aterat | Practice makes perfect!

Entry tags:

Practice makes perfect!

Who; Yusuke & Haru
What; Practicing cafe skills!
Where; Noble District at the cafe
When; Mid-February
Warnings; None, but would update if something came up

There was, in Yusuke’s opinion, nothing quite like the thrill of discovering and learning a new form of art. Especially in areas he had very little to no prior experience in, so focused on his own. But in getting to know Haru better since her arrival, he found himself becoming quite drawn in to learn more about her own creative endeavors and encouraging her sometimes uncertain forays into them. The cafe being one such exciting project, allowing him to enjoy the often missed excitement of a collaborative project. Helping with the colours, the accents, making sure the overall aesthetic fit Haru’s own while being stylish and well coordinated to those entering.

Really, they both had their own individual way of looking at things and seemed to balance it all out rather well. Keeping it from getting a bit too loud and over the top, while also colourful and fresh.

And after their last conversation, Yusuke had found himself growing a little more intrigued with the other aspects of the business. They had found some books on latte art to study, and talk of lattes had also eventually turned to other decorative things sold at cafes like the treats to go with them. Cupcakes, for instance, seemed a nice starting point as well. Yusuke having had to admit he’d never really tried baking before for obvious reasons, though fascinated by the idea.

So that was how they found themselves in the cafe, with plans to start practicing both before the opening day rolled around.

Baking with Yusuke, Haru would find, was an odd experience overall. The teen was honest when he said he didn’t have much experience outside general meal prep, and his ideas for flavour combinations could be a bit… adventurous…? Probably due to having to get creative with limited ingredients in the past. Still, they eventually had a batch of cupcakes in the oven and had settled at the counter to practice lattes until the cupcakes were done and cooled enough to ice.

“So… If I read the book correctly, the milk should look somewhat similar to wet paint after steaming it?” He mused, rather intrigued by the idea that milk could take on such a consistency and look. At least, he supposed as he dashed some flour off of his sleeve, he would know what to expect it to look like. His eyes turning back to the books spread out across a clean space of counter, he leaned over to look closer. “Then we can try pouring it into the espressos? Oh. We should make those first, I presume.”

Honestly, it was debatable if either of them had thought of just how much caffeine and sugar they might both consume over the course of the afternoon between the practice lattes and cupcake icing.

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For most of her life Haru had paid at least some attention to the various things that went into her father's day to day life. At least as much as she had been permitted to. A part of her had always wished he'd included her just a bit more, but that had never been in the cards. When she'd found out about her grandfather she'd found herself even more regretful towards the things she'd missed out on. She could have learned so very much from him. But that was neither here nor there. Regardless of how little she'd actually been able to ascertain about the process that went into running a shop in the food service industry, she'd at least always assumed it required quite a lot of work.

With this endeavor of her own she'd found that she had greatly underestimated just how much went into things. There were so many little details that she'd simply never accounted for when it came to setting things up. For some reason she'd seemingly completely neglected to think about just how much one might need to even practice making a pleasant looking cupcake and pleasant looking coffee.

It was honestly a bit embarrassing to think about the fact that she'd completely neglected to think about just how important things looking pleasant would be. Which seemed completely ridiculous to her now that she thought about it. Her father went to countless meetings that ran very late on every subject one could possibly imagine when it came to Big Bang. She knew for a fact some of those meetings had dealt with packaging and how to present the food to make it most appetizing. Making something look good was a key component to actually getting someone to buy it. After all who would buy a cupcake that had fallen in with an ugly icing pattern? Nobody. And who would be interested in buying a cup of coffee that looked like something they could make at their own apartment or home? Again, nobody.

And so that line of thinking lead her to being here with Yusuke doing their best to practice baking. Of course Yusuke was....well, Yusuke about it all. His suggestions were bold to say the least. Haru being Haru wasn't able to completely say no to all of them, besides she did want some unique things to stand out with. So, they ultimately ended up with one bold suggestion of his and one rather boring vanilla suggestion by her. It was at least a fairly decent compromise.

