Chapter 41: Enjoying Coffee Time with Emily (1)

For two days, I studied alchemy.

As the heir of the Medicine King, it was something I had to do. As I did it, it seemed to be fun in its own way.

‘It’s definitely comfortable because there are no exams like in school.’

If there was an exam and someone forced me to study, I wouldn’t want to do it.

But no one forces me, and I only do it when I want to, so there’s no pressure.

‘I should stop studying around here and prepare for Miss Emily’s coffee class.’

Before I knew it, the hour hand pointed to 4. I studied since morning, so I did it for 6 hours without rest.

I covered the pack and thought about what to teach Miss Emily.

In the first place, the number of coffees that can be made with the dripper I have is limited. It’s the same even if I use steamed milk.

Drip coffee itself is nothing more than pouring hot water, so there’s nothing I can do.

If only I had an espresso machine, most of the coffee in modern times would be possible.

Most recipes include espresso, so there’s no choice.

I briefly thought about the principle of the espresso machine.

“Espresso itself is obtained by rubbing coffee beans and water at high temperature and high pressure.”

The most important thing here is a constant temperature and a constant pressure.

If the applied pressure fluctuates, the taste of the coffee becomes strange.

“First of all, I know there are manual and automatic, but I can’t make an automatic one here, right?”

There is a high probability that I can’t make it.

In the first place, I’ve only used an automatic espresso machine, I haven’t disassembled it.

So I don’t know what the inside looks like and how it works.

On the other hand, I’ve seen a manual espresso machine at a coffee museum.

But manual also has disadvantages. No. There are many disadvantages.

As much as pressure has to be applied, the physical exhaustion is greater than anything else, and since it is not automatic, it is difficult to apply uniform pressure.

“Sigh. What should I do? Still, there’s magic here. If I do well, it might be possible.”

I thought about it carefully and eventually got up from my seat.

No matter how much I think about it alone, I don’t have any expertise in blacksmithing or magic. So I decided to just ask directly.

I headed to the blacksmith’s street.

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Name: Estad Workshop

Location: Between Silk Forest and Waning Moon Lake. The third workshop on the blacksmith’s street.

====

“It was Estad Workshop, right.”

I kept the paper I received from Emily earlier.

I entered the road between Silk Forest and Waning Moon Lake and arrived at the blacksmith’s street.

This place was still noisy with hammers and shouts.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Hey! That’s not how you do it! Do it again!”

“Brother! Did you sell that? I heard that high-quality ingredients came in this time. Please share some with me.”

“How much should I sell this for? Hmm, 5 gold seems to be just right.”

I entered the Estad workshop.

“Who are you? Oh? You were the one who came with the lady’s message back then… right?”

“Yes. Do you know where Mr. Estad is?”

“He’s forging in the workshop. Shall I call him?”

“Yes. Excuse me.”

I went inside and sat in any seat.

After waiting for a while, Estad, who was emitting heat, walked in.

“You said Rachel, right? What’s the matter?”

“I came to make a request.”

“Hmm. It will take about a month, is that okay?”

“I heard that nobles belonging to the Muelia family can use priority. Here.”

I handed over my ID card.

He opened his eyes wide at the title of baronet written there.

“Baronet? No, how,”

“I was lucky enough to catch the Duke’s eye. So, it’s possible, right?”

“Yes. Fortunately, there are no requests from other nobles. If you tell me now, I will make it as soon as possible.”

He brought paper and a pen from the back.

I explained while drawing a picture.

“First of all, the function itself is to put the coffee beans and hot water inside and crush them with high temperature and high pressure.”

“High temperature and high pressure…”

“The shape should be like this. Honestly, you don’t have to keep the shape. It’s okay as long as you can apply high temperature and high pressure.”

“Hmm. Of course, it would be nice to have a control device for high temperature and high pressure, right?”

“Yes.”

Estad brought a container from inside.

“Someone came to make a similar request to Rachel before. It’s not used to make coffee, it’s used for alchemy.”

A machine the size of a rectangular parallelopiped. He put water inside and pulled the lever. The surface of the sphere closed and hot heat spread out.

