THE READING
GUIDES

Coffeehouse Mystery Reading Guides

Download for free!

» Books 1 & 2, click here (pdf)

» Books 3 & 4, click here (pdf)

» Book 5, click here (pdf)

» Books 6 & 7 coming SOON!

 

NEW GUIDE!
JUST POSTED!

» HOLIDAY GRIND
READING GUIDE

FREE!

Click here (PDF)

 

If you need Adobe (PDF) reader software, you can get it free by clicking here.

   

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  NOW
AVAILABLE!

  

New in hardcover from
Penguin's
Berkley Prime Crime

HOLIDAY
GRIND

*

 To order this very special entry in Cleo's mystery series, click on the Barnes & Noble.com link here or on logo below:

 

OR USE THE
AMAZON.COM
or BORDERS
LINK BELOW...

   Holiday Grind
(A Coffeehouse Mystery) @Amazon.com

 *

 

 *

 For a book description of Holiday Grind, click here or on the coffee cup in the left column labeled About the Coffeehouse Mystery Books...

 *

 

 

 

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 To find an
Independent
Bookstore
near you,

CLICK HERE.

 

  

 

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ANNOUNCING

Cleo's
Next Book:

August 3, 2010

Early Cover Art
NOT YET FINAL!

Coming in hardcover from
Penguin's
Berkley Prime Crime

ROAST
MORTEM

 

*
 

To pre-order this HOT new entry in Cleo's mystery series, click on the link below:

   

Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery)

  

 

 

 

 

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 ANNOUNCING!

 CLEO'S
COFFEE
PICK
for

THE NEW
YEAR!

  French
Laundry
Estate
Blend

  

from

Equator
Estates
Coffee 
 

 

"2010 Roaster
of the Year"

To learn more
about the
French Laundry
Estate Blend,
created for
award-winning
Chef Thomas
Keller's
world-renowned
French Laundry
restaurant

CLICK
HERE

  

  

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 You can see Cleo's past COFFEE PICKS by scrolling all the way down this column...

 

 

 

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JAVA
CHEERS!!

to

COUNTER
CULTURE
COFFEE

"Top Innovator"

 

DETAILS magazine recently named Counter Culture Coffee as #1 (of North Carolina) among five industry "innovators creating coffees that have the complexity of fine wines." Click here to read an excerpt. posted at BaristaExchange.com

I'm a big fan of Counter Culture and have written about them on this site and in my books. See my Coffeehouse Mystery: French Pressed or scroll down this column to my "Coffee Pick" list.

 

  

OR CLICK HERE
TO ORDER FROM
BARNES AND
NOBLE.COM

 

Says Counter Culture: "We hope that such media coverage helps spread awareness that coffee can not only be an authentic, delicious food experience, but also a conduit for community, sustainable agriculture, and cultural exchange."

Java Cheers!
~Cleo Coyle

 

 

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  2009 U.S.
BARISTA
CHAMP

Mike Phillips, the U.S. Barista Champ, finished among the top 3 baristas in this year's World competition, held in Atlanta, Georgia. How did he get there? "I really care about coffee and the entire chain of things, from where the coffee is grown and processed, all the way to the shop where it's prepared and the customers who enjoy it."

Mike works at Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in Chicago, Illinois. There are several Intelligentsia locations in Chicago. Mike works at their flagship store at 3123 North Broadway. Click here to virtually visit the store.

 

 

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Java Master Gives
Tips on Making
the Perfect Cup

Italian-born Gennaro Pelliccia is responsible for the taste of the 108 million cups of Costa coffee sold in Britain each year. His policy with Lloyd's of London insures his tongue for 10million pounds! Mr. P has some great tips on making the perfect cuppa bean juice:

Click here to read more...

 

 FREE

EXCERPT!

 for Cleo Coyle's
2nd series...

 

Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries

 

 THE GHOST
AND THE
HAUNTED
MANSION

 * National Mystery
Bestseller!