Now the real difficult part would begin. "Like paint?" She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully as she began to put a bit of expresso into in the machine. She measured it out very carefully but couldn't avoid getting a bit of flour dust into the espresso. Oh well, it was just for the two of them. It was a learning process after all, so now she knew she needed to be much more thorough in cleaning herself off before she moved on to a new project. "Do we add the sugar first or after? Oh that's a silly question, we'd have to add that first otherwise it would ruin the design."

“Indeed, I don’t think I’ve seen milk look like that… But I am interested to see if the comparison is accurate!” He responded with a tilt of his head as he watched her get the espresso ready, moving about to get a small pitcher of milk to set aside the machine to have easy access to for when it was time to steam the milk. It was a bit funny, the amount of flour still finding a way into things and dusting across the counter from their prior project. Though Yusuke had heard that if you didn’t make some kind of mess in the kitchen, you weren’t doing it right! So perhaps it was like art in that, and it was a good sign.

The question gets a hum, as though Yusuke himself wasn’t entirely sure of the answer. “Oh… You know, I don’t think it’s a silly question? I hadn’t considered it myself until you mentioned it, after all. But I agree. First sounds most sensible to avoid ruining the design.” He added with a smile of agreement, this was all a part of learning, right? Figuring it out as they went along.

"As am I!" Then again she was excited to see how it all might work. The sounds of the expresso machine started to whirl and the smell started to waft throughout the entire shop. At least she'd gotten pretty good at this part and hadn't burned any in a while.

"It always smell so wonderful! Before my attempts at growing coffee back home I'd always strongly preferred tea. After tasting the variety there is in coffee I grew to really appreciate it though!" There was still that slight leaning towards tea, but learning about coffee had been an exciting and quite wonderful new little project for her.

She nodded as he spoke. "And I don't think we're meant to add any sort of sugar to the milk itself as it steams. Though I do know sometimes it tastes sweater than others..."

The smell of coffee in the air was always so pleasant, in his opinion. It almost seemed to make one feel a little more present, even before having that first sip. He leaned on the counter and watched, rather than try to make an espresso himself. The machine wasn’t something he’d learned to use, after all, and Haru was getting quite good at it! “They’re both quite different, after all, but pleasant in their individual ways.” Though he supposed a bad cup of one might send one running to the comfort and familiarity of a good cup of the other, rather than branching out. That was what practice was for, though! “It’s interesting what goes into making a cup of either, really. The ritual of it is quite fascinating. Both require their own kind of care and preparation to make well.” Admittedly, he never realized just how much went into a good cup of coffee until he had started seeing people make it.

“Perhaps the sweetness of the milk is some sort of result of the steaming process?” He thinks he might have read something about it in their books, but some things do still escape when there is so much to remember when learning. The teen makes a note to brush up on that again later, and moves to get the milk and transfer some to a small carafe for easy access once they are ready to steam it.

"Even the sub groups themselves can be quite different! I had no idea there were so many varieties of coffee until recently. Ren accompanied me to a cafe back home that served coffee brewed from beans gathered from elephant dung!" Of course she hadn't exactly told him that before they went. Who would agree to try coffee brewed like that? Haru had been afraid the answer to that would have been nobody and so she kept that tidbit something of a secret. "It was also exceptionally expensive! Only a single cup of Dark Ivory cost six thousand yen!" There was no way she would let Ren pay for that, she had been the one to invite him after all. Still, even she realized how ridiculous the price was. Still, curiosity had kept pushing her towards the place until she eventually convinced someone to accompany her.

"Mmhm, that is quite true! You can brew them both in so many different ways to get so many different flavors." It really was amazing.

"Oh! Perhaps so....I wonder how that works. I guess we'll find out!" The espresso finished and she poured some into two cups. "Alright now for the milk!"

Yusuke’s brows rose. “Elephant dung?” How strange! He’d known there were varieties of coffee, if only from his own stops in to Leblanc and the wide variety of beans spread across the shelf behind the counter… But he certainly had never realized they could be quite so varied! “What a strange method of harvesting it. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of such a thing before!” And so expensive! The teen had to tilt his head a little with some curiosity. “Was it good?” With a price like that, it must have been exceptional, right?

