A Double Shot of Ghosts by Alyn Troy

Author:Alyn Troy [Troy, Alyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-29T16:00:00+00:00

14

“The first two had strong earthy aromas,” I said. “The third was more caramel and smoke.”

“Possibly the last one I roasted,” Kyle said. “When we’re done, we’ll check the cup bottoms and line the numbers up with the roasting order.”

“You were correct,” Vivian said and took her seat. “I was a frightful mess. No reason to let Gaspar see me like that.” She glanced around. “Is he still here?”

“Right next to you,” I said and pointed to her right side. “This is weird. I’ve never played matchmaker for a ghost and a mortal.”

“Silly madame,” Pierre said. “Pierre said you wasted your time always chasing after Fedimore.”

“She did indeed,” Niles said.

“Ready to taste?” Io asked. His phone chirped to signal the end of the timer. “How?”

“Take a spoon.” I pointed at the others resting in a mug of leftover hot water from the kettle. “Then do what Kyle does.”

“First, lean in and inhale.” Kyle demonstrated after he spoke. “Dip your spoon in gently. Don’t dislodge any of the grounds in the bottom. Try to find familiar fragrances in the aroma.”

Io still looked confused.

“Just follow along,” Kyle said. “I will go first and share my thoughts on this one.” He leaned in and sniffed again. “Earthy. Forest soil after a rain. Just a hint of smoky air.” He dipped his spoon in and filled about half of its volume from the top of the bowl. “Remember, don’t go deep into the cup. Just skim the top. Now I’ll slurp.”

He held the spoon up to his pursed lips and sucked in a breath. Io and Punkin laughed.

“He’s trying to aerosolise the liquid,” I said. “Helps spread it out across the tongue to impact more taste buds.”

“And it helps give another sense of the aroma. Taste and aroma go hand in hand.” Kyle dipped his spoon, then slurped again. “A bit of cinnamon… and perhaps apple.” He waved me towards the bowl. I repeated the ritual.

“I agree on the aroma,” I said, then took my slurp. I let it roll around my mouth, trying to get the initial taste, then paid attention to how it finished on my tongue. “Pears, not apples.”

“Everyone is different,” Kyle said.

I stepped back and waved Elain up. She followed right along with good technique. “Earthy, with pears and… caramel.”

“See? Everyone has a different palate.” Kyle waved Io up. “We’ll take the scents and tastes we agree on and write them on the summary sheet for this roast.”

Io tried the sniff test.

“Coffee,” he said. “I smell coffee.”

“A good start,” Pierre called from the other table. His fluffy head protruded from the T3 bag to watch us. “The Bentwhistle woman would agree.”

“Hush, Pierre,” Vivian said.

Io slurped his coffee and coughed into his elbow.

“Don’t breath deep when you slurp, and a little less on the spoon,” Kyle said.

“Care to try, Vivian?” I held out the last unused spoon.

“Oh, I best not.” She shook her head. “I’ve been most unsettled since the death of Gaspar and Niles. I best stick with tea.”

“The noises your body has made have kept Pierre from sleeping the last two nights,” the Pomeranian called.

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