I brightened my eyes.

It’s not exactly the same as what I’m thinking, but the functional part is similar.

“Would this be okay?”

“Yes. I would be grateful if it were like that.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No. How long will it take?”

He flicked his fingers.

“It won’t take long. Since the mold itself has a frame, all you have to do is attach molten iron. There is also a magic engraving scroll, so it will be done within a day. I will make it by tonight.”

“Thank you. Here’s the money.”

The Duchy doesn’t pay for everything. So I gave a large sum and returned home.

So how long did I wait.

Before the hour hand passed 11, the butler knocked on the door.

“Are you Baronet Rachel? Here is your package. The sender is Estad Workshop. Please sign.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

After signing, I unpacked the package.

Inside was the item I saw in the afternoon.

“Hehe. I should use it right away.”

I was personally looking forward to it.

Generally, all the coffees I often drank are made using a machine, not drip.

There are also various types, so as a coffee lover, I couldn’t help but be excited.

“Phew. It’s a little heavy. Teddy?”

Grrr?

“Bring this.”

Grrr.

It strikes a pose as if to say, trust me. After that, it lightly lifted the coffee machine and placed it in the kitchen.

I poured coffee beans and hot water into it and turned it on.

There were several buttons on the machine.

“This seems to control the temperature of the water. And this is the pressure, right?”

I turned the button. Numbers turned on the glass in front of the device.

It shows the set temperature and pressure.

It’s not digital, so the numbers turn inside.

The temperature is between 90 and 96 degrees. The pressure is between 9 bar and 15 bar.

Normally, the atmospheric pressure on Earth is 1 bar, so 9 bar to 15 bar acting on the espresso machine can be said to be nine to fifteen times the atmospheric pressure.

There are several reasons why high pressure is important when extracting espresso.

First, the efficiency of coffee extraction is improved. Because it can be extracted at high pressure, relatively fast extraction is possible.

In addition, the interaction between water and coffee beans is improved.

Second, it is crema formation.

Coffee crema is a thick cream layer that exists on the top when drinking espresso.

This cream enhances the texture and taste of coffee.

In addition, it enhances the flavor and aroma, so I use the machine more than drip.

The alarm went off.

Beep beep beep

“Good.”

I put the cup and pressed the button, and espresso started to come out.

Drip, drip, drip.

I blew on it and took a sip.

Sip.

“Hmm! It’s delicious!”

It’s bitter. But the savory taste and deep flavor were felt together in it.

It’s a taste that can’t be made with just drip coffee.

“Good?”

I also made steamed milk. If you add espresso to it, it becomes the latte you eat at a cafe.

“It’s much more savory. Emily will like this, right?”

I’m glad it was successful.

If it didn’t taste like the modern one, it would have been quite difficult.

“There’s also a crema layer, so latte art is also possible.”

Since the crema layer and steamed milk have different densities, the layers are separated unless mixed.

“I haven’t done it for a long time, so I don’t know if my hands are stiff. Then, it would be best to challenge the easiest one, right?”

The easiest shape in latte art is the heart shape.

Because you just have to shake it left and right and draw it up.

“Oh. It’s done.”

It was a little ambiguous, but I think I can practice this.

For someone who sees latte art for the first time, it will be a very impressive memory, so I started to practice a few more times.

Of course, it was a waste to throw away the coffee, so I drank it all.

“Ugh. I’m full.”

When I drank about six cups, I was full. But because I consumed too much caffeine, I couldn’t sleep.

“Am I going to stay up all night?”

I lay in bed and tried to sleep, but it was the same.

I had no choice but to sit at my desk and organize the ideas to send to Armil.

Since she said she would provide the principle, I was more careful.

I can’t just waste the money of an Archmage.

“Ah. And if Emily likes the machine, I should make it in advance so that she can take it right away, right?”

I drew a picture on an empty piece of paper. Since Emily will use it, I paid attention to the design. I sent the completed drawing to the Estad workshop through a butler.

Fortunately, the Estad workshop runs 24 hours a day.