cup. Meanwhile, in front of me there would be a full sized steaming cup of coffee coloured down to the shade of sand by the half gallon of French vanilla creamer I dumped into it. In between the silences she would tell me how good honey or syrup was for flavouring your coffee and apparently healthier too.

My grandmother use to buy her honey from a local farmer and it was delicious honey. However, I was never sure on the healthy aspect of it as a coffee sweetener, yet I tried it and enjoyed it. I am also not sure if she started this honey sweetener thing around a time when there was a particular health fad going on or not. Anyway, what I have found is that honey has twice the calories as table sugar, but because it tastes sweeter a person typically uses less honey then sugar so the calorie difference balances out or might even be lower. Furthermore, honey is absorbed slower into the system then sugar and that is a second healthy bonus because there are differences in how it is metabolized. Honey also contains trace minerals and it does not contain preservative or additives.

All interesting, and all that from a random memory triggered by a sight and a smell.

If we were having coffee I would ask you how you flavour your coffee and then inquire if there is any story behind it.

After listening intently about your choice of coffee sweeteners I would shift the topic to writing. I have been very slowly editing the memoirs that I wrote during NaNoWriMo. I am in fact only on chapter 2. I am struggling horribly with tense. It seems to be all over the map, the only thing I seem to retain is the first person point of view. My tense struggle is stemming mostly from the fact that my story is written in present time but refers back to the past. Anyway, it isn’t going well on that level and I might need to set it aside for a while again.

If we were having coffee I would ask you to share what pieces of writing you are working on? I would also ask you for any editing tricks you use?

By Shari Marshall – 2017

11 thoughts on “Honey in Coffee”

  1. I use a lot of honey (local is best, as it contains pollen and such from the area and helps the immune system), and used to use it with peanut butter, but have switched to almond butter due to allergies. I use it in my tea. But coffee? Usually a “natural”, “raw” sugar and the hint of cream (When Starbucks asks me if I want room for cream, I always say, “just a very small bit since I like the idea of cream more than the cream itself.”) That being said, it has to have -some- cream, and not black.

    Good luck with your editing! I know it can be a nightmare.

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    1. Honey and almond butter wounds interesting, and I hadn’t really thought about the pollen aspect so that is interesting as well. Thanks for the lucky wishes for my editing, I’m going to do a bit this morning…

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  2. I am personally not a fan of honey in my coffee…as it always seems clump together for some reason… perhaps I am using the wrong kind. I use organic sugar. 🙂

    If we were having coffee I would let you know that I am currently working on a piece about Death… my fathers. I am struggling a bit, but hope to have it posted by the end of the weekend.

    Like you I have struggled on certain pieces. I find my best work comes all at once. The moment I feel it, I must stop, sit, and write. Then edit briefly afterwards. Mostly my tenses as you mentioned. But I try and not edit too much as I want the true, raw feeling to be there.

    The pieces that I work on that are less of an immediate emotion, I too take some pause when I struggle and then come back a few days later and see the piece from a different perspective.

    Take your time, it will all come together. And I look forward to reading it when you are done.

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    1. Yes, I like to try and write well I feel that first wave of inspiration to because I find if I have to wait what comes out later feels so different almost lacking somehow. However, I find I have started to edit more. I like to try and have time to let a piece sit so I can look at it with fresh eyes and it is amazing the things that change, or that I missed. The memoirs is the longest piece I have ever written or edited though so it is going differently, and I know I will need multiple edits before it is polished.

      I look forward to reading your new piece when you post it. It sounds like a challenging piece to write. As for raw emotion, I think you catch that well in your pieces that I have read so far. Can’t wait to read more.

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  5. I use powdered stevia in my coffee: sweetness with no calories, but also with no chemicals. Glad to have found your blog. Tense can be a problem with memoir because often when we write about a particular event we relive that event in our imagination, which naturally calls up the present tense. Just keep at the editing process and eventually you’ll work it all out. Cheers!

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    1. Stevia, I haven’t tried that one. I typically use Splenda to be honest, occasionally I’ll mix it up with honey or maple sugar. As for the tense problem, you described where my struggle is occurring perfectly. So I’m doing little editing spurts at a time so my brain doesn’t get too tired from reliving but at the same time trying to stay in the past tense. Thank you for the advice, and I’m off to do a bit of editing now…

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  6. Honey has so many good properties to it, it is a must in my cupboard. But not in my coffee! I’m already sweet enough 😉 !
    I really should get my writings in order too… I’m almost afraid to look at what I wrote during NaNo as I did not stop and think of tense, punctuation, etc. Eventually…

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    1. Yes, NaNo writing a bit of a flurry. I wrote in blobs and chunks, and occasionally I thought of the saying, “Write drunk and edit sober.” (Although I am not sure who said it.) Anyway, good luck with our NaNo editing.

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