Page 66 of September
“You like sweetness, do you?” Gwen asked him.
Juliet leaned over then and whispered, “He’s married and knows I’m gay.”
Gwen smiled at how obvious she was being more than at Juliet’s words.
Michael cleared his throat and said, “In the early stage, the roast might not smell like coffee, but don’t worry about that. With an espresso roast, it takes a little longer to extract more of the body and the coffee’s sweetness. This pushes the sugar development further, which is how you can achieve that extra sweetness in the espresso’s flavor. I tend to go for espresso myself.”
Michael went on to show them the roaster and explain the by-product of roasting called chaff, which was part of the coffee cherry that contained a lot of nitrogen and got used as compost after it was removed.
“The coffee beans expand as they heat up because they are taking on more energy. When they can no longer take on any more energy, the reaction turns exothermic.” Michael pointed to something, but Juliet had just taken Gwen’s hand, so Gwenwasn’t paying attention. “This is a key time as the coffee starts to develop sugars and oils, which is what it needs to get the flavor of espresso. It’s also an important time to adjust the heat.”
Michael went on to talk about heat, pressure, and cracking sounds, but all Gwen could think about was Juliet’s hand in hers as Juliet’s thumb grazed the outside of her palm. She swallowed when Juliet’s hand slipped out of hers, only to be placed on the small of her back under the T-shirt she’d put on after changing out of her dress. Thankfully, Juliet’s hand wasn’t visible to Michael, who was still explaining the bean monitoring process, which was a thing, apparently, and the optimal colors and development level of… something. Gwen couldn’t care less that she had only caught every other word, at most, and when he started talking about the cooling process, she felt anythingbutcool.
When it came to roasting the coffee, there wasn’t much for them todo, really. The beans mostly did the work on their own, and Michael showed them how they cooled the beans once they’d been roasted. Then, he explained about the gas the beans contained and how they needed time to eliminate that gas before the beans were brewed into a cup of coffee.
“My coffee has gas?” Gwen asked, laughing a little.
Juliet’s hand moved away from her back as Juliet joined her in laughter, but Gwen moved closer to her side and took Juliet’s hand back.
“Yeah. You’ll want to wait seven to ten days before you grind it up and drink it,” Michael replied. “It will be cooling for a bit. Want to have a cup of somethingelsewhile you wait? We’re tasting a batch of our new autumn roast tonight before we all head home.”
“What’s in an autumn roast?” Gwen asked.
“It’s a blend,” Juliet explained. “Mainly, some cinnamon and nutmeg flavors, the stuff that’s popular this time of year.”
“Then, yeah, sure. Can we?”
“Anything for Juliet,” Michael replied with a smile.
“Anything?” Gwen whispered to Juliet as the guy turned to walk away.
Juliet turned until she was facing Gwen and said, “He knows we’re on a date. He’s just a nice guy, okay?”
“Did you introduce him to his wife or something? He, like, loves you,” she noted.
“No, but I got him a job here after he got out of prison when no one would hire him.”
“Prison?”
“Drugs. Not murder, Gwen.”
“How did you–”
“Michael was living on the street. I used to walk by him on the way to the office, and we got to talking. He’d just gotten out of prison on possession charges, and I suggested he interview with us and got him some interview clothes from a thrift store. He’s been clean since he went away and is now a master roaster here. He met his wife. They have a baby on the way. So, the reason he’s so nice to me has nothing to do with him wanting to sleep with me.”
“You saved the guy’s life,” Gwen replied.
“I just got him an interview and a cheap suit. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Jules, it’s a huge deal. He’s successful because you gave him a chance when no one else would. He’s married now and about to be a dad. That’s huge.” Gwen smiled at her. “You’re kind of amazing, aren’t you?”
“Let’s catch up with him. I think you’ll like the autumn blend. It’s what we use in the caramel apple drink you had.”
Hand in hand, they walked into a different part of the warehouse, where Michael showed them how the beans were ground for tasting to determine whether they were ready to beshipped to the stores. They waited as the coffee brewed, and Gwen relaxed into Juliet’s side. Minutes later, Michael poured each of them a small cup of coffee, and they waited patiently as it cooled before Gwen took her first sip.
“Damn. This is good,” she noted. “Is it because it’s that fresh?”
“That’s one of the reasons, yes, and it does make a big difference. When you’re buying your coffee at a grocery store, though, odds are it’s probably too old to be really good.”
