Let me begin with two important caveats.

First, that I could ever consider myself enough of an authority to write a tea latte guide. Truth told, I only discovered them on my recent trip to The Faith & Writing Festival at Calvin College.

Second, that what I discovered at the campus Fish House coffee shop is the ultimate of the tea latte world. But if it’s not, then there is a universe of delectable drinks I need to hunt down like a Captain Ahab in pursuit of Moby Dick.

A small diversion—I love coffee shops. From the time I started graduate school I immersed myself in their atmosphere. The sharp, earthy smells of the coffee beans, best experience in a place that roasted them to their own specifications. Murmured conversations that rise to a humming white noise. A tendency for coffee culture to attract writers and readers. My people. My kind of place.

Problem is, coffee now despises me. Some of you know what I’m talking about. For others, you don’t want the details. I’m paying the price of previous overindulgence.

So for years I’ve been flirting with abandoning the coffee shop culture. I’ve yet to stay completely away, from a shop or the delectable dark liquid. I figured one day it would kill me. But if not that, then something else. Stoic of me.

Now I have a whole new chance at life, or at least the part that finds me in a comfortable corner table sipping from a big, ceramic mug. But now the mug exudes the wonderful, flower and spice scented aromas of tea, milk, and various accoutrements.

So, without further delay, here are the recipes I had the pleasure of trying during my stay in Grand Rapids, Michigan. To say they made it easier to handle the cold, snowy mid-April weather is a gross understatement. Watch out Louisiana coffee shops—here I come with my list.

Spanish Infusion—mint verbena tea, vanilla, peppermint, a dash of cinnamon

Le The Paris—Paris tea, caramel

Japanese Sencha—Japanese green tea, honey

South African Medley—Rooibos chai, vanilla, cinnamon

London Fog—Earl Grey supreme tea, vanilla

Moroccan Spice—hot cinnamon spice tea, vanilla, a dash of cinnamon

Hello My Darling—Darjeeling tea, English toffee, nutmeg

My Indulgence—tropical green tea, coconut, a splash of chai

I Love Lucy—chamomile tea, honey, cinnamon, cardamom

Potato chips are the most amazing food group ever invented. From the humble spud buried in dirt comes forth a wide array of flavors and textures, each designed to titillate the tongue and satisfy the brain’s craving for fat.

In my opinion, the person who first thought of cutting the starchy tuber into thin slices and dropping them in boiling oil was a genius.

And by the miracle of the intertubes, I just discovered the genius we need to laud is none other than George Crum, a chef of Native American and African descent who experimented with the thickness of fried potatoes at the urging of customers in 1853. But word spread slowly, and it wasn’t until the 1920s that chips were sold in most parts of the country.

Hard to imagine why it took so long. Today the average American consumes over four pounds of chips each year, for a total of more than 1.5 billion pounds nationwide.

If only Mr. Crum had lived to see how much joy his invention brings to the snack food connoisseur. And to think he was just trying to placate cranky diners!