Independent Mystery
Booksellers Association 

 

* A Fresh Fiction
Fresh Pick!

 

 

  

  

 

Click here to read
reviews of every
book in the
Haunted Bookshop
series @
CozyLibrary.com

 

 

Click here to get
Cleo's Free Excerpt
(PDF format)

  

 

 

 

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 MIKE'S BEAT

   

CRIME FILE

»  NYPD: Official Website for New York's Finest

»  NY Crime File (Daily News)

»  Police Blotter (NY Post)

  

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Want to Grow
Your Own
Coffee Plant?

Thanks to CM reader Linda for posting info about where to buy coffee plants and seeds. Click here to go to the coffee seed catalog page and scroll down. Look for the "coffea" plants listed in ITALIC alphabetically.

Coffea arabica $3.84 -12 seeds
Coffea catura $3.29 -12 seeds
Coffea kona $3.95 -12 seeds

Linda also says: "Gurney's Plant and Seed catalog has small coffee plants for $8.95 each. Click here and look for item # 11295 for coffee plants."

 

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WAKE UP AND SMELL...
THE CANVAS!

  

 "I started painting with coffee because I wanted a cheaper medium that was accessible to me," says Filipino artist Sunshine Plata. A tube of oil paint costs at least 500 pesos ($11), while a jar of instant coffee is only around 150 pesos ($3). Click here to read more about Sunshine and her coffee art.

 

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 COFFEE AND BABY FORMULA?!

I laughed out loud at this blog from Sarah Bates of Zanesville, Ohio. Click here to read how a baby changed everything for this coffee connoisseur.

—Cleo     

 

      

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  Caffeine
Myths

A recent story by the amazing Jane Brody in The New York Times examines coffee and health, click here to read more. (I learned a lot about the myths of caffeine!)

Click here to read about a Harvard study that shows coffee's link to preventing heart disease.

Click here to read how a cup of coffee a day may offset Alzheimer's disease.

 

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Book Lovers
Find Love!

My publisher (Penguin USA) is launching a dating website for readers. Learn more from theBookseller.com by clicking here.  

 

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  Coffee Peeps
& Peter Pans

(Real Matteo Allegros?)

Shout-out to New York's Hampton Coffee Company!

 

Remember Murder Most Frothy? My 4th Coffeehouse Mystery gave Clare Cosi a summer job as a "coffee steward" at a posh new eatery in the Hamptons, the fabled seaside escape for New York's rich and famous. Well, click here to visit some real coffee peeps who work hard to give the Hamptons folks a great cuppa joe.

 

Click here  to read about:
"Overstaying the Hamptons Party!" 

A fascinating news story about "house shares" in the Hamptons and men who try to keep the postcollege "boys of summer" party going decades after their undergrad days. Shades of my character Matteo Allegro? You tell me!

 

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In Memoriam

Sheena

2.21.2009

 

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MOON DOGGIE
COFFEE
HELPS HOUNDS!

 CM reader Laundrygoddess tells me she loves the Moon Doggie Coffee cafe in Northern New Jersey!

The folks at Moon Doggie micro-roast their own coffees (just like Clare Cosi) AND they rescue basset hounds, too. How cool is that? Let's give them some business!

 Click here or on the photo above to visit Moon Doggie Coffee's online shop. They have a great list of coffees, including DECAF coffees and flavored varieties.  If you're in NJ, stop by their shop and say hi to Nicole, their barista manager. Shop's locatiion: 108 W. Pleasant Ave. Maywood, NJ
Woof! —Cleo Coyle

 

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  Nuke Therapy

Feeling disgusted with increased pink slips while failed CEOs get golden parachutes? Well, click here and you'll feel MUCH better! The site is the brain child of a tres clever industrial designer who himself lives in the Hamptons, Miles Jaffe, author of The Hamptons Dictionary, a hilarious handbook of class warfare: CLICK HERE to read more about the book, but don't miss the Nuke the Hamptons experience. It's awesome!

