One Hundred and Thirty-Sixth Page: Coffee Showdown (Middle)
Compared to the makeshift team of “Caimi Hamaha,” the “Peach Cat” was entirely staffed by professional maids. As the café manager, Lin Ziyè had high standards for them, making their professionalism superior.
But I couldn’t help but complain, “They actually sent a professional barista? Senior Longkui is just a part-time high school student! How can you be so shameless?”
Aside from her brief time as a high school student, she has a longer life filled with hardships, but that experience doesn’t help much in this competition…
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of; business competition is this harsh! Sister Lingmèng!”
“Xiàlù! What you’re doing now is really despicable!”
Old Man Tuōhǎi interjected, “Hehehe, it’s hard to predict the outcome. That little girl named Kètè plans to make each of us a different coffee. Although she’s full of energy, time will be tight, and multitasking might cause problems.”
Yes, I noticed that too.
Miss Kètè prepared three different types of coffee beans, meaning she needs to brew three times within twenty minutes, which is quite tight.
To save time, she chose an electric grinder, which could grind a portion of coffee beans into powder in just a few seconds. In contrast, Senior Longkui poured the pre-mixed coffee beans into a hand-cranked grinder and steadily turned the handle at one revolution per second, grinding slowly.
By then, five minutes had passed, and she spent too much time picking beans. During this time, the efficient electric grinder had already ground Miss Kètè’s three portions of coffee beans into powder, while Senior Longkui was still fiddling with her grinder… Is this okay?
I couldn’t help but worry, “Compared to the electric one, the manual one is way too slow!”
“Don’t rush, little girl. Using that hand-cranked grinder, you need at least ten minutes. Large coffee granules can easily produce a bitter taste when brewed, which is very bad.”
But Senior Longkui’s grinding was too slow. If I were doing it, I couldn’t maintain that one-revolution-per-second speed.
“At least move your hands faster…”
The old gentleman puffed his beard and smiled, “Little girl from the Huángfǔ family, grinding coffee beans cannot be rushed. Slow work yields fine results; if done too fast, the hand-cranking loses its meaning.”
“So?”
“Compared to an electric grinder, a hand-cranked one is harder to achieve even grinding and is about ten times slower, but it has unique advantages…”
Xiàlù looked at Old Man Tuōhǎi趴在桌上.
“What advantage is there if it’s so slow?”
“The slowness is the advantage; it can lock in the aroma of the coffee beans. An electric grinder heats up too quickly during grinding, causing the precious aroma to escape prematurely.”
I sighed, “But that also depends on the situation. This isn’t the time to grind slowly.”
On the other side, Miss Kètè had already poured the coffee grounds into the filter paper, while Senior Longkui was still leisurely grinding. Many spectators began to worry.
“Hey, you’re anxious?”
Xiàlù glanced at me before saying, “Let me remind you, your current role is a judge. You can’t favor ‘Caimi Hamaha,’ Ziyè trusts you to suggest you as a judge.”
“Don’t underestimate me! I have no intention of doing such things. I’ll definitely give a fair evaluation for both cups of coffee!”
Though I said that, I still hesitated to speak when they tried to pass me the microphone… After all, there were so many people watching, and I still represented the Huángfǔ family.
Uh, how should a lady speak?
Senior Longkui’s unhurried grinding action was somewhat hypnotic.
— “Should we use that?” —
Just as I was about to fall asleep, Cherry Sauce suggested using “that” again.
— “Don’t resist, we must adapt to that state.” —
I know.
Perhaps that fusion state… is what I and Cherry Sauce should be like.
— “There’s no need to worry about not being able to return.” —
That’s not guaranteed.
— “Give her some trust, after all, she is ourselves.” —
Even though my coat pocket felt empty, the bottle’s mouth still protruded out.
I lay on the table, stretching my fingers into the bottle mouth to sneak a little…
——————
You go! I go! Here we go!
——————
Bonjour! It’s time for the beauty and wisdom combined Frankenstein!
Returning to this state made every pore of my body excited. The timing of my reappearance came sooner than expected, even though it was just passing off troublesome matters to me…
Compared to those two timid ones, facing the crowd is something I’m better at. After all, compared to them, I’m closer to Old Lady’s personality.
However, I always feel that Xiao Kǎi doesn’t trust me.
I am you, you are me.
Even though our thoughts and memories are completely shared… why am I still guarded against? I didn’t plan to dig a hole and bury myself, did I?
To avoid letting Xiàlù notice anything, I adjusted my mood before getting up from my lying position, then scratched the chin of the little yuzu on my shoulder. Noticing my change, the little creature tilted its head to look at me.
Xiàlù glanced sideways and said, “Hey! With so many people watching, dare you still lie on the table and slack off? Are you sick or got your period?”
