QBSLB 13

Chapter 13. A Cup of Coffee Left Behind by Cindeella

I hurriedly picked up a black cloak that had fallen nearby and pulled it over myself, completely hiding my hair and face.

Then, keeping myself thoroughly concealed, I rushed into the kitchen and shouted,

“Wait a moment!”

The two men turned wary eyes on me and asked,

“Who are you?”

“And what is with that suspicious outfit…?”

But my gaze was fixed entirely on the coffee beans in their hands.

‘Coffee… it’s coffee…’

Raising my hand to point at the beans, I asked in an earnest tone,

“If you’re going to throw those away anyway, could you throw them away to me instead?”

After washing my hands thoroughly and tying on an apron, I stood in front of the counter.

“You’ve covered your face, but judging by your voice, you sound like a woman…”

“What would a woman even know, stepping forward like this!”

As expected, the two men were highly suspicious of me.

Still, since they themselves had no idea what to do with the beans, they reluctantly gave up their place to me, just in case.

Even now, they stood with their arms crossed like judges, watching me with arrogant expressions.

“We were going to throw them out anyway, so let’s see what happens.”

“Right. We already have the perfect drink—black tea—so I don’t even understand why we need to study how to brew those ridiculous beans!”

“Exactly. Any drink other than tea is basically trash.”

Seriously.

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

There’s nothing wrong with loving your own field as a professional.

But that doesn’t mean you get to look down on other fields.

‘Looks like I’ll have to show them what coffee tastes like.’

In front of me lay glossy coffee beans, a teapot used for brewing black tea, and a strainer for tea leaves.

While they watched intently, I first picked up the dark beans and examined them.

Then I closed my eyes briefly and inhaled their aroma as if savoring it.

‘They’ve been roasted quite well.’

(*Roasting refers to the process of heating green coffee beans at around 200°C for about 8–14 minutes.

Green beans turn brown through roasting.

During this process, more than a thousand aromatic compounds are created, and depending on how intensely and how long the beans are roasted, even the same beans can produce very different flavors and aromas.*)

A smooth, well-balanced profile with notes of chocolate and citrus.

Next, I carefully inspected the shape of the beans.

They were flat and oval, with a curved center cut and no gaps.

‘…These are Arabica beans.’

Among them, the flavor was reminiscent of the “Typica” beans I used to drink in my previous life.

“Do you have a tool to grind the beans?”

I asked calmly, having grown serious without realizing it.

The two men, looking somewhat overwhelmed by my demeanor, echoed,

“Grind…?”

“Oh, so you’re supposed to grind those brown beans before brewing?”

Fortunately, while this kitchen didn’t have a tool specifically for coffee, it did have something like a mixer.

It looked similar to the hand mill I’d used in my previous life.

“Good. With this…”

I put an appropriate amount of beans into the hand mill and turned the handle.

Grrrk—grrrk.

As I focused on grinding the beans, my mind gradually relaxed.

After carefully checking the grounds, I stopped when they reached a medium grind size.

When grinding coffee, you must choose the right size according to the bean characteristics and extraction method.

For hand drip, a medium grind is better than too fine, so this should do.

“There won’t be a coffee filter, of course. Do you perhaps have cooking paper or cloth?”

“…We do.”

Strangely enough, this place had most ingredients and tools readily available.

Of course, there were no tools dedicated to coffee brewing—but a true craftsman doesn’t choose their tools.

I filled fine cooking paper with the freshly ground coffee and placed it on top of the tea strainer, using it as a makeshift dripper.

“Do you have hot water and a thermometer?”

“…We do.”

The men handed them over without complaint.

Their expressions still said, Let’s see how this turns out, but I paid them no mind and focused solely on brewing the coffee.

First, I adjusted the water temperature to around 80–85°C, then lightly poured water over the coffee grounds.

‘When making drip coffee, you bloom it first.’

Blooming means lightly wetting the grounds and waiting about 30 seconds.

As I poured, the grounds swelled and foam rose.

‘Good. They really are fresh beans.’

Once the expansion settled, I lowered the kettle as much as possible and poured in a thin stream.

‘From the center outward, drawing a spiral, gently laying water over the grounds…’

Seeing my practiced movements, the two tea masters watching let out involuntary murmurs of admiration.

“That’s not the skill of someone who’s only done this once or twice.”

“Just who is that person in the cloak?”

‘My identity?’

I’m a barista.

But in a world where coffee hasn’t yet spread, there’s no way such a profession exists.

Instead of answering, I silently focused on brewing.

After the first extraction, I poured the water slightly faster and thicker.

I repeated this up to the fourth extraction.

There’s no single right answer when it comes to coffee, but ideally the total extraction time shouldn’t exceed three minutes.

Anything longer makes it too bitter.

When the coffee was finally finished, the kitchen was filled with a rich, nutty, aromatic scent.

“How can the aroma be this intense? …Ahem. Of course, I still prefer the fragrance of black tea.”

“And the smell is actually quite good?! …Ahem. Still, the taste won’t beat black tea.”

Even the two men who had been hostile toward coffee were now looking at the brewed cup with curiosity.

‘You can’t resist this aroma either, can you?’

After all, people say coffee is enjoyed as much by its scent as by its taste.

Smiling with satisfaction, I poured the coffee into my own cup first.

Then, as the two men watched with obvious tension, I slowly raised the cup to my lips.

The rich aroma hit my nose first.

It had been so long since I’d smelled coffee that I felt happy even before taking a sip.

After savoring the aroma for a moment, I tilted the cup further and let a mouthful of warm coffee rest on my tongue.

And then—

“Ahh…”

Ah, this blissful feeling.

It felt as though my feet were floating off the ground.

All worries vanished from my mind along with the coffee’s aroma.

The filthy mood from witnessing Deupel’s affair evaporated without a trace.

Whenever I drink coffee, this always happens.

The complexities of the world, and my equally gloomy mood—

When I drink a carefully brewed cup of coffee, everything disappears.

That’s why I love coffee so dearly.

‘As expected, I really do love coffee…’

So much so that I once dreamed of dedicating my entire life to opening my own café.

The warm yet thrilling taste wrapping around my tongue naturally brought a blissful smile to my face.

Watching me, the two men swallowed at the same time.

Gulp.

“M-maybe I should try a cup too.”

“Yeah… I didn’t want to drink something that isn’t tea, but…”

Without saying a word, I filled their cups with coffee.

They had been a bit annoying, but letting even one more person discover the joy of coffee was what I wanted.

That’s how much I loved it.

As they tilted their cups with doubtful expressions, their eyes soon widened.

“This is…”

“It—it’s delicious!”

Watching them, I pulled the corner of my mouth up into a grin.

They stared into their cups in confusion.

“Why does it taste completely different from before?”

I calmly explained to them,

“If you brew tea with water that’s too hot, or steep it for too long, it becomes astringent, right?”

“Th-that’s right. Yes…?”

They had unconsciously switched to polite speech.

Pretending not to notice, I continued,

“Coffee is the same. If you grind the beans to the right size according to their condition and brew at the proper temperature, you can enjoy the coffee’s true flavor to the fullest.”

Otherwise, it becomes overly bitter or develops unpleasant off-flavors.

“Oho…”

They exclaimed in admiration, repeatedly lifting their cups.

They had claimed they wouldn’t even touch anything but black tea, yet now they looked ready to drain their cups completely.

“It really has a unique taste.”

“Deep and rich… and somehow it makes you feel warm inside…”

Seeing that, I smiled with quiet pride.

As a barista, spreading the taste of coffee was one of my greatest joys.

After all, my own life had changed because of a cup of coffee I drank at a small café that day.