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What Happened Before: Cauldron Coffee Shop

Please be warned there are spoilers for the books in the Cauldron Coffee Shop series on this page. The below are the What Happened Before sections for earlier books in the series. 


What Happened in Pumpkin Spice And All Things Nice: 

After Willow's best friend sends her a teapot she found during a dig in Egypt (the dig is the same one as takes place in This Time Is Trouble), Willow forms an unusual connection with it, thinking that it has feelings and emotions. She soon discovers (with the help of the cat who has made Cauldron Coffee Shop her sometimes-home) that the teapot is where the cursed warlock, Azíl lives. 

Azíl reveals he has been cursed to the teapot for about three thousand years, though he has managed to appear to various humans and supernaturals over the years as the curse wears off, only for it to be replaced by the descendants of the people who originally cursed him for helping his chief's daughter escape from an ill-fated marriage. 

Willow's new barista takes an interest in the teapot, and then tries to trick Willow into telling her about it using blood magic. Azíl warns Willow from inside the teapot, and manages to help her when she faints from the effects of the magic. The two of them talk and Azíl announces that he wants to help her in the coffee shop, and they share a kiss. Willow vows that she's going to free him from his curse, no matter how long it takes. 


What Happened in Hazelnut Latte And Something To Say: 

With Willow having lost a barista thanks to her previous one trying to use blood magic on her, Azíl has been trying to do the job, but quickly finds himself overwhelmed by the outside world, but getting better at it with every day. They also continue their research into the curse that might be inflicting Azíl.

On Sabine's insistence, Willow and Azíl go out for a walk, introducing him to ice cream for the first time, as well as conventional dating rules - which he's been trying to learn about through a game show run by cupids.

Willow and Azíl go to the opening for Sabine's dig find and are introduced to Mona (from Grimalkin Academy), a curse breaker who Sabine thinks can help with Azíl's situation. Sabine catches Willow and Azíl kissing. 

Mona and her friend Daphne come to the coffee shop and say they'll need to study the teapot and will have to take it away from the coffee shop to do as much. They tell Azíl that they can perform a sever spell that will cut his ties to the teapot but not break his curse. He asks to think about it. 

Sabine comes to the coffee shop and talks to Willow about the status of her relationship with Azíl and if she's thought things through. In the end, she approves, but says that Willow should be careful.

Azíl agrees to the sever spell, which is performed by Mona, Daphne, and Willow. It successfully separates him from the teapot. He and Willow return upstairs to her apartment where they realise that he now needs somewhere to sleep, at which point Willow suggests that he stays in her room and the two of them sleep together for the first time. 


After performing the sever to disconnect him from his teapot, Azíl is still getting used to the modern world and all that means, including his growing relationship with Willow. 
Willow takes Azíl for a meeting at the Bureau for Witch and Warlock Affairs in order to get him set up with a passport and identity, at which point Azíl chooses the surname Amazigh. She's suspicious of Wilfred, the agent helping them but can't put her finger on why, only that he has a pin that resembles the one she saw on Aisha when she tried to use blood magic on her. 
Spooky comes into the coffee shop injured, at which point Willow has to face that she'll learn about Spooky's real owner and takes her to the vet. They say a tearful goodbye when the vet calls Spooky's owner. 
Sabine is offered a job at a dig site in Morocco, and is pleased to learn that it's in the same place where Azíl used to live, she hopes they can find out more about him and his curse as a result. Mona is also going on the dig, and brings the teapot back to the coffee shop at Willow's request. 
Willow and Azíl go out on a date and return to find the coffee shop has been broken into and that the teapot has been stolen, causing the two of them to worry about the implications. 