And cafes gave them such interesting options as well for slightly fancier preparations. Lattes like they were working on now, or tea lattes! Yusuke couldn’t really help but wonder what the final menu might look like. By the time it was all said and done. The subject was turning out to be quite fascinating, and he felt like he had been learning quite a bit from Haru herself over the last few months!

“Quite right! We’ll find out if it’s the case soon enough, and should we turn out to have missed something… We can try again!” That was the point of their practice, after all. If need be, he would dig the book out of his bag he had left by the counter. “Hmm… How much milk do we need again?” He asked, picking up the carafe and the small metal pitcher to measure the milk into for Haru. Did they want to do enough milk for both cups, or should they do each separately?

"I'm not surprised! Not many have so you might be surprised to know that there's actually quite a few kinds of coffee made from dung. There's another type called Kopi luwak that's even more expensive, believe it or not. It's made from the dung of creatures called civets. They're terrible adorable little creatures!" That was probably the best part of the entire thing. She tapped her chin thoughtfully at his question and made a 'hmm' as she tried to think of how to describe it. "It didn't taste quite like coffee. I'm not sure if I would say it was bad but...no, I'm afraid I can't say it was exceptional." But she hadn't minded the price

Truthfully she was learning quite a bit about herself in these last few months. Which was the most pleasing aspect of everything that had happened to her since she'd arrived. Learning had been a major goal of hers back home and it was exceptionally wonderful to be able to continue doing so here. "Around 100ml for one cup I believe. So 200ml for us both to have some to try?" Clearly she didn't know if both needed separate or could use the same either.

“I would indeed be, and am, surprised!” He agreed with a wide-eyed expression. Who would have thought that such a thing could be done, and that it be such an expensive and sought after variation of coffee? “Civets? Hm… The little creatures that look similar to racoon and tanuki? How fascinating to think that they too could produce a variation of coffee.” He tilted his head slightly, absently wondering what other creatures might! That said, he frowned a little with disappointment to hear that it wasn’t exceptional of flavour considering the price! “That is a pity. I suppose it’s a more unique experience, then.”

Yusuke wasn’t sure himself what the best method for this would be, but it seemed to make sense that you would steam enough for both cups together so one didn’t go cold while waiting for the other… right? “We shall start with 200ml! Then I suppose if we need to adjust accordingly with our next attempt, we can!” Because even he at least didn’t expect perfection for a start. Measuring out the 200ml into the little metal pitcher. “So we just… put the spout into the milk like so?” He asked, adjusting his old and moving over to the machine.

"Yes! Those are precisely them," she put her hands to her chest in excitement over him recognizing them. "They're very cute aren't they? There's something about the beans going through the digestive system that helps to produce a unique flavor." Or...something like that. Truthfully she wasn't entirely sure how it all worked. Then she also had to acknowledge that few people would want to eat something that comes from dung. Very few people. Understandably so. "I suppose I'm a bit odd for having wanted to experience it." Her shoulders drooped slightly at the realization that it was rather weird of her. "The experience I think is what they charge for. Father used to say that was often the biggest part of people coming to Big Bang. They wanted the experience more than the food itself." In other words people went to Big Bang because it was Big Bang. Not for anything else.

She nodded "Correct. I believe. I think that's what I remember seeing. And what I've seen others do in other coffee shops. Then we just let it whirl and I think you have to work rather quickly with it?"

“They are terribly cute, I admit. To think that such creatures would be able to assist in the production of coffee.” It really was strange to think about, but also quite fascinating! “I rather wonder how people discovered such a thing.” Someone had to figure that out to start doing it in the first place, right?

