#564 The Other Preference

It’s me.

Tea is delicious.

When I savor green tea on the porch, I feel calm from the bottom of my heart.

“I can’t believe I’m not allowed to drink that when it looks so tempting! This is domestic violence, Dear!”

Platy stares at me reproachfully, but I’m sorry.

Caffeine is not good for pregnant women! You can drink as much as you want after the baby is born, so just drink your caffeine-free barley tea for now.

Well, now that we can enjoy genuine tea on our farm, I want something new.

Human greed knows no bounds, after all.

Once you become accustomed to a luxury drink like tea, you’d start wanting something else. 

And the one beverage that’s always paired with tea is...

“Coffee!”

Yes, the dark drink made from coffee beans.

Coffee’s so orthodox that people ask, “Tea or coffee?”

If you make tea but never touch coffee, you’re missing out.

But I have no such weak spots!

Aside from the tea fields, I grew coffee trees in the dungeon orchard!

Now that we’re done enjoying tea, let’s try making coffee.

“And these are the harvested coffee beans.”  

To reiterate, coffee’s ingredients are extracted from beans.

The beans are harvested from the coffee plant that produces its berries after you dry and thresh them.

But that is not enough to make coffee.

“Huh? Beans?”

“Are you going to make natto with those beans?”

When it comes to beans, Letasreit and Horkoson are bound to appear!

Not one step closer, girls!

I don’t even think you can make natto out of coffee beans! ...Probably!

“Today, I will use these beans in a way you know nothing about! Watch and learn!”

“A way we don’t know? Interesting! Then watch, we shall!”

These guys are really eager to study, huh?

Oh well.

To extract coffee from the beans, you must roast and scorch them.

As I lightly roast them in a frying pan, the raw coffee beans turn from creamy to black while releasing a wonderful aroma.

Now they look like a well-roasted blackish-brown color, just like the ones you see in TV commercials and product packaging!

And then there’s that ticklish smell of coffee!

“Holly, don’t you think it smells funny?”

“It smells burnt.”

Hah! A bunch of kids who can’t appreciate the rich aroma of coffee.

After roasting the beans, I grind them into a powder to easily dissolve in hot water.

This is the coffee powder that we all know and love.

If this were my world, we would grind them with a special machine, but... Don’t worry.

I’ve already prepared the necessary equipment to grind the coffee beans into powder—the coffee grinder!

In preparation for this day, I asked the dwarves to make one for me and conveyed the design to them!

Behold, this otherworldly coffee grinder Pops Edward made out of mana metal!

He managed to recreate it so faithfully despite my poor explanation skills.

Anyway, I grind the coffee beans with it, and...out comes coffee powder!

It smells even better!

“Man, what a lengthy process this is.”

The final step is the drip process to extract the coffee from the ground coffee beans.

Here, we use a filter to strain the coffee.

Put the coffee powder into the filter, then pour water over it. The hot water goes through the filter, leaving only the powder.

Coffee filter is usually made of paper, but this time I’m using a genuine cloth filter.

It makes me feel more professional.

And then, it was finally ready.

“It’s coffee!!!”

The black liquid fills the cup.

Coffee, a luxury drink, is as good as tea.

“Hm, I see... I know exactly what you just made, Saint.”

Letasreit speaks with confidence, “It’s soy sauce!”

“Wrong.”

Soy sauce and coffee have nothing in common except for their black color!

“Soy sauce is made from soybeans, which is used to make the final black liquid. I didn’t know soy sauce could be made that way.”

“I said they’re different!”

Or maybe soy sauce and coffee have more in common than I expected which brings us to the question, “Is coffee a type of soy sauce?”

No, I need to keep my mind clear!

Coffee and soy sauce are two different things! I’m a man who knows the difference!

“Coffee is a drink! And soy sauce is a condiment! You’ll know the difference when you drink it! Come on!”

“Eugh... We’re drinking soy sauce?”

I told you it’s not soy sauce!!!

I halfway forcefully offer coffee to Letasreit, who has a downcast expression.

Letasreit was still reluctant, but she was a farm member who knew how to show respect for food.

And when she sipped on her coffee...

“...IT’S BITTER!!!” she exclaimed. “Yuck! This is far more bitter than I can tolerate as a drink! There’s no way I can drink this! Are you stupid?!”

A harsh evaluation.

I guess her tongue can’t stand the bitterness of black coffee.

Letasreit still has a child’s palate.

“...What is this silent judgment I feel?!”

“All right. Maybe you can drink it if I do this.”

Pour milk into the coffee and add two teaspoons of sugar!

The coffee turns from black to cream.

“Oh? Well, it might be a little easier to drink now, but... What’s so good about this? I don’t get it!”

“I see... I guess you’re still too young for coffee...”

“What is up with that attitude?!”

As I thought, coffee is for adults.

“Ugh! I don’t know what’s your game, but I can feel judgment emanating from your entire body!”

Leaving this child aside...

What about Horkosfon?

Is she also unable to stand the bitterness of black coffee?

“The bitter taste has an invigorating flavor reminiscent of green apples.”

“?!”

Relaxingly sipping her coffee, Horkosfon continues, “The rich aroma is the result of roasting, grinding, and dripping without pause, which has kept the coffee fresh, which in turn gives rise to this invigorating experience.”

“Horkosfon?!”

“Master Horkosfon?!”

Letasreit and I were shocked by Horkosfon’s unexpectedly professional air.

How come she turned into a coffee connoisseur all of a sudden?!

I can almost hear the Ne**afe commercial music playing behind her!

“Yo, yo, yo! The great me has arrived after my radar picked up something tasty!!!”

Here comes Veil after she sniffed out my new creation.

But after she witnessed the chaotic scene between me, Horkosfon, and Letasreit...

“It seems now’s not the time for me to appear! Smell ya later!”

“...She retreated after sensing danger?”

Is it just me, or is Veil’s judgment improving?

Well, if she tried black coffee and cringed at its bitterness, it’ll just be a repeat of how Letasreit reacted, so there’s nothing much to gain from that.