Knowing that Xiao Kǎi is a guy, she still said that. This girl is supposed to be a lady, how can she talk without restraint?
“Just got tired watching Senior Longkui grind the beans.”
I pretended to yawn and asked, “Half the time has passed, and she hasn’t finished grinding the beans yet? Will she be able to finish in time?”
Although I didn’t check the time, I felt it had been about ten minutes. While Senior Longkui was still grinding, the maids of Peach Cat started preparing milk foam and melted chocolate, moving quite efficiently. Old Man Tuōhǎi was worried she wouldn’t finish in time, but her speed was much faster, even preparing three different specialty coffees simultaneously without any problem.
“Hmm, Miss Kètè moves quickly, don’t you think?”
Noticing my gaze, Xiàlù pouted.
“That’s her daily routine. Her movements for brewing coffee are deeply ingrained, and she can handle multiple customer orders perfectly! She usually stays behind the counter and rarely comes out. That cropped top is actually a short version of a barmaid maid outfit, custom-made by Ziyè for her!”
I couldn’t help but complain, “It’s sexy, but no matter what, it’s a bit cold to wear in winter, right?”
Old Gentleman Wényǔn Tuōhǎi kept his attention on Senior Longkui.
He said, “I think she’s almost done. She doesn’t plan to grind the beans too finely.”
With that, Senior Longkui put down the hand-cranked grinder and started preparing to brew.
Xiàlù asked, “Isn’t it less than ten minutes? Is it ready?”
“Coffee beans don’t need to be ground into fine powder to be brewed. Look, the girls at Shenyang Cafe didn’t use filter paper; they chose a metal filter instead.”
Senior Longkui poured the ground coffee beans into a funnel-shaped metal cone, which Old Man Tuōhǎi called a metal coffee filter.
“I don’t like that.”
Since she’s a lady who experiences life in a café, Xiàlù also recognized that thing. She complained, “Coffee made with that is oily and gritty, feels unfiltered, and requires washing. Unlike filter paper, which you can just throw away. Peach Cat has a few of these, but nobody likes using them for coffee.”
Old Coffee Scholar Wényǔn Tuōhǎi shook his head.
“You’re mistaken, young lady from the Xià family. Coffee naturally has an oily texture. The grittiness you mentioned is because the beans were ground too finely and flowed through the filter. Metal filters have larger mesh sizes than paper filters, so…”
I understood and added, “So, Senior Longkui didn’t grind the beans into fine powder! From the start, she planned to use a metal coffee filter?”
“Yes, it should be medium grind size. If the beans are ground evenly, they won’t leak through the mesh. But pouring medium grind is not a skill for amateurs.”
This old man started pretending to be profound again, waiting for us to ask more questions. My eyes met Xiàlù’s… we decided to let him hang.
Finally, Senior Longkui started pouring water.
At that moment, Miss Kètè began using milk foam to create patterns on the coffee.
“Cough, cough, Shenyang really struck gold.”
Ah, Old Man Tuōhǎi couldn’t help but show off his knowledge. Even though Xiàlù and I didn’t ask anything, he started explaining.
“Pour-over technique is quite extraordinary, steady and slow. Indeed, a calm and steady girl. Medium grind is most sensitive to over-extraction, which makes the coffee bitter and hard to drink. So controlling the flow rate is the hardest part.”
Now I understand, even though I don’t get it.
Xiao Kǎi and Cherry Sauce’s knowledge gaps are also mine.
“So, do you think Senior Longkui has a higher chance of winning?”
“It depends on what they present…”
After all this mysterious talk, it’s essentially saying nothing!
After completing the latte art on two cups of coffee, Kètè from Peach Cat wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at her opponent with a confident expression. However, her relaxed smile gradually froze, showing strong doubt and shock.
“That pour-over method is… Copper Coin一刀流!”
Hahaha, is this real?
Servant Kètè seemed to shout some incomprehensible technique name. Does it refer to Senior Longkui’s water pouring technique?
Is this some third-rate melodrama?
“No way, saying it’s Copper Coin一刀流?”
Damn, Old Man Tuōhǎi next to me stood up in a panic. This gentleman took off his hat and hurried to the center of the square to watch Senior Longkui pour water from a distance.
Senior Longkui…
No, Li Longbǎi, before he fell ill with ALS, was he a legendary barista?
“Can anyone explain what’s going on?”
Xiàlù finally raised her hand, unable to bear the confusion anymore. She asked what I was thinking.
“What is this ‘Copper Coin一刀流’?”
Old Mr. Tuōhǎi looked at the shocked and dazed Kètè.
He said, “You’ve all heard the story of the oil seller, haven’t you?”