 

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THANKS, MARY T.!

 Thanks to Coffeehouse Mystery reader Mary T. of Appleton, Wisconsin for the little missive below...

  

 

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   Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony!

Yes, like the Japanese with their tea traditions, the Ethiopians have a very special way of enjoying coffee. Click here to learn more!  

 

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 COFFEE COMPOST!

Did you know that old coffee grounds = good compost for your garden? Click here to read more. (Who knew coffee repelled slugs? Now there's a hilarious metaphor for a CM book.)

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Coffee Health News! 

Coffee May Help Prevent Ovarian Cancer

 A Harvard study found women who drank 3 or more cups of coffee or tea a day were 25% less likely to develop Ovarian Cancer than those who drank none. Click here to read more.

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Coffee May Boost Memory
in Older Women

USA Today reports...

Women older than 65 who drank more than three cups of coffee a day — or the caffeine equivalent in tea — showed better memory retention than men, a French researcher reports. Click here to read the short USA Today report. Or click here to read a longer Scientific American article. 

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 GOOD NEWS FOR FAIR TRADE!

  

Fair Trade Coffee prices went up in June 2008, which means coffee farmers will be getting more money for their Arabica beans. Because so many coffee farms are located in the poorest corners of the world, this is great news.

What is Fair Trade coffee?
Click here to learn more.

(For new Fair Trade pricing Click here.)

   

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 Coffee is Culinary!

  Click here to read about a master chef Marcus Samuelsson's work with a master coffee blender to pair coffee with food. Coffee as a culinary experience: Clare would approve!

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   Coffee Recipes!

 Acclaimed chef Marcus Sameulsson created a yummy Chocolate Cinnamon Bread recipe for Starbucks. If you'd like the recipe, click here!

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MORE RECIPES...

The National Coffee Association has some great coffee recipes. Click here to get them.

For even more coffee recipes, click here

     

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DOOR COUNTY COFFEE...

And for coffee recipes from DOOR COUNTY COFFEE, a family-run coffeehouse in Wisconsin, click here.

 

A shout-out of thanks to Mary T., a Coffeehouse Mystery fan, for mentioning her fave coffeehouse on my Coffee Talk Message Board (the green chalkboard at the top of this column).

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 STRANGER THAN FICTION

"Maid Cafes" of Japan

Click here to read about cafes where women dress as maids and their"geek" clientele are fighting crime by packing weapons...

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  Japan's Romance with Kona Coffee

 Click here to read about the growing interest of Kona Coffee-drinking in Japan.

 

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 Coffee Lover Invents

"The Barista Game"

Did you know there's a new board game in which you win by making the perfect cup of coffee? Click here to read about the game designer who invented it. 

 

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BIG COFFEE NEWS!

Ethiopia announces commercial culitvation of low-caffeine coffee plants! Ric Gostwick's "dream" coffee from Decaffeinated Corpse is no longer fiction! To read about this amazing breakthrough, Click here

 

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#1 Bestselling Paperback

 

When the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association published its list of top selling mystery novels for July 2007, Decaffeinated Corpse made the #1 spot on the paperback list. Thank you, Coffeehouse Mystery readers. You helped to make Decaffeinated Corpse a national bestseller.

 

 

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AND NOW

FOR SOME

OF CLEO'S

PAST

COFFEE PICKS...

 

 ---------------------------

  

SEPTEMBER '07
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

MAGNOLIA GRILL BLEND

With the tip of a chef's hat to the married couple who run Magnolia Grill, Cleo's coffee pick for SEPTEMBER 2007 was Magnolia Grill Blend sold by Counter Culture Coffee roasters. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE.  

 

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OCTOBER '07
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

GOMBE RESERVE

Cleo's pick for OCTOBER 2007 was Gombe Reserve sold by Green Mountain Coffee Co. and endorsed by Dr. Jane Goodall. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for youself, CLICK HERE.