With Azíl's teapot missing, Willow is getting particularly worried about what it will mean, both for Azíl himself, and for their relationship. With the Supernatural Retrieval Agency unable to help them, Azíl suggests that they should end the sever and let him return to the teapot, something that Willow quickly shuts down as not an option. Willow and Sabine share a call in which Willow admits that she thinks she's out of her depth, but realises she can't walk away. 
Spooky reappears in the coffee shop with a note from her owner asking Willow and Azíl to visit for tea. While Willow is apprehensive about whether going is a good idea, they do and meet with Spooky's elderly owner, Diana, who thanks them for taking Spooky to the vet and otherwise looking after them. 
Willow receives a rejection from the Association of Magical Beverages which upsets her, but she points out that there isn't much time to worry about that with all of the other things that are going on for her and Azíl. Willow starts to question whether the coffee shop is really her calling in life. 
Wilfred from the Bureau for Witch and Warlock Affairs requests them to come in for an appointment to discuss Azíl's wand licence. Willow is against going, but Azíl convinces her that they can cause a distraction while they're there and snoop around Wilfred's office. While doing that, they discover a statement from Willow's ex-employee and mentions of the mysteries Sect. Research uncovers that The Sect has managed to convince the world that they don't really exist, but one of the theories about them is that they buy, sell, and enforce curses. 
Azíl suggests that they break the sever between him and the teapot again, to which Willow reluctantly agrees. The two of them exchange an emotional goodbye and say I love you for the first time. Daphne arrives and helps them break the sever, returning Azíl to his teapot. 
An upset Willow calls with Sabine who reveals that they've found the tomb of a High Chief's daughter and she hopes that Azíl can translate for her. Sabine comforts Willow and suggests that she goes to spend time with her cousins at Broomstick Bakery. 
Returning from the bakery, Willow encounters Azíl waiting outside the coffee shop for her where he reveals that the Sect's headquarters are nearby, and that he walked out of there after replacing his real teapot with the fake one that Daphne gave him, without anyone noticing. 

With Azíl safely back at the coffee shop, but reconnected with his teapot, Willow is more on edge than ever about what the future holds, and even more so when Clover reveals that there have been people watching the shop, revealing that the Sect know where they are. 
After telling Wilfred that Azíl has been missing ever since the night they reversed the sever, the two of them head to Sabine's dig in Morocco, with Azíl travelling in his teapot in order to avoid too much suspicion. They arrive and Azíl finds himself enjoying being useful and translating for Sabine and her team, while Willow helps archivist, Hannah, with her work. She asks Hannah about the Sect, but while Hannah believes they are a real organisation, she doesn't know much else but promises to look into it. 
Mona comes to them and reveals that the Sect have believed their tip-off about Azíl and has attempted to bind the teapot again, giving her access to the exact spell that they used, which makes her confident that she can reverse engineer it into a counter curse. 
Meanwhile, Azíl discovers that the tomb belongs to Imane, the friend he tried to save and was cursed for. Sabine takes both him and Willow into the tomb, where he says a tearful goodbye and Willow finds drawings on the wall which reveal that Imane believed Azil's cursing to be her greatest grief. It reveals more information about the curse that can be useful to them. 
Azíl and Willow talk about their fears for their future, and the fact that Azíl's biggest fear is that he'll watch her grow old and die while still cursed. He also reveals more about his past and about his friendship with Imane, assuring Willow that it was nothing more than that.
Between the Sect reestablishing the curse on the teapot, and the information from Imane's tomb, Mona works out a countercurse, and with the help of Willow, Sawyer, and Ryan, manages to break the curse on Azíl. 
Now completely human and no longer tied to the teapot, Azíl is ready to live his life, even if it's without magic, while Willow struggles with knowing that he doesn't have access and wants to push him to rediscover it.
Sabine comes to the two of them and asks if they'll stay in Morocco for longer, but Willow isn't able to as Clover and Ash can no longer watch the coffee shop for her. Once they're alone, she asks him if he wants to stay, and when she realises he does, she suggests that she returns alone and he stays with Sabine and the dig site team, and that they can call and message to keep in touch. He agrees.

Willow returns to Cauldron Coffee Shop alone, having left a newly uncursed Azíl behind at Sabine's dig site so he can translate for her. While she's lonely and struggles with whether the coffee shop is everything she wants it to be, she knows that she's made the right decision in letting him pursue his own thing at the dig site. 

Willow spends more time with her cousin, Clover, both inside and outside the coffee shop. Clover admits that she wants more from her career than just being part of her family bakery, causing Willow to admit that she's been feeling similarly about the coffee shop, though Clover announces that she wishes to write a cookbook, which Willow encourages her to do. The two of them attend self-defence classes together. 

