Coffee or tea?

[somakemelaugh]

who: Undertaker and Akihiko
what: Foodies and drinks
when: The night of the 5th
where: The coffee shop
warnings: None so far


These days, his was the opening shift at the shop, and while a few of his coworkers had turned up their noses at it, it was a shift Undertaker was only all too happy to take. The earlier the shift, the sooner its end, and it still left him time in the evenings to do as he pleased or needed. His own sleep schedule had returned to something more normal for him, and as a morning person who once rose early to tend to the dead and make them look more alive, he now rose early to tend to the living to keep them from looking so dead.

Funny how that worked out, but he liked it well enough. The cookie and coffee smell of the shop was just as pleasant to him as was the formaldehyde and lumber in his parlor back home, though he was sure the customers liked the former much better. He had been entrusted with helping to open in the mornings, and part of his tasks was to set up a selection of pastries and cookies and muffins for the day that rotated on a weekly basis. There were recipes to follow, though he'd had a time in reading them. They were tasteful and suitable, he supposed, after having sampled them himself, but they seemed lacking and ultimately he had given them a twist of his own - a little extra cinnamon here, a touch of nutmeg there. He'd heard no complaints. Why would they? Customers seemed to like them well enough.

The teas, he could handle a few of the flavors, though they also seemed a little bland. There was less to work with where they were concerned to change the flavor and the steeping process was automated for some of them, of which he was no fan. But he was here for the long term, for what he could see. The city wasn't letting him go any time soon and he needed better income than what his second job provided him. Given that his second job had no work, essentially, the coffee shop was now his only real employment. He had time to play around with the tea and customers enough to ask for their preferences. One day he would perfect it.

Comments

[pulledpunches]

Akihiko suspects he wouldn't be quite such a caffeine hound if he'd not had to deal with Shadows for years; he's such a health nut otherwise that one would think he'd be more against slamming back multiple cups of crappy drip coffee than he is. But you gotta make things work when you're up through the night after the Dark Hour reviewing what information you had, and still get up in time for class. What that boils down to is a nice little caffeine addiction that he's not kicked since arriving in Riverview (he's also not been able to kick waking up with a start if he's not already awake before midnight, but that's beside the point).

So, he's been slowly making his way around town to try to decide what shop is going to be his new favorite. He stops into the newest target, bell sounding softly as he pushes open the door. It seems the barista is currently absent, but he also came just after opening- he figures they might still be stocking for the day. That's fine by him, it gives him some time to take in the menu and try to decide what he's going to try. Akihiko doesn't actually have any sense of refinement in his tastes; if he had to order without an option to point at he'd be absolutely lost. He's either drinking whatever is plain and black out of convenience, or picking fancy fun flavors blindly. Maybe one day that will add up to him knowing a thing about drinks, but currently it just means he knows the pumpkin spice fad is absolutely worth it.

[somakemelaugh]

Well, that was only a slight bother. The doorbell chimed to announce the arrival of a new potential customer, or perhaps one of his coworkers coming in to start their shift. Either way, his tea experiments would need to wait.

"Coming, coming!" he called pleasantly as he tightened the apron he wore as part of his uniform and moved back through the door to staff area in the dining room. What he saw there pulled a little more of a grin from him than usual. He knew that face, for as little detail as he could actually see of it. Once upon a time, he'd met the same person over the network and then in person after a restless stroll around the city. "Ah, I remember you. Can't say I've seen you here before, but I suppose there's a first for everything. Come to try one of our drinks this morning or will something from the bakery do it for you?"

[pulledpunches]

"Take your time," Akihiko replied idly, not immediately looking away from the menu. When he realizes that the other has come out after a moment, he glances over with a polite smile ready before a more sincere one takes it's place with surprised recognition. While it seemed the name Undertaker made it seem funny

"Oh, hey there! Yeah, it's my first time in." He laughs a little awkwardly, having not actually finished his ruminations over what to try out. Humming in thought to buy himself a bit more time, he adjusts the cuff of a glove before shrugging. "A drink would be fantastic- what do you suggest?" A more extreme hunt for highest caffeine content will come on a later date, for now he can find out if there's any specialties.

[somakemelaugh]

"A drink it is, then." But what to choose? Oh, he had a few favorites from the menu, even some that he had managed to take a liking to without dressing it up any in his own style. On the wall behind him, right over the register where it was hung for customers to easily view, was the shop's full selection of drinks set in what he supposed was a nice lettering. He had never been able to see it but the customers never complained. There were other, smaller menus on take away brochures for the shop that he had been able to read and take note of, and he'd made his familiarities with the selections from that instead.

He didn't bother turning around to look at the menu with Akihiko as he considered what suggestions he could make. "The earl gray is rather nice, but it does need a touch of honey. I'm also fond of the black tea with blueberries. That, I'll drink with or without the extras, but I can make you anything you like."