That said, Yusuke blinked as he caught the slight droop of Haru’s shoulders and frowned lightly at the notion. “Hardly odd! Life is about experiences, and should one have the opportunity to experience something different or unique, I believe they should take it.” He offered a lighter smile. “Otherwise, our lives become rather narrow, don’t they? The more we try to do, the more knowledge we attain to use or be inspired by.” And that was something Yusuke had realized more recently in life, given how little he had experienced himself before joining the phantoms. Though their lives and circumstances had been different, he had the distinct feeling that Haru had a similarly small world to grow in before she joined the group as well. Her father, he supposed, probably had a point as well. One could say going to a fast-food place like Big Bang was an experience in itself, given its theme and all.

“I see… Well! We shall ‘let it whirl’ and make haste- careful haste, to pour it.” He responded with a little flourish of his hand (not the one holding the pitcher, thank goodness) and moved to the machine to try since Haru had already put the effort in of making the espressos. “Like this, correct?”

"Oh!" Her eyebrows raised in excitement at his question. "Allegedly it has something to do with coffee plantation workers being forbidden to use the beans for themselves. Evidently they discovered undigested beans in the excrement's and decided to make use of it. In a way it's something of a sad story." There was something very sad about thinking of people doing such grueling work and then not even being allowed a small portion of their hard work.

"You always seem to have a way of saying the right thing," she smiled very gently at her friends words. He seemed to always understand just what to say to connect straight to what she was feeling. She loved experiencing new things, even if some of them seemed rather odd or silly to others. "I wanted to learn and experience as much as I could about coffee. I figured it would it allow me to better create the perfect cafe."

She nodded as he moved to the machine. "Precisely. Lets give it a whirl!" Literally.

Yusuke frowned at the story. That really was both unfortunate and frustrating to think people should be so unkind to their employees that they resort to something like that. “That’s quite sad, indeed… I suppose that does explain how they discovered it, but sad for anyone to have been put in a position to learn it that way.”

Glad she seemed to feel better by his shared words, he smiled. “I know what it’s like to realize there are things that might be useful to experience for life and our respective passions. Even with my art, I realized how little I know to recognize in the world and how it might hinder creativity.” So they were alike in that sense as well. He wanted to better his art and the subjects he could pull from for it, and she wanted to create the perfect cafe. Different goals that both involved expanding their own life experiences.

“Whirl away!” He grinned, watching as the milk began to swirl in the little metal pitchy. His eyes watching the liquid carefully to make sure it didn’t spill out and to see if its texture changed. Low and behold, it did! “Goodness, it does look like wet paint with that sheen it’s acquired!” He sounded more than a little awed that it had worked and took it as a sign to remove it from the machine. Turning to Haru with an excited expression to show her, and to look for their espressos so they could try.

"Mm, many discoveries have come from sad circumstances like that. It's good to know the history of such things, even if they can be rather depressing." This was a sentiment that had rooted itself deeply within her. If their palaces hadn't been proof even that it was always better to know the history of something as well as the truth of something, then the third semester he'd yet to experience certainly had.

"It really is quite daunting to realize how little we truly do know, isn't it? Though exciting all the same. It means there's a never ending wealth of things we can still make a dent in learning." That was the positive spin she tried to put on it. Just the act of having Persona and learning of the other world alone had opened her eyes to how strange and complex the world was. Even if one thought they understood everything about a subject in the world they could still easily find there were things they lacked.

Haru quickly poured two cups of espresso, managing to only spill a tiny bit onto herself this time. That counted as a vast improvement to other times she'd splashed a larger amount while moving quick. One thing she had realized was that she would have to get faster if she wanted to provide orders in a timely manner. So she'd been working on it. She leaned closer while sliding a cup to him to look. "Oh it does! I kind of want to stick my finger into it..." but she knew that'd be bad. "Alright. You're the artist so I think you should try first!" Time for him to show her what he's made of.

Yes… The third semester he had waiting for him upon his return to their world was certainly going to be something of an experience.

Yusuke nodded, though, at her rather optimistic outlook on the subject of things they didn’t know. “That is a way of looking at it, rather than considering the downsides to what we have not yet come to learn, looking forward to learning it.” He mused thoughtfully, keeping an eye on what he was doing just barely at the idea. “And it has truly been a joy to add to our knowledge. I never realized how pleasant working on something in the kitchen might be beyond necessity.” The company definitely helped, and so did the fact that it was cupcakes and caffeine. Less about making sure you had food in your stomach and more about a fun learning experience for tasty treats.