Sabine returns from Morocco alone after Willow convinces Azíl that it is better if he stays in Morocco so the Sect don't learn that he's outside his teapot and his curse is broken. Sabine turns up at the coffee shop with tequila to drown her sorrows about not getting her permits for continuing the dig, at which point Willow suggests that she makes the argument for why her team is the best. She puts a very-drunk Sabine to bed and returns to the coffee shop to clear up to find an intruder there. Willow is attacked and ends up banging her head. The attacker leaves without doing anything, and Sabine makes Willow video chat with Azíl to keep her awake while she calls the authorities. Azíl announces he's returning, though Willow tries to convince him otherwise. 

Azíl returns to the coffee shop, both to Willow's delight and worry. The two of them spend time together, including talking about Sabine's official job offer to Azíl for his translation services, and Willow's uncertainty about what she wants. Azíl encourages her to look into what it will take to get her application for the Association of Magical Beverages after she gets jealous about the person who was accepted in her place. 

Sabine's permits get approved and Azíl accepts the job with her, even if it means returning to Morocco without Willow. She says goodbye to him at the airport and promises that they'll make Christmas really special, though they will see one another before then when he visits. When Willow is leaving the airport, she feels as if she is being watched and fears that the Sect are not done with them yet. 

If you wish to follow the Cauldron Coffee Shop & Broomstick Bakery series in chronological order, The Cupcake Witch (Oakley, Broomstick Bakery #1) takes place during the events of Vanilla Frappe And Reasons To Stay, with The Macaron Witch (Hazel, Broomstick Bakery #2), and The Pastry Warlock (Ash, Broomstick Bakery #2.5) happening between the end of Vanilla Frappe And Reasons To Stay and the beginning of Festive Drinks And Season's Hijinks. The Gingerbread Witch (Rowen, Broomstick Bakery #3) takes place during the events of Festive Drinks And Season's Hijinks. You don't need to have read the Broomstick Bakery series to understand the events of the Cauldron Coffee Shop series, but it does provide more backstory for Willow's cousins.


After spending the last few months mostly apart, Willow is excited for Azíl to return from the dig site in Morocco for Christmas and is determined to make his first time celebrating memorable. 

Clover reveals that she's been working on her cookbook and is almost ready to tell Rowen about it, while Sabine is certain that the dig is on the verge of discovering something huge. Azíl reveals that he asked Sabine if he could work from home rather than at the dig site itself, as he doesn't want to spend as much time away from Willow as he has been. Sabine agrees and says that she's organising an office for him at the West Midlands Archive for Information of Historical Significance (known as the Archive) which is where Hannah will be based as she is also not returning to Morocco. 

Willow has continued on with her self-defence lessons and reluctantly agrees when Azíl wants to teach her wandless magic. She lets him try, but isn't able to do it as she suspected. However, Azíl does manage to create a ball of light, signalling that his magic is returning, though it takes a lot of effort and he isn't able to do much. He reluctantly agrees to purchase a wand. 

Willow and Azíl spend a lot of time exploring Christmas, with Willow revealing the origins of the coffee shop to him while they were decorating the tree. She admits that she doesn't want to give up the coffee shop, especially as it was the dream she shared with her Grandpa, but she does think she wants something more. 

Azíl conspires with Willow's cousins and Sabine in order to make sure he's giving Willow what she needs for Christmas, including putting together a stocking, and buying her a trip around fairtrade South American tea plantations with plans in place for them to go in the summer while Ash is on holiday from Grimalkin and he can cover the coffee shop along with Clover. 

Hannah and Sid visit the coffee shop, with Hannah telling Willow that her investigations into the Sect revealed more than either of them imagined it would...a phone number. After Christmas, Willow and Azíl call the number but are left with the ominous automated response that the Sect will be in contact, with no way of knowing how or when it will happen. 

After contacting the Sect, Willow and Azíl have to make an attempt at living a normal life. Azíl encounters flatpack furniture for the first time and discovers that he isn't naturally gifted at putting it together. He sets up his home office in Sabine's old room, and Sabine takes both of them on a tour of the Archive, where he'll be working sometimes. 

Azíl goes to be fitted for a wand, discovering that he has an affinity for glass wands rather than the more common wood base that Willow uses. His connection to his magic grows stronger with having the proper tools, which makes Willow particularly happy. 

