Chapter 120
After a quick lunch, we headed to a cooking class near our agency.
We were greeted by various baking equipment, mixers, and beverage ingredients neatly arranged in a spacious space.
"Hello! My name is Won Hyun-seo, and I will be helping you prepare Seleste's cafe. Please take care of me~!"
"Please take care of me, teacher! "
"I look forward to it!"
The owner of the cafe we were using as a reality filming location greeted us warmly.
After a brief self-introduction, we got straight to the point.
"Let's see, looking at the information I received in advance······. Six people are drinks, and one is dessert, right? "
"Yes!"
When it was emphasized once again that he was the only one who chose dessert, Ji Yoon-chul, standing next to me, slightly lowered his eyes.
Ji Yoon-chul has been showing a lot of changes in his facial expressions since debut.
"Yes, then would you like to come over here first, Ms. Karis? I have already selected the ingredients that match the menu you have written down, so please go to the designated seat and take a look around."
I went to the first seat and looked at the coffee beans and electric grinder in front of me.
I chose Americano because I thought it was the simplest menu item on the cafe menu.
I was a little confused because there were a lot of machines that looked more complicated than I thought.
'I should have looked it up in advance and decided on the menu.'
I regretted it even more because the person sitting right behind me was Kang Si-yoon.
Kang Si-yoon's menu includes peach iced tea.
He doesn't have to grind it himself; just add commercially available iced tea powder and mix it well with water.
Kang Si-yoon was already humming, as if he knew that he had chosen a very comfortable menu.
"First, let's learn how to use a mixer and grinder."
Every time I visited a cafe, I only thought about having a drink, but I never imagined that the day would come when I would make it.
I gulped when I heard that the grinder needed to be quickly washed with water after each use.
I really have to move without rest.
"First, I will share with you the menu recipe you will make."
I read the paper that said, 'How to make a delicious Americano.'
There were many words I was seeing for the first time in my life.
Tamping, portafilter, group head.
I couldn't have imagined making it on my own without the teacher's detailed explanation.
Because I don't know what kind of destructive results will come into the world.
"My staff and I will go around and give you a detailed explanation. If you get stuck or have any questions while making it, please raise your hand right away!"
I was immediately chosen by the teacher.
He explained that after putting the coffee beans in the grinder, I need to attach the portafilter to the rubber and then tamp it.
"It's not good to just press hard here. You just need to press so that the center of gravity is slightly shifted and the coffee bean is flat and in a straight line."
"It has to be flat······."
"Hahaha, it's hard to hear about this, right? If you try it yourself, you'll quickly understand what it feels like."
After the tamping process was complete, the next step was quite difficult.
The portafilter containing the coffee beans had to be inserted into the group head at the right angle, and the key was to fit it into the groove.
In my head, I thought I could just put it in the groove.
When I actually tried it, I had a hard time because it wasn't fixed firmly.
"You'll have to change the angle and twist it until it clicks into place."
"It's surprisingly difficult."
"Americano is a simple menu, but it's bound to be difficult for beginners. But if you keep doing it, you'll get the feel of it in your hands! Fighting! "
The teacher radiated such positive energy that I developed an unfounded confidence in myself without even realizing it.
After saying that it is better to pour the espresso into the water instead of pouring water on the extracted espresso as a final tip, the teacher went to look after Song Hyung-bin.
I started practicing grinding and tamping coffee beans.
As the teacher said, if you apply too much pressure, the coffee beans will not become flat.
'It's quite embarrassing that it's been rattling like this from the beginning.'
Still, I somehow managed to finish tamping and get to the stage of inserting the portafilter into the group head.
It took another 5 minutes to find the right angle.
I barely managed to down a shot of espresso and wipe the sweat from my forehead.
'You have to wash the portafilter every time you make a cup of Americano. If three people all order Americano at the same time······.'
If I continue to waste time tamping and fixing the portafilter like I am doing now, my fans who ordered my menu will have to wait endlessly.
Such an unfortunate incident must never happen.
The moment I straightened my posture to make Americano again,.
"Tea, teacher, is it supposed to drip like this? "
"Oh, that won't do."
Yoo Minha, who was making espresso, requested emergency help.
I glanced over to the side and saw that espresso coffee was indeed dripping from the machine.
"Usually this happens because you tamped too hard. Did you press the tamper too hard? "
"I think I tried my best to express my passion, hehe."
"If you press too hard, extraction will not occur normally as it is now, so you need to adjust it appropriately."
"Yes!"
Yoo Minha started from the first step again and made espresso.
This time, he tamped it properly, and the coffee came down properly.
"All done! Teacher, can I taste this right away? "
"Sure."
After receiving permission from the teacher, Yoo Minha smiled brightly and brought the first espresso he had made to his lips.
After blowing the hot steam, he took a sip with interest.
