Chapter 57: Winter Menu

The next morning, it was shopping time. They needed their own spices, for one, and also to replace what he had taken from Ella. A trip to a tea supplier took another chunk of time, but provided Arthur with several blends of tea that the merchant assured him were popular wintertime choices.

There was also the matter of getting samples of preserved fruit, which ended up being just a matter of making friends with Tandy, the young wolf-demon preserver who ran a surprisingly large underground depot of the various canned goods.

“So back to the house, now?” Lily asked, rubbing her arms to warm up.

“Yeah. There’s only so much daytime left. We can work on some combinations there, and hopefully get it right.”

Arthur grabbed the handle of the wagon, towing it along behind him as they took to the streets once again.

“It’s too bad there’s no time to test. You never know what people are going to like.”

Arthur froze in his tracks as Lily’s words sunk in.

Isn’t there time, though? We could test if we just…

“Change of plans. We are going to the shop. Or I am. Are you up to doing a bit of shopping on your own? It’s the same stuff we’ve bought before.”

Lily puffed herself up. Arthur suspected that she thought it made her look older.

“I can do it. No problem.”

Arthur withdrew several coins from his pouch and gave them to her, along with the kinds of things he wanted her to buy. She nodded and ran off at a full sprint. He smiled, shook his head, and walked towards the shop, sure that she’d be back before he was ready if her shopping trip went well.

Once at the shop, he unloaded the wagon, tucked it off to the side of the shop, and went inside to the storage area. After a few minutes of work with some string, an unused plank of the thin wood he had used for his sign and a can of paint, he had the first part of his plan complete. He walked back out to the front of the shop, hanging the sign in plain view of any passers-by.

Coldfall Festival Experiment Day!

Arthur’s Boba shop is working on a new menu that fits better with the cold weather. We have all sorts of new ingredients, new ideas, and new plans for drinks we’d like to make. The only thing we don’t have is a way to test them. That’s where you come in.

All day today, we are working with our new ingredients in every combination that we can think of. The good news for you is that today only, all drinks are free so long as they are made with the ingredients we are testing.

So come in and warm up! Let’s make some recipes together.

Lily got there shortly after, out of breath, sweaty, and gripping a burlap shopping bag like it held a priceless treasure.

“You got it?”

“Yes. They did know the word molasses after all. And I got a few other syrups.”

“Good. Let’s get cracking, then. People will be here sooner than we think.”

Arthur got water boiling and whipped up a big batch of boba dough in record time, mixing different lumps of it with various ingredients he had just bought. Some of the pearls were spiced, some carried the mellow sweetness of the molasses Lily had bought, and others had the canned fruit folded in. He pushed them all through Milo’s machine, getting enough of each to last him through the day.

He held off on brewing any tea, just yet, despite getting water boiling in his largest kettle. Hot tea was a different prep game in that regard. After a few quick measurements to mix some spice blends, he was ready to go.

“Who do you think will show up first? My bet’s on the rabbit-woman.”

“Her name is Sylva, Lily. And good guess. My money is on Pico, though. He’s going to be out and about on a festival day. And I think he gets cold easily. He hates drafts.”

It wasn’t either of them, as it turned out. The first customer was the only person in the city who Arthur didn’t have the heart to experiment on.

“Eito, you have to stop this.” Lily laughed. “Why do you let Karbo do it to you? Do you really drink that much?”

“I don’t.” Eito tried to straighten up and preserve a bit of his dignity, failed, and ended up slumping over with about as much visible health as a waterlogged home and gardens magazine. “I can’t handle my liquor. He thinks it’s funny. And for some reason I always tell myself I’ll stop at one. I…”

Eito tried to gather himself, visibly sweating at the effort. Arthur finally had pity on him.

“Lily, leave him alone before he yells at you. Eito, I’ll get your tea.”

—

As Arthur slowly re-hydrated Eito, other customers started to filter in. Spiky had taken the day off from the library, and ordered a spiced tea, spiced boba, and milk. Sylva showed up, trying the peach-like fruit and syrup in milk with the molasses boba. Customers filtered in and out, trying different permutations of the possibilities Arthur had laid out on the counter.

“So this seems to be going well.” Ella sat down at the counter next to Milo when they finally found their way to the shop. “I approve, by the way. Maybe not of you working on your day off, but experimenting with customers is always the best if you can find a good way to do it.”

“Mom, he’s hardly working. Look at him. He’d sleep here if he could. This and spending time with Mizu are the only things he likes doing.”

“Where is she, by the way? I hardly see her anymore.”

“She stays busy with her own things,” Arthur said. “She comes by the shop a lot, but besides that, I think she likes working with her water.”

“Well, tell her to come by for dinner. And find out what she wants to eat. I’m not going to embarrass myself in front of that girl.”

“I will. Now, pick some stuff to drink. I need to get this all hashed out.”

