Coffee for a Mourner Before the Meal of Consolation
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Question
Is it permissible for a mourner to drink his own water, coffee, or tea before the meal of consolation?
Answer
It is permissible to drink water, but one should not drink his own coffee and tea before the meal of consolation.
Source
Responsa Divrei Malkiel, Part 2, Siman 97: "And only water seems permissible to drink one's own, as it is not stricter than before Havdalah, where in Pesachim 105 and in Shulchan Aruch, Siman 299, it is permissible to drink water." This is also precise according to the language of Shulchan Aruch, Siman 378, Paragraph 3, which states that if one wishes not to eat on the first day, it implies that drinking is allowed even if not eating from others.
In Gesher HaChaim, it is written to permit drinking coffee and tea, but the opinion of Kitzur Shulchan Aruch is that one should not drink coffee and tea before the meal of consolation, because all the permission for water is due to its lack of significance, but coffee and tea, which have significance, cannot be consumed one's own before the meal of consolation. This is the opinion of our teacher, the Rav.