“As do I, I admit. To think something might look so much like paint and yet be for drinking.” He mused to himself, it was one of those funny thoughts you got when looking at things, he thinks. It would also be odd to work with paint again following this, perhaps. But he eagerly draws one of the espresso cups closer to himself. “You flatter me, but indeed I should very much like to see how this all works.” He responded with a pleased tone, picking up one of the cups and considering how to begin. The books they’d read suggested starting with a blank canvas, pouring some of the milk in for an even colour all the way through… Then starting to pour the design on top of it. “Hmm…” He starts and gets the first step down as he angles the cup carefully. That said, the motion itself and the method are something that definitely needed practice. Yusuke raised a brow slightly as he finally drew the metal pitcher away and set the cup down.

“Hm… I believe we can call this one an ‘abstract’ piece, don’t you?” He added with a slight wince at the blobby looking latte art that definitely didn’t look remotely how one would expect. “I believe this is a technique that will need more than a little practice to get the motions right?” To build up the steadiness and the correct speed, along with the muscle memory.

"I try to not get too wrapped up in looking at the downside of things," she said with a little smile that held just a hint of sadness. The last time she'd allowed herself to get wrapped up in the downside of things she'd isolated herself for a few weeks. It'd been directly after the death of her father and she'd let her head fill with all sorts of terrible thoughts then. Thoughts that she was most certainly better off not revisiting. "I'm glad you're realizing that! Maybe it'll help you to cook a bit better for yourself." Though she couldn't help but wonder if that was just wishful thinking on her part. He'd still have to take time away from his art to go cook and she could swear there were times where he truly did just forget that time moved. Besides, actually cooking a meal would require more than cupcakes and caffeine. Now she wondered if she shouldn't be worried he might end up just cooking nothing but that on repeat...

She tried to watch his movements as carefully as she could though she was fairly certain she lost him somewhere along the way. Her eyes furrowed up and down as she leaned in to look down at the art he'd made.

"Well...it's...got at least some sort of shape to it!" That was the best attempt at positivity she could muster. It wasn't horrible, but he was right that the technique would be something that would need to be worked on. "What were you going for?" He could just claim abstract was precisely what he'd intended to start with and she'd believe him. Honestly, after having watched him she had absolutely no idea how one was supposed to make an actual image. Clearly it was some sort of magic that people figured it out. Still...well, she did want to try herself. Though she was hesitant she picked the metal pitcher up and the second cup she'd left for herself and gave it a try.

The first pour spilled down it a little as she angled the cup a little too much and she blushed ever so slightly. Then she began to try to form a heart. Which came out distinctly like a few lumps of slightly runny foam rather than anything resembling a heart. Lumps with a strange line over them from where she tried to end the design. "Oh dear. You're right. This is definitely going to need practice..."

“I believe it is far easier to get lost in the downsides than it is to focus on the potential positives, so it’s a particular kind of strength to be able to do so.” He responded with a gentle tone, knowing what she meant all too well. It was frustrating, though, regardless of the outlook one chose to take, that one could be faced with such things in the first place. Yusuke does tilt his head slightly, expression slightly comical in a sheepish kind of way as she expressed her hope that he learned to cook a little better for himself. “Perhaps I shall, should I find myself with the ingredients to do so. The creative side to it is most enjoyable.” He responded, though it was never a sure thing with him, considering she was right. He would have to learn to take time away from his art a little more often, and it was far too easy to miss the passage of time! And… she should definitely be worried about him defaulting to caffeine and cupcakes once he got really good at them. It’s a slippery slope! But perhaps with a little luck he could be enticed to learn more different (and less sugary/caffeinated things).

Her best attempt at positivity was still greatly appreciated by the artist, considering the lumpy-looking art in the latte he’d just poured out. “I was attempting the classic tulip shape you see on lattes. I thought it would be good to start with something simple to build up the technique! But…” He winced, “I think it looks more like some ghastly apparition, doesn’t it?” Maybe it was an omen. People read tea-leaves, right? Maybe there was something to be said for misshapen latte art!

