Coffee & the Arts

Coffee and the arts are natural companions, whether you're an artist drinking an espresso for that extra spark to ignite your creativity, or a book lover enjoying a pot of coffee with your book group. And in some cases, like these, the art is all about the coffee.

Shot in the Dark by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #17)

By Brian Lokker. Published June 22, 2018, last updated June 25, 2018.Leave a Comment

Clare Cosi's venerable Village Blend coffeehouse has become a top destination for women and men to meet for dates they've arranged through the hot Cinder dating app. But the shop's business is severely jeopardized after gunshots threaten customers' safety. For Clare, solving the mystery of the “shot in the dark” is not only about justice. It's also about the survival of the Village Blend.

Dead Cold Brew by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #16)

By Brian Lokker. Published August 17, 2017, last updated October 6, 2017.Leave a Comment

In Dead Cold Brew, the sixteenth book in Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mysteries series, Clare Cosi is confronted by a mystery that mixes jewel theft, murder, and coffee — and which has its roots in a sixty-year old tragedy. Clare works to solve the mystery while perfecting a new coffee blend for a luxury cruise ship.

Dead to the Last Drop by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #15)

By Brian Lokker. Published January 17, 2017, last updated October 6, 2017.Leave a Comment

In Dead to the Last Drop, Cleo Coyle's fifteenth Coffeehouse Mystery, Clare Cosi is doing her best to get the Village Blend's new Washington, D.C. coffeehouse and jazz club up and running. The business gets a major boost when the President's daughter, a jazz pianist, plays at the club. But meanwhile Clare becomes the prime suspect in a murder. Then the President's daughter disappears and the authorities want to question Clare for that too. Clare has to go on the run while she tries to clear her name.

Once Upon a Grind by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #14)

By Brian Lokker. Published January 17, 2017, last updated October 6, 2017.Leave a Comment

In Once Upon a Grind by Cleo Coyle, the 14th book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series, coffeeshop manager and amateur detective Clare Cosi discovers an unconscious fairytale princess in the Central Park woods during a Storybook Kingdom festival. The young woman has been drugged, and unfortunately the police identify Clare's business partner and ex-husband Matteo Allegro as the prime suspect. As Clare puts her considerable investigative skills to work, some “magic” Ethiopian coffee beans help her to envision some clues.

Coffee Quotations from Classic Literature

By Brian Lokker. Published May 9, 2016, last updated May 18, 2018.

Coffee quotations from classic literary works, including novels, poetry, and more, highlight coffee’s longstanding popularity. Here’s a small sample of favorite coffee quotations from classic literature.

Coffee Cup Art Prints by Emily Farish

By Brian Lokker. Published April 27, 2016, last updated October 11, 2017.

Do you prefer coffee from a particular country or region? Artist Emily Farish has illustrated coffees from four coffee-producing countries or regions — Colombia, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Sumatra — in a series of small bold and colorful paintings that are available as art prints.

Coffee Advertising Posters by Leonetto Cappiello

By Brian Lokker. Published March 24, 2016, last updated October 11, 2017.

Leonetto Cappiello, often called “the father of modern advertising,” revolutionized the art of poster design in the early 20th century. His modern designs for clients like espresso coffee machine manufacturer Victoria Arduino and Café Martin brand coffee used vibrant colors and bold, dynamic compositions to immediately grab the viewer’s attention.

A Coffee in Berlin

By Brian Lokker. Published July 23, 2015, last updated October 11, 2017.

The 2012 German film A Coffee in Berlin tracks a day in the life of Niko Fischer, a law school dropout in Berlin. This day is no doubt similar to many other days over the past year or two of Niko’s life, as he struggles to find direction and purpose. On this particular day, he even struggles to find a cup of coffee. A Coffee in Berlin is funny, ironic, and melancholy, and in the end, hopeful. For coffee lovers, it validates the notion that sometimes all you need is a cup of coffee to make the world right again.

Original Sin: Love, Lust, and Coffee

By Brian Lokker. Published May 24, 2015, last updated October 11, 2017.

Original Sin is a 2001 thriller (usually described as an “erotic” thriller) starring Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie in a tale of love, deception, murder — and coffee. For coffee aficionados, it’s a plus that in this version of the story Luis owns a coffee plantation and a coffee export business. And it’s an especially nice touch that several plot turns, including the climax, are marked by Luis drinking cups of coffee, shot in close-up. Can a cup of coffee change your day? How about your life?

Billionaire Blend by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #13)

By Brian Lokker. Published November 26, 2014, last updated October 6, 2017.

In Billionaire Blend, the thirteenth Coffeehouse Mystery in the best-selling series by Cleo Coyle, coffeehouse manager and amateur detective Clare Cosi gets an explosive introduction to the world of super-rich tech entrepreneurs. As she attempts to find the perpetrator of a car bomb that exploded outside the Village Blend, she also has an opportunity to create the world’s most expensive coffee.