Chapter 5 Fives

Thursday arrived, and after the meeting in Taipei, it was just before seven o'clock. Before the last flight took off, I sat in two cafes and still couldn't find Irish coffee. If I'm a cautious person as she said, then I probably wouldn't do crazy things. Is it possible for me to miss my flight on purpose for Irish coffee? Yes, she was right. For two weeks in a row, I flew back to Tainan without Irish coffee. When the third week came, it was already November, and the nights in Taipei began to turn cold. I dropped the "Yeats" business card at the airport when I was about to shell out for a plane ticket.

Suddenly I remembered the poem written by the British poet Auden in memory of Yeats: "Crazy Ireland stabbed you into poetry". Yeats, Ireland, Irish coffee, the girl who made Irish coffee, are poetry. I decided not to be a cautious person and stayed tonight to find the warmth of Irish coffee. Same as last time, kill time in Eslite first. I finished reading the popular online novel "The First Close Contact". The author, ruffian Cai, is an idiot, so I wouldn't spend money on books for him to earn royalties. When it was almost 12 o'clock, I followed the address on the business card and came to "Yeats".

I pushed open the store door, walked directly to the bar without looking back, and sat down. The girl kept watching me with a smile, and didn't even have time to say "Welcome". "Would you like some tea or coffee?" "coffee. 』 "What kind of coffee would you like?" "Irish coffee. 』 The girl did not take out the Menu, and we completed this conversation in a tacit understanding. "You have to pay attention." The girl took out an Irish coffee cup and put it on the table, then chose the coffee beans. "Irish coffee doesn't specify which coffee beans to use. I think both Blue Mountain and Mandheling are fine. But Mandheling is the best, and it should be stronger. This is my experience."

The girl explained it very carefully, but I seemed like a good student who concentrated on listening to the class, but I didn't copy notes. "Although Espresso is very strong, it is not suitable. It will make the color of Irish coffee a bit cloudy and the aroma will be reduced." While making the coffee, she took out the whiskey bottle and slowly poured the whiskey into an Irish coffee mug, Just cut the first gold line near the bottom of the cup. Her attentive look reminded me of the chemistry experiment in which concentrated sulfuric acid was poured into a beaker in high school.

"The whiskey must be Irish whiskey." "Why? 』I finally couldn't help my curiosity. "How can Irish coffee use other kinds of whiskey? It doesn't live up to its name." "Just for this reason? 』 "You really are a careful and cautious person. Well, it deserves a round of applause." She clapped her hands three times, and went on: "Of course the most important reason is not this." "General whiskey has a peaty smoky flavor, such as the most famous Scotch whiskey. But when this smoky flavor is mixed with coffee, it will steal the aroma of coffee."

She stopped and looked at me with a faint smile on her lips. "What's wrong?Why did you suddenly stop talking? 』 "You are a careful person, you should ask "why" next." "it is good. ’ I thought it was fun, and asked, ‘Why is there a smoky smell? 』 "Good question. Because whiskey is mainly made of barley, it is distilled twice. During the distillation process, in order to dry the malt, it will be smoked with peat, so the wine often has a smoky taste." "Irish whiskey is different, it only has a strong aroma of barley and no smokiness."

She took another glass, poured some Irish whiskey, and handed it to me. "Although the taste of the wine is lighter, the aroma of the wine is more mellow. When combined with coffee, the aroma is more attractive." I took a sip, the taste was mild and the alcohol was very smooth. "In fact, the word "Whis+ky" is also derived from Irish, which means "water of life". Since the 12th century, Irish people have used grains to make distilled alcohol. It was later spread to Scotland, and then slowly evolved into today's whisky." She then took out a copper cup holder and leaned the Irish coffee cup at about a 45-degree angle.

Facing the bottom of the cup belly, there is a small alcohol seat. Add two teaspoons of brown sugar to the whiskey, ignite the alcohol, and slowly heat the whiskey over low heat. Swirl the glass while burning, so that the glass is heated evenly and the sugar is melted into the whiskey. During the process of baking the cup, she held her breath and concentrated on it, not daring to be careless in the slightest. Before the whiskey in the glass was about to burn, she quickly removed the glass and put out the alcohol. Then pour the freshly brewed strong hot Mandheling coffee up to the second golden line near the upper edge of the cup.

After confirming that the coffee was cut exactly to the second golden thread, she let out a light breath and wiped her forehead. Then take out the whipped cream from the refrigerator and beat until foamy, slowly pour it over the coffee, almost at the same height as the top of the cup. "Sir, your Irish coffee." She brought the Irish coffee to me and said with a smile: "Please don't stir it! And drink it while it's hot. But be careful not to burn your mouth."