OnlineBookClub.org

Neuro-Stimulants are an important part of the writing ritual for most people. The most common of stimulants being nicotine and caffeine. I know that before I can really get myself going I always have to have a cup of coffee, and back in the day, a cigarette outside on my porch.
I don't smoke anymore, and recently ran out of coffee. After like...ONE sluggish morning I went to my cupboard and dug into a huge reserve of black tea that I never thought I'd use. I've been drinking it with a little whole milk every morning and afternoon since.

So give it to me onlinebookclub members. What's your favorite and what's your ritual before you settle in with a book or a pen, pad or laptop?
If it's coffee clue me in as to what blend. Milk. Sugar. Ignite the flavors in my imagination. I want to hear something that makes me want to go out and get a cup of that sweet sweet joe.

If it's Tea, tell me what kind. Caffeine or non. How many cups a day? What kind of mug? Where do you sit? Sunshine on the porch or snuggled in bed(it is winter after all)

We're all readers and writers.
Let's share our drinking problems with each other here.

I drink coffee (with milk) twice a day. I only drink tea when it is stormy and cold. I never smoked.

I drink neither tea nor coffee.

As a stay at home mom to a toddler and a newborn, I rely heavily on my morning coffee and more often than not I will drink it throughout the day, (sometimes 5-6 cups) with a ton of water in between. I drink Cafe Bustelo with french vanilla creamer, no sugar, just lots of creamer. And because I am also nursing I will usually throw in a cup or two of mothers milk tea which I will drink with just sugar.

Tea definitely for me. Whenever I drink tea, I always feel in the mood to write and have better ideas.

Coffee is a prerequisite to a functioning brain for me. Every morning, my first cup is black. No frills, here: let's just get to the caffeine, already. When I say "cup", I am really referring to a beer mug-sized serving. I do love my tea, but it is typically used as a calming mechanism. If I have a deadline (I do freelance writing and editing when I'm not devouring someone else's book) and I'm feeling my blood pressure rise, tea will always bring me back into this stratosphere.

Whenever I have an idea for a story I'm working on, I can not focus well on anything else including sleep(which, with my special self, requires my full attention) and am left in this horrid zombie state of not asleep but not quite awake.
So whenever I'm writing and feel tired I mix some milk, sugar and chocolate with a little coffee for flavor
I only drink tea every once and awhile for the flavor or when I'm sick.

I switch randomly between Tea, coffee and various varieties of each. My preferences for coffee is a cappuccino made by a barrista with lactose free milk if I can get it (all the flavour, none of the stomach problems). I enjoy a wide variety teas, from the more normal English breakfast, to chai teas and herbal varieties.

I drink SO much tea! In fact, I'm drinking some as I type this! I probably have a couple of teapots a day, so sometimes up to 8 cups. I also normally have at least one coffee. However, somedays I just drink coffee and no tea. Yesterday I drank about five coffees and no tea! It was a strange day, indeed.
Tea I find to be very calming. It helps me study and work

If you took away tea from me, that would be as good as sentencing me to death for a crime I didn't commit. I must have a cup of tea first thing when I wake up and when I'm reading or writing a cup of tea is always there otherwise I won't function at all! In our household tea is one drink that must be present otherwise we will all turn into the hulks if we dont have our daily dose of tea

Hmmm I enjoy both equally but I prefer to read with tea. I associate coffee with studying and that's never fun

Neither tea nor coffee for me. I sit down with a steaming mug of hot cocoa, a banana, and a heaping spoonful of Nutella to slab onto the fruit (or eat by itself, which ever suits my fancy at the time). Usually, a guilt-inducing writing session will then be followed up with a heart-felt round of Insanity (workout) to even the score again.
But my guilty pleasure sweets are must-haves during heavy writing sessions, especially during short periods of writer's block.

I drink herbal tea and red wine while I'm writing and lots of it. Every now and then I'll have coffee if I feel like I need a jolt.

I often go with the coffee option. I like it black and I never put sugar, milk or cream in it, unless I order a latte from Starbucks, where these ingredients are inevitable. However, there are cases in which I prefer fruit or mint tea or a bottle of Pepsi instead of solid caffeine. Nevertheless, the coffee gives me the needed kick while the tea just calms me down.

Neither tea nor coffee is part of my writing ritual. I sit down with quiet music and water/squash. If I'm doing a late one occasionally I grab an energy drink.
I have herbal tea occasionally (black, of course) but never regularly when writing/at the computer.
I'm just not a huge hot drinks fan, sorry.