I have to admit to a mistake in Captured in Amber. On several occasions the characters drink tea. Sometimes this is ginger or mint tea in North Africa, but tea itself is an anachronism, and will not appear in subsequent books. Because of the isolationism of the Roman Empire in the history of Captured in Amber, neither tea nor coffee from abroad had been seen in Europe. Edric tastes hot chocolate, but as a later book will explain, both chocolate and the potato had been introduced to Europe after the end of the Empire, by Spanish explorers who discovered South America.

Indeed, before the 17th-century arrival of tea, coffee, and chocolate, Europeans rarely drank plain hot water and had no concept of everyday warm breakfast beverages. Instead, they drank warmed alcoholic drinks, heated milk elixirs, broths, and medicinal herbal infusions.

Alcohol was the most common base for daily hydration and pleasure. On cold days or after meals, it was frequently heated.

• Mulled Wine: Wine heated with expensive spices like cinnamon, ginger, and sugar or honey. It was consumed primarily by the wealthy and monks as a luxury digestif.
• Warmed Ale and Beer: The working class frequently heated their daily ale.
• Lamb’s Wool: A popular winter drink made of hot ale mixed with sugar, nutmeg, ginger, and the soft flesh of roasted, bursting apples.

When a comforting, thick, or strengthening hot drink was needed especially for the sick, the elderly, or pregnant women dairy and grains were used as a base.

• Posset: A hot drink made of milk curdled with heated ale or wine, often spiced with nutmeg. The liquid was drunk from a special spout, and the thick curd top was eaten with a spoon.
• Caudle: A thick, warm drink made from ale or wine mixed with beaten eggs, milk, porridge oats, and sugar. It functioned as both a comforting beverage and a meal.
• Ölsupa (Beer Soup): A Nordic staple featuring heated beer whisked with milk, flour, and sometimes egg yolks.

Outside of alcohol and dairy, hot liquids were strictly functional and consumed for sustenance or health.

• Heated Broths: Simple bone and vegetable broths or thin grain gruels were consumed to provide warmth and nutrients during standard meals.
• Medicinal Infusions: Drinks made by boiling local herbs, flowers, and tree barks (like chamomile, chicory, fennel, and anise). These were viewed strictly as medicine to cure stomach or brain ailments rather than social beverages