“Give me this citrus with the spiced boba in…” Ella bent down and smelled a few of the teas, selecting the very darkest, smokiest blend she could. “And spice it. With something heavy.”

“You don’t think that will be too much?”

“Oh, probably. But you can’t find special things without taking chances. Milo, you order something odd too.”

“What if I want something normal?”

“Just help your friend. I’m sure it will be fine.”

Ella’s judgement paid off as her drink turned out to be just fine. It was strong, sure, but when Arthur tasted it, he found that it was the kind of drink people would enjoy, even despite the combination of powerful flavors.

“And of course mine is gross.”

“Why did you mix the citrus and the melon if you didn’t want that? Your fault, kiddo.”

“Look, not all of us have special food powers, okay? I’d like to see either of you figure out what type of iron to use on a knife.”

“Are they that different?” Arthur asked.

Milo slumped a little in his seat, defeated.

“No, dammit. It’s pretty much all just the same.”

—

“Are we headed home?” Lily asked.

By the time Arthur’s supplies ran out, the customers had covered almost every plausibly good mix of tea, boba flavors, and preserved fruit he had, giving him a good sense of where he was headed next. Letting them decide what was worth keeping had also been a boon. Since he had his tastes and they had theirs, there were quite a few surprise winners that he wouldn’t have picked himself, including a few he personally thought were terrible but that the customers mostly agreed were great.

Good food is good food, but local taste is different than Earth. Probably something I should remember for the future.

“You are. I have just a few more things to do,” Arthur said.

“I can stay, Arthur. And help.”

“Nothing to help with. Besides, I want it to be a surprise for the morning.”

Lily nodded, then yawned. “I guess it has been a long day. Should I save you some dinner?”

“Yes, please. Do that.” As Lily left, Arthur ducked into his back storeroom. During the set-up of the shop, there had been plenty of extra fasteners, materials, and other stuff they had used to spruce up various parts of the store. There were also a few things that he knew he’d need in the future and had just bought duplicates of so he wouldn’t have to run out and buy them on short notice.

Big, thin sheets of wood were the second kind of thing. He pulled one out of a small stack leaning up against the wall, deciding it was about the right size. He covered it all over with white paint, then went to work with some light blue he had fully forgotten he had, trimming in the body of the menu into a large rectangle before separating it out into different sections.

The previous menu had been good, but Arthur had run into enough confusion from the customers to know they had never entirely grasped the mix-and-match nature of boba menus in general. He was fixing that now.

Arthur’s Boba

Welcome to Arthur’s Boba! Our Boba drinks are meant to cater to your tastes. To order, first pick what tea you’d like, then whatever add-ins you need for the perfect drink.

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Teas:

Wyvwind (Light, Pepped)

A lighter tea for those who want the other ingredients in the drink to be front and center. Wyvwind is slightly floral and especially clear-flavored despite its unobtrusiveness. Don’t be fooled, though. Wyvwind is the highest-pep tea in the shop.

Fulgur (Dark, Pepped)

Umbra’s sharper, stronger-flavored brother. In terms of flavor, it’s the second-strongest tea we carry and hits hard with plenty of pep. It’s perfect for those who want a storm of strong, distinct flavors, but tones down nicely when mixed with cream.

Umbra (Dark, Pepped)

Dark, smoky, and strong-flavored. This is a round-bodied, smooth drinking tea and carries a heavy pep to wake you up on cold mornings. It’s especially good spiced!

Xylee (Light, Unpepped)

As our lightest flavored blend, xylee is perfect for people who want to taste other ingredients first, or those who are looking for something incredibly light and airy to relax with.

Coalfog (Spiced, Unpepped)

A supremely dark smoked tea, Coalfog is only for those who want the very strongest of flavors. It doesn’t have pep, but it hardly needs it. The taste will wake you up all on its own.

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Fruit Milks:

Fruit Milks combine the best fruits in the city with heavy, rich milk. They can be paired with teas or enjoyed as their own base.

Pick up to three:

Snowberry

Woodmelon

Field Fruit

Sweetberry

Roundgroves

Night Citrus

Trysan Fruit

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Boba:

Boba is the foundation of every drink at Arthur’s Boba Shop. We offer flavors to pair with any type of drink, adding chewy joy to every sip.

Standard Boba (chewy, filling, and neutral flavored)

Sweetberry Boba (Infused with sweetberry juice. Great for adding sweetness to a dark drink or making a fruit milk even sweeter.)

Berry Boba (A mixture of your favorite berries cooked into every pearl. Gives drinks a slight acidic bite to complement the sweetness.)

Ella’s Spiced Boba (A strong but well-balanced blend of stand-out spices that cuts through even the strongest tea flavors with a powerful kick of flavor.)

Lily’s Spiced Boba (A light-flavored mixture of the warmest, most mellow spices. Great for adding comfort to a drink in a way that blends well with almost every flavor.)

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Remember! Arthur’s Tea Shop is glad to recommend some of our favorite combinations if you feel overwhelmed. We are here to help!