Coffee Beans

Coffee Critique

The mug clinked onto the counter and Ellie opened the till, dropping the coin into its appropriate slot. "Let me know if you like it; I could do with a critique of my coffee-making skills."

Robin held in a laugh as she tried not to spit her coffee out. "This is my first latte. My first coffee was yesterday. I'm nowhere near qualified to give a critique." She sat down on the table nearest to the counter. No-one else was in the coffee shop, but then it was now closing time so it made sense that the place would be empty.

Ellie walked over and sat down opposite. "But that's the reason why you're so good to talk to," she paused for a moment, both avoiding each other's line of sight.

"You're trying these coffees for the first time so you aren't numb to their taste. You'll be able to tell the difference between good and bad coffees that I make because they'll be all you've ever tasted. Does that make sense?" Ellie re-tied her hair into a tighter ponytail, half-smiling at Robin.

The blonde took a sip of the latte and closed her eyes, wrapping her hands around the steaming mug. "That sort of makes sense. So am I your official coffee-testing guineapig?"

Ellie shrugged and felt her cheeks begin to burn. "I don't know, it's just a crazy idea. You don't have to if you don't want to. Like I said, just an idea." She went back over to the coffee machine, cleaning the pipe that was used for steaming milk.

"Don't be ridiculous," Robin said. "I want to help; it'll make us even for how kind you were to me yesterday. If you won't take my money, then I'll have to repay you through tasting every single coffee on your board."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked, sitting back down at the table. "I was sort of joking but at the same time, it really would help me out."

Robin nodded and downed the rest of her coffee. "It'll be my honour," she said, a cheeky glint in her eyes.

"Ok then. Come in whenever is best for you and I'll give you a different coffee to try each time. We can then talk about what was good or bad about it and I can make adjustments. Does that work for you?" Ellie took Robin's mug over to the sink and began rinsing it out.

"No need to make it sound like a school essay but yeah, that works for me." She headed for the door but stopped, her hand resting on the handle. "Is tomorrow ok with you?"

Ellie nodded, no words able to find their way out of her mouth.

The door closed behind the mysterious blonde and Ellie let out a heavy sigh. "See you tomorrow."