Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Elf and the Coffee Farm (7)
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In my previous life, coffee farms were the same, but the Arabica variety—most people's go-to when they think of coffee—is typically grown in highland areas.
As we learned in elementary school science class, warm climates promote quantitative growth in plants.
The reason trees form growth rings is because in hot weather, they grow quickly sideways, forming soft, light-colored tissue, while in cold weather, they grow slowly, creating hard, dark-colored tissue.
Tree fruits aren't much different; for the same variety, cooler places produce dense, firm fruits, while hotter places yield soft, larger ones.
That doesn't mean the nutrients or flavor compounds decrease—coffee grown in cooler spots tends to be higher quality.
Of course, in my previous life, Arabica plants would start wilting if temperatures exceeded 30 degrees.
Whether it was from experience or the elves' innate understanding of nature, this farm was growing coffee on the hilly slopes midway up the mountain.
I tapped the plant familiar at the farm entrance, and its branches twisted around to form an OK sign with its tendrils. Impressive craftsmanship.
Since it understood, I sat under a nearby tree trunk to wait, and less than ten minutes later, an elf with light green hair descended.
"Ummm. The cafe from Astraea I contacted before? Manager?"
"Yes. I'm Julio, the one who reached out earlier."
"Good. I remember the name. Call me Eli. So, what do you want to see?"
"I want to see some things, and test a few others too."
She gestured for me to follow, and I trailed her to the mountain ridge entrance. It seemed they rarely dealt with outsiders, as the path was untouched nature, requiring careful footwork.
After walking a bit along the winding trail, we reached a tree unnaturally grown sideways. When Eli touched it, it reshaped into a horse-like form. She mounted it and patted the spot behind her firmly, so I climbed on.
"Hold on tight. It gets bumpy."
"Pardon?"
There wasn't much to grab, so I braced my thighs and prepared to endure. Since it wasn't a real horse, it began ascending the mountain with impossible maneuvers. On flat ground, it bounded long distances using the tree's elasticity, like a pogo stick; on steep sections, it extended its branch-legs like hands, letting us climb the cliff face.
Incredibly convenient. This was wood magic... no, nature magic.
Rarely anyone has aptitude for it among humans.
After clinging on with hands and thighs all the way up, we arrived at the mid-mountain hillside, around 1km elevation, with various crops growing on the plateau.
"Wow."
"What? Into farming?"
"I've thought about trying it when I'm older. No, more importantly, you're fine maintaining familiars like this?"
"Used to it. No other use for my mana anyway."
The entire farm was run by nature magic familiars. The biggest issue in coffee farming is that mechanized agriculture is impossible, and harvesting relies on human hands—but using familiars made it feasible.
Thinking back to how coffee production in my previous life epitomized fair trade issues due to labor exploitation, this was truly convenient.
"Anyway, you're here for the coffee, right? What did you want to try?"
"One moment first."
In this world, coffee was consumed either as a rough brew—mixing grounds in hot water like Turkish coffee—or chewed raw as a stimulant, fruit or seed alike.
I'd brought tools Liz couldn't handle to demonstrate coffee's diverse charms to the farm owner and suggest various processing methods.
First, unplanned but handy, I used the portable espresso machine Dras made to pull a shot.
"...? What's that?"
"Coffee."
"You make coffee like this?"
I briefly explained espresso's principle: extracting key components quickly with near-9-bar pressure and water over 100 degrees. Eli nodded.
"Neat idea. Short and intense to cut out the off-flavors."
"Exactly. Extraction time changes the compounds pulled, so you can control flavor by going short or long."
"Short for clean, long for bitter."
"But long pulls give more volume with less water dilution, so stronger taste."
Standard espresso extraction is 30 seconds. Around 20 is ristretto, over 40 is lungo. Franchises in my past life treated ristretto as shots, but traditionally, that's how it is.
Eli listened, then downed the shot straight, diluted with water, and requested different extraction times to taste them all.
"Excellent. Never seen anything beyond southern kin chewing raw beans as stimulants."
"Uh, isn't supplying nomad elves banned by the Empire?"
"...Forget I said that. Anything else besides this?"
"Yes. Tricky at high altitude, though."
Even for drip coffee, ideal water temp is around 90 degrees—not boiling at this elevation—but habitual cooling of boiled water could skew judgment.
Idiotically forgetting a thermometer, I wrapped my hand in mana to avoid burns, felt the pot, cooled the water to temp, and used the carafe to brew drip coffee.
Adjusting the pour fascinated her; she watched intently as it dripped, humming a yodel-like tune amid the spreading aroma.
"Nice tune."
"Living alone in the mountains breeds hobbies like this... Done?"
"Yes. Try it."
I love its flavor personally, but it extracts nearly all compounds, so the clean finish might not suit everyone.
Fortunately, she smiled faintly in approval, so I relaxed and slyly pulled out cold brew from my bag.
"What's that?"
"If anything, the total opposite of the espresso."
I showed the drip-tower sketch I'd drawn for Dras before, explaining slow extraction as cold water drips through grounds over time.
"Where do you get these ideas?"
"Coffee enthusiast here—always pondering new ways to enjoy it."
"Not ideas just anyone would have... Smooth taste. Amazing. But this works with my beans alone. No need to come all this way, right?"
"Exactly. Showing this proves coffee's versatility; my real goal is processing methods."
The coffee Eli sells to merchants is all raw seeds—parchment removed from harvested cherries—what we call green beans.
With only two large-scale coffee farms across the Pallan Empire and Imir Kingdom, you can't source diverse origins like in my past life.
Blending for varied tastes and aromas has limits too.
So, trusting elven skills, I planned to suggest past-life processing.
"Ever thought of drying cherries with pulp intact?"
Natural process: dry whole cherries. Honey process: partial pulp removal, leave mucilage unwashed.
Swiss water process: activated carbon for decaf beans.
Methods to alter flavor in pre-roast green bean processing.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"What a wretched land."
"A double-edged sword for the Empire. Treasure trove yielding only labyrinth produce, yet barren for crops. Trade hub drawing all goods, yet restricted by harsh terrain. Traditionally a chicken rib."
"I know. But seeing it myself post-coming-of-age makes it even more vile. Only a shrewd fool passes through here."
"Some skilled adventurers manage solo or with a small party."
"Why? Grouping up is way easier. Risking it means special reasons—shady status, probably."
Huh. Recently hunting someone with a shady identity.
Figured they'd holed up somewhere obscure, but this isolated spot within the Empire fit.
Alina mentally noted to search the city if suspicions arose—no solid leads yet.
"Criminals do aim here for identity laundering, but many die sneaking in or in the labyrinth."
"Only place in the Empire skipping citizenship checks?"
"Yes. Adventurers oppose it—no checks to date."
"Tch. Talent pool."
"Nobles already resent hiring foreign commoners to key posts. Vet them carefully."
"Let them match the hires' output. Be grateful I haven't purged the heavy-assed fossils from the palace."
"Hoho. Your Majesty, old-timers have their strengths too."
What a mess. Threat veiled as "threaten our seats more, and we won't stay quiet." Alina grimaced, chewing fruit slices.
Untapped people and treasures rot without use. Ignoring the empire's past heavy-hitter—now foul-mouthed from disuse—she gazed at the city walls promising new possibilities.