 

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NOVEMBER '07
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

MAJOR DICKASON'S BLEND

In tribute to the late, great Alfred Peet, Cleo's pick for NOVEMBER 2007 was Major Dickason's Blend sold by Peet's Coffee and Tea. To purchase this coffee for yourself, CLICK HERE. To read Cleo's past featured article "Alfred Peet and the Birth of Coffeehouse Culture" as well as the article after it about the Major Dickason coffee blend itself, go to Cleo's article archives by clicking here. Note that you must wait a minute or so for the archives to load.

 

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 DECEMBER '07
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

100% KONA PEABERRY

Behold the Kona
happy dance!

For DECEMBER 2007 Cleo's pick was 100% Kona Peaberry sold by Bad Ass Coffee Company of Hawaii. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE. 

 

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JANUARY '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

"YIRG" - ETHIOPIAN YIRGACHEFFE

Cleo's pick for JANUARY 08 was Ethiopian Yirgacheffe sold by Counter Culture Coffee Company. This coffee was also featured in Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery: FRENCH PRESSED. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE.

 

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FEBRUARY '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

RWANDAN VILLAGE BLEND

Cleo's FEBRUARY '08 pick was Rwandan Village Blend sold by Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Co. To purchase this excellent coffee for yourself, CLICK HERE. To read Cleo's archived article on this coffee, CLICK HERE.

 

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MARCH '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

KENYA

Cleo's MARCH '08 pick was Kenya, sold by Counter Culture Coffee, Co. and Peet's Coffee. This coffee was also featured in Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery: FRENCH PRESSED. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE.

 

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APRIL '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

PURPLE PRINCESS

Cleo's April '08 pick was the amazing "Finca El Puente" from a coffee in Honduras nicknamed "Purple Princess" by the coffee director of Counter Culture Coffee of Durham, NC. This coffee was also featured in Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery: FRENCH PRESSED. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE.

 

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MAY - JUNE '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Cleo's June '08 pick was the "Jamaica Blue Mountain" of the South Pacific. An award-winning coffee grown on the exotic island of Papua New Guinea (north of Australia). To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE.

 

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JULY - AUGUST '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

SOLAR ROAST COFFEE

  

Cleo's July - August '08 pick was Solar Roast Coffee of Pueblo, Colorado, the only company in the world that roasts its coffee using solar energy! Meet Dave and Mike, the two brothers who invented this one-of-a-kind solar roaster, and learn how you can purchase their delicious coffees for yourself by CLICKING HERE and reading Cleo's archived article.

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SEPT. - OCTOBER '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick:

JOE'S VIENNA ROAST
from the NYC coffeehouse:
Joe, The Art of Coffee

The September-October '08 pick was Joe's Vienna Roast, sold by Joe, The Art of Coffee café in Greenwich Village, New York, recently named one of the best coffee bars in the country by Food and Wine magazine (and one of Cleo Coyle's inspirations for her fictional Village Blend!). CLICK HERE to visit Joe's online store and order any one of their excellent coffees for yourself. (To read Cleo's archived article about the Joe cafe, click here.)

 

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NOV. - DECEMBER '08
Cleo's Coffee Pick

BOUCHON BLEND

 

This smooth, delicious coffee is the House Blend served at Bouchon Bakeries, which are owned and run by award-winning chef Thomas Keller. This coffee was featured in Cleo Coyle's 7th Coffeehouse Mystery: ESPRESSO SHOT. It is blended and roasted by Equator Estate Coffee and Teas, a women-owned company based in northern California. Click here to learn more about the coffee or order it for yourself.

  

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JANUARY 2009
Cleo's Coffee Pick

NOT KOPI LUWAK!

