"Welcome......! Mr. Hayashi hasn't been to Sakura for a long time, so why didn't he come with Akemi-chan?"

"Uh...... She has things at work that she can't get away with, right...... Is the hostess there?"

"Hey, the manager is still roasting coffee in the basement, I'll tell her!"

"Uh...... No, I can just sit there and wait for her!

……

When the clerk who was familiar with Lin Xiuyi in the store saw his figure, and then greeted him warmly, during this time, Lin Xiuyi and Akemi's affairs were in an uproar, which made many people know about the matter between them, and even Sakurako's subordinates also knew that the policeman Mr. who always came here to find the proprietress on weekdays was actually the lover of the big star Akemi Sonoji Temple.

When a cup of Espresso was brought to Lin Xiuyi, he first thanked the other party, and then sat quietly in the corner and sipped his coffee. Although it is not a holiday, and it is not the peak time for coffee shops, there are still a lot of customers in the restaurant at this time, and many of them are faces that can often be seen on TV, after all, this is the most famous Kicha shop in the vicinity of NHK.

Perhaps because he hadn't been to Sakura-no-Sato for a long time, Lin Xiuyi soon found that the layout of the store had changed almost drastically. Not only have there been shelves selling the store's merchandise next to the coffee bar, but there are also some previously unseen posters on the walls around the store, including one showing a woman dressed in traditional African costume happily holding a basket of harvested coffee beans, and behind him is a little girl with the same dark complexion, and the daughter has the same hearty smile on her mother's face......

"What are you...... What are you looking at?"

Suddenly hearing a gentle voice appear in his ears, Lin Xiuyi hurriedly turned around, but saw Sakurako who didn't know when he came behind him. Seeing Sakurako's appearance, Lin Xiuyi hurriedly stood up from his seat and greeted her:

"Ah, long time no see, I just heard the clerk in the store say that you are busy baking in the basement, I won't ...... I'm sorry to bother you!"

"Where, I can't be happy if you can come to my shop......!

"Uh...... She went to the office today, and it is said that the economist picked up another CM for her, and she wanted to discuss the shooting as soon as possible......"

"Oh...... Speaking of which, I've been busy going to Seoul lately, so I haven't had time to congratulate you in person!"

Maybe it's because she came out in a hurry.,At this time, Sakurako was still wearing an apron with the word Sakura-no-Sato.。 Seeing that she was really not dressed properly, Sakurako quickly took off her apron and folded it aside. After cleaning up, Sakurako sat opposite Lin Xiuyi, and then smiled at him a little embarrassedly.

"By the way, I haven't been here for a long time, but I didn't expect the layout and decoration of the store to be different!"

"Huh...... Hi, it was all your friends who helped me with the study club, Mr. Kirihara helped us set up a coffee lover's club in Sakura-no-Sato, and there are many old customers who were very supportive of Sakura-no-Sato in the past, and now people sometimes come over on weekends to experience the fun of roasting coffee, and occasionally everyone visits Sakura-no-Sato's ecological plantation in Maruyama Village. In short, life is much more fulfilling now than it was in the past. That's right...... It just so happens that I have a few new cups of coffee and want to hear from you, all of which are new ideas that I have just come up with recently, you ...... Why don't you give it a try?"

……

Hearing Sakurako's invitation, Lin Xiu immediately became interested, and after he drank the Espresso in the cup, he stood up and hated Sakurako near the bar, and then sat down outside the bar.

"So, Examiner, are you ready now?"

"Hey, but I've already had an espresso just now, so can I start with milk coffee?"

"Okay, please wait a moment!"

After Sakurako finished speaking, she picked up the apron she had folded just now and put it back on her body. Immediately after, Sakurako first took out some special coffee beans from a bag under the counter and ground the beans into powder using an old-fashioned espressor mill.

Just as Lin Xiuyi was about to start pressing the powder because he took Sakura, Sakurako poured the coffee powder back into the mill again, and then ground it again.

"It's ......"

"Secondary grinding can increase the contact surface between the coffee ground and the hot water, so that more active ingredients can be extracted from the coffee. I've tried it, and extracting about 43 grams of coffee liquid with 20 grams of ground coffee is the best tasting option. As for the milk, I chose 3.7 cow milk from Hokkaido, which is heated to 50 degrees Celsius to maximize the sweetness of the milk. Then adjust the mixing ratio, the ratio of milk to coffee is about 4:1, so ......"

When Sakurako unreservedly told her colleagues the secret of making milk coffee, a cup of fragrant coffee was also placed in front of Lin Xiuyi. When Lin Xiuyi took the coffee, he saw the heart-shaped palm pattern hanging on the surface of the coffee liquid, and his heart immediately felt like Sakura's ingenious latte art technique. Sakurako, on the other hand, carefully looked at Lin Xiuyi's reaction, then lowered her head and silently waited for Lin Xiuyi's evaluation.

"Oh...... It's really a cup of sweet milk coffee! and...... There's also a faint smell of ripe pomegranates in it, and this ......"

"It's a different kind of coffee bean from Geisha in the woods, because the flavor after roasting is not suitable for making espresso, so I used it as a recipe for making milk coffee. In addition, Hokkaido 3.7 milk is rich in milk fat, so it has a stronger texture in terms of viscosity, and it is ...... I find that for most people...... The sweetness of milk is the key to determining the quality of milk coffee...... So ......"

"So you've found the sweet spot of 50 degrees Celsius, right? That's amazing......"

"There...... After all, this time I was competing with the best baristas in the world, and the only thing I could rely on was those coffee beans from Ethiopia......! When the time comes, you ...... And Akemi-chan, will you accompany me to Seoul for this competition?"

"Rest assured, as a loyal supporter of Sakura-no-Sato, I won't miss this event. ”