"Uwaahhh!"
There was an immediate and heated reaction.
The members who were concentrating hard all turned their heads at the sound of Yoo Min-ha's loud gagging sound.
"Is this really how it is······?"
"Espresso is originally meant to be drunk bitterly."
I stared at Yoo Minha, who was holding onto the table and crying.
"Min-ha."
"Yes?"
"You chose espresso as your commemorative café menu because the café menu you usually enjoy is espresso, right? If so, you should also know that espresso is originally bitter."
"Actu, actually."
At my sharp observation, Yoo Minha made an awkward expression and laughed.
"I'm trying espresso for the first time."
"What?"
"Really?"
"But when you were choosing the menu, you said very boldly that men drink espresso."
"I thought it would sound really cool if I said it like that, so I took on a hot challenge without even realizing it."
"Really?"
After Yoo Minha's espresso swept through the kitchen, we worked hard to become familiar with each menu again.
I also gradually became accustomed to tamping and securing the portafilter as I poured a few more Americanos.
However, the task of washing the portafilter every time was more cumbersome and annoying than I thought.
"Do we have to wash this every time we do it? "
"Hyung, if we just do this, we'll waste all our time."
Chae Eun-gyu and Heo Yu-bin had to clean the inside of the blender thoroughly every time they prepared a menu.
Both the strawberry smoothie and the mint chocolate frappe were on the easy side in terms of difficulty in making them.
It's just that the constant need to wash dishes was annoying.
"Hey, everyone is working hard."
"Siyoon Hyung, I think I might really hit you today! "
"Oh, Yubin hits me; which Earth is this?"
Meanwhile, Kang Si-yoon, who had cleverly chosen peach iced tea, was very relaxed.
This is a super simple task that requires only mixing the powder well without using a blender or grinder.
So Kang Si-yoon spent the remaining time pranking the other members.
At a time when the members who chose the drink were each struggling with their own difficulties.
"······Is it okay to keep stirring like this?"
"Yes, the speed is good now."
At the back of the room, Ji Yoon-chul was trapped in an endless whipping.
We took a break and watched Ji Yoon-chul diligently make mousse cream.
"It's the first time I've seen Yoon-chul frowning like that."
"Yes, that's right."
"It must be really hard."
Ji Yoon-chul, who had worked hard to make mousse cream, followed the teacher's instructions and placed Genoise in the mousse mold.
Then, he carefully poured the pre-made coffee syrup on top.
"That's it. Now, just keep filling the mousse tightly and put it in the fridge for 3 to 5 hours."
"······Does it take that long? "
"It has to be solidified."
"······Wouldn't it be better to change the menu?"
Not only is it difficult to make, but it also takes a considerable amount of time to complete.
Ji Yoon-chul, who was sweating profusely, sighed as he put the cake in the refrigerator.
The teacher, who was watching the scene, nodded while saying something to the reality show production team.
"Mr. Yoon-chul? "
"Yes."
"Since it would be too much trouble and difficult to continue making cakes on the day of the cafe opening, I decided to make the tiramisu cake a day before opening and put it in the freezer. What do you think? Is that okay? "
"······That would be much more comfortable."
"On that day, just take the cake out, sprinkle cocoa powder on top, use a piping bag to simply decorate it, and then put some arazan on it. I'll tell you how to decorate it later! "
Fortunately, Ji Yoon-chul's tiramisu cake also found a breakthrough.
It would be much easier if he could finish the cumbersome process the day before.
After about two more hours of practice, the cooking class ended.
"Thank you for your hard work! Now if you keep practicing repeatedly, you will all be able to make drinks quickly."
"Thank you!"
"It's hard, but it's still fun, right? "
"It has to be done well, no matter what, because it's for the fans."
While preparing the debut song, we also have to practice cooking a commemorative café dish in our spare time.
It must have been a very busy schedule, but the smiles never disappeared from the members' faces.
"Oh, right, right! Let's take a picture and post it."
"Picture?"
"Manager Hyung said that our public tribute will open soon. We need to upload pictures as soon as the public tribute opens, so let's take a lot of pictures in advance."
"Great!"
At Song Hyung-bin's words, everyone gathered together.
The group photo, taken in aprons, gave the impression that Seleste was preparing something.
"Fans will be shocked when they see this."
"They must be wondering what kind of cooking competition these guys are participating in."
"Ha ha ha!"
Chae Eun-gyu burst into laughter.
"I want to see my fans soon."
* * *
Some time has passed since Seleste's official account was created, and group photos of the members began to be uploaded consistently.
Although the members continued to report their survival to the (former) national managers, they were still hoping for some additional news.
There was a time when they endured each day with that hope.
[Seleste Live Broadcast Scheduled!! May 11th 18:00 PM]
A preview of the first live broadcast has been posted.
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