 

One of the rarest coffees on the planet, Kopi Luwak is also one of the most expensive. Kopi Luwak was also a featured coffee in Cleo's 7th and most recently released Coffeehouse Mystery: ESPRESSO SHOT. To read Cleo's brief archived article on Kopi Luwak and learn how it got its hilarious nickname: "cat poop coffee," click here.

 

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SPRING 2009
Cleo's Coffee Pick

ROOSTER BROTHER's
LA MINITA ESTATE
(Costa Rica)

This outstanding single-origin bean is treated with love by the coffee team at Rooster Brother, a store for cooks housed in a historic Victorian building in Ellsworth, Maine. Master Roaster Gene (pictured) does a masterful job of bringing out the very best in this smooth, bright, delightful coffee with the kind of hints of citrus and berry usually found in high-quality African beans. Click here to visit George and Pamela Elias's Rooster Brother store online and order some of this superb coffee for yourself! (Thanks to Coffeehouse Mystery reader Bud Knickbocker of Bangor, Maine, for suggesting it!)

  

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MAY - JUNE '09
Cleo's Coffee Pick

BISHOPS BLEND

  

Creating blends is a culinary art, and I'm happy to report that the roasters for Bishops Blend have done a masterful job at creating theirs. The beans are roasted medium dark and the package came to me (via UPS) freshly roasted, beautifully oily, and smelling of chocolate. The coffee is perfectly balanced; and as it cools, the notes include a slight vanilla flavor and a touch of cinnamon. Even better, when you purchase a bag, a percentage of the money goes toward ERD, a charity that provides disaster relief around the world as well as enabling people in the poorest communities on our planet to climb out of poverty. Buy a bag. Change a life. To learn more or purchase for yourself, click here.

 

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SUMMER 2009
Cleo's Coffee Pick

DALLMAYR PRODOMO
Imported from Munich, Germany

To learn about this beloved German coffee brand, including tips on where to purchase it in America, read Cleo's article, now posted as the "Coffee Pick" feature in the center column of the Home Page at...

www.CoffeehouseMystery.com

 

 

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FALL 2009
Cleo's Coffee Pick

AMARO GAYO
(Ethiopia)

roasted by
Gimme! Coffee

To learn about this exotic Ethiopian coffee, including the outstanding roaster (gimme! Coffee) who takes pride in getting it to you expertly and freshly roasted, read Cleo's article, now posted as the "Coffee Pick" feature in the center column of the Home Page at...

www.CoffeehouseMystery.com

 

 

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WINTER 2010
Cleo's Coffee Pick

FRENCH LAUNDRY
ESTATE BLEND

 roasted by
Equator Estates Coffee
"Roaster of the Year"
~ Roast Magazine

To learn more about this "chef's blend,"  created especially for award-winning Chef Thomas Keller's world-renowned French Laundry restauant, click here, and you will jump to the Equator Estates online shop. Scroll down to see the French Laundry blend among Equators other "chef's blend" offerings. 

 

 

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CLEO'S NEXT
COFFEE PICK

Will be announced
Spring 2010

 

  

 

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FOR THE LOVE
OF OUR
WWII VETS

 

   

HONOR FLIGHT was created by a VA doctor when he discovered that his elderly patients (veterans of WW II) could not afford to make the trip to Wash. D.C. to actually SEE the WWII war memorial dedicated to them!

     Now a national organization, Honor Flight raises money to help WWII vets make the trip to actually see the memorial that would not exist without their bravery and sacrifice. Our vets are dying every week. Time is running out to honor them. Cleo has happily donated. To learn more or donate yourself, click here.  

 

 

 McDONALD'S TO OPEN McCAFE

 

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal's Page One story about McDonald's plan to take on Starbucks to the tune of $1 Billion. Written by Janet Adamy.

 

   "...McDonald's added a position to its crew: barista."

 

"Franchisees say that many of their customers don't know what a latte is."

 

Cleo suggests they read

LATTE TROUBLE!

 

 

 

 

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