Here’s a small observation. The next time you pick up a cozy mystery, count the scenes that involve a kettle. Or a teapot. Or someone offering someone else a cup of something hot. You’ll lose count before you finish the book. This is not an accident. Tea and cozy mysteries have been keeping company for

Charlie Kingsley doesn’t usually ask a lot of questions when someone shows up at her kitchen table. She doesn’t have to. She’s been doing this long enough to read what someone needs from the way they sit down. If you walked into Charlie’s kitchen in Redemption, Wisconsin, with no idea what you needed, here’s what

Loose leaf tea has a reputation problem. People imagine special pots, complicated equipment, ceremonies they don’t know the rules to, and prices that don’t make sense for a beverage. They take one look at a tin of loose leaf, decide it’s not for them, and reach for a teabag. This is a misunderstanding. Loose leaf

Fall is the cozy mystery reader’s natural habitat. The light shifts. The air gets a bite to it. The blanket migrates from the closet back to the couch, and the books that were waiting all summer suddenly feel exactly right. Fall reading hits differently — and it deserves a tea that hits differently too. Here’s

There is a certain kind of reader who, the moment they open a cozy mystery, also reaches for a mug of freshly brewed tea. It’s not a coincidence. Cozy mysteries and tea have been keeping company since Agatha Christie was writing Miss Marple, and the tradition hasn’t slowed down a bit. The question is which