He falls silent though as Haru takes her first try at it, watching with curiosity to see if she can perhaps be a little more successful than himself. He does very subtly grab a dish towel from the other counter to set strategically next to them as some of her cup spilled over when she adjusted the angle a bit too far. He isn’t going to draw attention to it! But perhaps the action also is a kind of drawing attention to it… The point stands that he was trying to be helpful!

As her own lumpy designed latte joins the counter next to his, he lets out a small sigh. “It truly is! I have a newfound appreciation for people who do this so flawlessly. But I’m sure they all started where we are now.” He offered, trying his own attempt at positivity! “And we do have ample time and materials with which to practice till we get better at it!” At least until the oven timer goes off, perhaps.

“That's...sadly very true," for a second there was a tiny frown on her face, though it quickly lifted with what he followed up with. "Thank you. I do really appreciate you saying so. I know some people can see it as a bit silly or even irritating that I try to be positive." But oh well to them. There was nothing wrong with being positive and she really shouldn't have to be worried about what others thought. Yet it was often so difficult to not take what others thought to heart. "If you do, please do show me! You could even send me a message through the relic!" And there was a 50/50 chance she'd actually see it and know how to properly respond.

"Oh! Well...it's a lovely ghastly apparition at least..." That was probably not how you comfort someone into thinking that their tulip didn't look like a mushy ghastly apparition. It was hard to deny that it did look a little bit like that though. "Perhaps it's a sign that you should stretch your artistic talent further. A tulip might just be a bit too beginner level for you." There, she was trying to find the positive side of things again.

For her part she greatly appreciates the towel that he got, it means less cleaning up to do and also, as silly as it may be, it implies they might have started to get quite a bit more comfortable with one another. "Thank you," she shakes her head at the little spill. Alas, it seemed as though that was her lot in life: spilling thing. "I bet they did! They probably were just as bad as we were." Oh she put a hand to her mouth in a tiny gasp. "Oh! Not that I'm saying we're bad! Just a bit...not amazing."

“Think nothing of it!” He grinned. After all, it was true. There was nothing wrong with a little positivity. Getting too caught up in the hopelessness of a negative thought or idea would only hinder someone by comparison. It was something Yusuke knew he sometimes got a little too focused on himself with his art, when one bad opinion planted doubt and thoughts could spin on in a negative spiral if no clear answer to improve presented itself. “If I do, I shall certainly reach out to show the results of my attempt!” He smiled lightly at the idea. Whether Haru responded with the tellphone or not, her suggestion was appreciated. Even if said results were… questionable in the taste or health department, he would be proud of the attempt and the picture would probably be well framed!

‘A lovely ghastly apparition.’ Haru’s very sweet and positive reaction should probably have been expected, and it WAS helpful! Well, at least to Yusuke it was. It was hard to say if anyone else would see it that way. Turning the cup this way and that, he observed the pattern with a thoughtful expression. “It does have a certain unique personality to it, even if it’s not as intended. Perhaps I shall draw inspiration from it later.” He mused, finally setting the cup down once he’d committed its appearance to memory. As Haru continued, though, he hummed lightly. “That is a very kind assessment. Perhaps you’re right! Maybe I just need to push the boundaries of latte art a little!” No, Yusuke, no, you don’t.

Even if their ‘team up’ was a newer thing, it really had seemingly gotten more coordinated and organized as time went on! Yusuke would agree, and perhaps they made an excellent (if slightly whimsical) team! “You’re quite welcome!” The teen responded, setting the towel nearby in case they needed it again. “Of course we’re not bad.” He agreed with a little gesture at their lattes before he continued. “We have a good foundation and have already mastered the espresso and the steamed milk! We simply need to… Refine our technique slightly!”

And hey, at least they made the best ghastly apparition latte art that Aterat had ever seen already! It meant they were ready for next Halloween.

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Practice makes perfect!

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