The two of them continue with planning their holiday to South America and talk about the past, particularly in regards to Azíl's past experience with romance in the lead-up to meeting Willow's parents, which goes better than she expected, but they have a lot of questions for her. 

Clover reveals that she's finished her cookbook and has an agent making a deal for her, much to Willow's excitement and slight jealousy over her cousin having found more job satisfaction than she currently has. Azíl and Clover both assure Willow that it will be her turn soon and they'll be celebrating her too. Sabine reveals that she wants Willow there if she makes a big discovery in Morocco, something Willow never thought would be possible, but does think she wants. 

Just as Willow and Azíl decide that they will call the Sect if they don't hear from them soon, Wilfred (from the Bureau for Witches and Warlocks) and Aisha (who previously worked for Willow) reappear and offer her something she never even considered...a chance to buy the bond for Azíl's curse.


Not having heard from the Sect since they visited the coffee shop a few months ago, Willow is starting to get fretful and worried about what's happening. Azíl finds and translates a recipe for a hot drink from his past, causing Willow to decide to start experimenting to try and recreate it, with some not-so-great consequences but she's determined to still make it possible. 

While talking to Clover, Willow realises that she might be pregnant and has a small freakout about it. However, when she does a pregnancy test spell, she realises that she's actually disappointed when it comes back negative. She talks with Azíl about the possibility of the two of them starting a family together, and they agree that they can't do that with the threat of his curse hanging over their heads. They decide to contact the Sect and hear them out about how much it would cost Willow to buy Azíl's curse from them, though Azíl wants them to work with the authorities. Willow agrees to a compromise where they'll hear the Sect out, but they'll also take everything they have to the Supernatural Retrieval Agency. 

After receiving a message from Wilfred to meet him at his office in the Bureau for Witches and Warlocks, Willow attends alone with a recording device. Wilfred tries to get her to sever the legal connection between her and Azíl that will stop her from being his next of kin (something she finds ironic given their talk about getting married). She refuses. He gives her an envelope including the details of the offer from the Sect. 

She returns to Cauldron Coffee Shop to open it with Azíl, being devastated to learn that the amount that it'll cost could only be gotten if they sold the coffee shop. Azíl is determined that there has to be another way, but Willow is already resigning herself to it. 

Sabine calls from Morocco and reveals that she thinks she's made the discovery of her career. She wants Azíl to return to Morocco in order to translate, and for Willow to join them because she wants to share the discovery with her. 


Having returned to Morocco and the site of Imane's tomb, Willow is feeling rather underfoot, even while Azíl and Sabine are both in their element. While she's researching stolah (an ancient hot drink Azíl translated the recipe for), Sabine is making the discovery of a lifetime behind Imane's tomb, and takes both Willow and Azíl inside it, revealing it to be the burial place of all the strongest magic users from Azíl's time. Willow is saddened by the fact they don't have any family with them, which Azíl believes is due to her current focus on family-orientated matters and the future. Regardless of how she feels, there is no doubt that they have found what they're looking for and the discovery will change the way the history of magic is viewed. Hannah and Sid (who are now together) prepare Imane's tomb artefacts for the upcoming exhibition. 

Realising she's out of her depth and wanting to spend as much time at the coffee shop as possible before she has to sell, Willow decides to return to the UK, with Azíl staying behind in Morocco until it's time for Clover's book party. 

Back at the coffee shop, Willow continues her attempts at making stolah, including investigating whether or not there has been a translation in the original recipe. She also discovers from Azíl that he isn't able to make stolah himself as it is mage magic, rather than warlock magic, meaning that it is based in potions. Clover teaches Willow the spell she and her cousins use at the bakery to put the emotions into their cakes as part of her research. 

After Clover's book party goes well, and there is talk of her writing a second recipe book, she approaches Willow and offers to buy forty-five per cent of the coffee shop, which would allow Willow and Azíl to meet the strict deadline the Sect have given them (three months) in order to pay up for his curse. Willow is surprised, but agrees to think about it. 

After receiving the Sect's deadline, Azíl finally convinces Willow to go to the authorities, and the two of them have an interview with Harper Thompson (née Jones) and Pippa McKenzie at the Supernatural Retrieval Agency in Birmingham (also a series featuring Harper and Pippa), promising that there is going to be an investigation that should free them from the clutches of the Sect.



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