A Beauty With Multiple Masks

Chapter 22

Vinson wanted to speak up but Arielle shot him a look before she replied with a meaningful smile, “Very well. Challenge accepted!”

Shandie was momentarily taken aback but recovered quickly with a smirk. “Good! Let’s do it. Right here, right now!”

Cindy was not idling away in the gallery either as she went over to hash things out swiftly with the organizers, after which two coffee tables were moved onstage and equipped properly.

Vinson looked a tad apprehensively at Arielle who remained silent throughout.

Once the host saw that both of them are ready, he said, “Ladies, you may begin.”

Shandie burst into action the moment his voice trailed off.

The first step to creating latte art was, of course, to prepare the espresso which had to be hand-brewed by the participants themselves.

The assiduous Shandie weighed up fifteen grams of coffee beans and fed them into the grinder with tremendous refinement.

She was surprised to see Arielle appearing quite competent when she stole a glance over, as though the latter actually knew what she was doing.

Arielle had fluidly set up the paper filter inside the filter holder before she raised the kettle to pour the boiling water in, clockwise and in a circular movement.

Shandie was unable to contain herself when she observed that, noting that this was something only professional brewers would know. Pouring clockwise would allow for the filter to adhere better to the

holder, and at the same time, eliminate the starchy taste from the paper and warm up the receptacle. The resultant would be a much more flavorful cuppa.

It was easy to tell from Arielle’s understanding of this coupled with her deft gestures that she knew how to make coffee.

How can it be possible for this country girl to know how to brew?

In spite of her certainty that she was not hallucinating, Shandie was completely bamboozled. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Isn’t Arielle from the countryside?

Shandie remained stumped for some time before she pinched herself hard and turned her focus back to the task at hand.

Brew it!Even if Arielle knows how to make coffee, will she be able to do latte art?

Shandie took a deep drawl in a bid to settle herself and resume her own work.

Traditional pour-over coffee required two infusions of water, after which an aromatic cup would be ready

Shandie quietly chuckled when she saw Arielle still awaiting her second infusion while she herself was already done, and dismissed Arielle’s knowledge as something the latter must have picked up from a stint at a coffee shop.

Shortly after, Arielle completed her brewing as well, and in response, the host communicated that they could both proceed with the creation of their latte art.

Compared to brewing, the latte art was the real litmus test.

The creation of latte art required the use of whole milk, and each person needed to conceive their theme before they began.

Maintaining an elegant smile, Shandie was first to speak, “My chosen theme is: A Snow-Covered Cottage in Freezing Weather…”

When the microphone came to Arielle, she paused before replying staidly, “Mine will be: The Bloom of a Thousand Pear-Flowers Ushered Forth by the Night Breeze of Spring.”

Shandie twitched her lips upon hearing Arielle similarly reciting a verse from classical poetry.

Is this little b*tch trying to be pedantic like me? How many years did she spend in school?I am, of course, an arts graduate from the University of Avenport.

Shandie scoffed at the thought of Arielle’s proposed theme in the assumption that the latter was only going to put together a few pear-flowers, and went on to

concentrate on shaping out her own designs with the whole milk.

First, Shandie covered the top of the coffee with froth from the whole milk, and then employed the use of latte art pen to tease out a snow-capped mountain and a little wooden house upon it.

At a glance, it did foster the feel of A Snow-Covered Cottage in Freezing Weather.