Honey Lavender Latte

Monika took a deep breath and steadied herself against the bartop counter. Her heart raced and she stared at the review.  The one star mocking her. 

Monika’s Muses, a new victorian themed coffee shop located off of Fifth and Main does have an aesthetic appeal, unfortunately, that is where the appeal stops. The honey lavender latte I received was not only atrociously frigid, but tasted of only sugar. Not worth my time or money. 

She knew it was coming, not everyone would rave about her small cafe. Monika just hoped that it wouldn’t be the day after her grand opening. Her shop had been packed, with standing room only, on her opening day. Assuming she got lost in the excitement of phenomenal support from the community, the reviewer's latte must have been improperly prepared. She had to admit, her biggest appeal was the theme of her shop: refurbished wooden floors throughout the entirety of the building, ornate rugs that took her what felt like decades to find, high-back chairs with brilliant white and gold fabric clustered in groups, mahogany side tables with eccentric lamps atop them, a grand chandelier in the middle of the room, and the required attire for all employees. The appeal was in the novelty of the decor and the dress of the employees. But she had worked for years on developing the perfect recipes for every drink and pastry. Spending countless hours pouring over research for the time-period and popular flavors of the era. 

Monika sighed and smoothed out the skirt of her dress, as she put her phone down, the door chimed. She turned and was faced with an older gentleman, dressed in a simple white button down. His face was soft and eyes brimmed with excitement as he took in the shop. Monika smiled widely as he approached the counter, and switched to her rehearsed voice of choice for manning the counter “Welcome, Sir! Is this your first time here?” The old man returned her smile, “Yes! And might I just say it is extraordinary what the owner had created here.” Still reeling from the review, Monika did not have the courage to tell him she was the owner. “I will relay your comments to our owner, she surely will be glad to hear it. What can I serve you today?” The old man glanced at the menu above Monika briefly, before saying, “I’ll take a medium hot honey lavender latte.” She felt her smile falter slightly, “Of course, sir! That total comes out to four-thirty.” She took the man’s cash and slowly began working on the order. 

Terrified to make any mistakes, she took extra time to grind the espresso beans, measuring the perfect 18 grams both before and after the grind. Her machines were calibrated just this morning, but she wanted to ensure she wouldn’t have to relive the experience of a “one-star”. The milk foamed beautifully and she made sure the pour on the espresso was an exact 34 seconds. The house-made honey and lavender syrups were not expired and she even dressed the drink with edible lavender flakes. When complete, she noticed the man had settled into a high back chair in front of one of the bookshelves that housed collector-editions of classic novels. He was writing in a small notebook, but closed it as she approached. She shuffled around the side table next to his chair and gently set the coffee down. 

“That took a little longer than I was prepared to wait for coffee.” He mentioned. Monika felt her blood run cold. I didn’t think of the time, oh please understand, I just wanted to make it perfect! “My apologies sir, our owner has gotten a few reviews that talk of the quality of our drinks, so I wanted to ensure its proper execution for you.” The man grinned, almost as if he knew exactly what she was talking about from experience. “Make sure you tell your owner that some people will never be satisfied, she or he has done wonderfully with the appearance of this place, and my best friend says it's the best coffee in town, and he's quite serious about his coffee.” The man gave a slight nod to Monika, dismissing her, she bowed slightly and turned to walk away. The man spent a few hours in the chair, quietly writing as Monika served the rest of her customers. She noticed when he set his empty coffee cup down and stood, adjusting his sweater and shuffling to the door. “The latte was fantastic! Thank you, ma’am!” He shouted with a wave as he exited. 

One week later

The  line went out the door and stretched down the block. Monika was overwhelmed by the attention that her shop received after the review that was submitted in the paper from the town's anonymous food critic. Her new employees were handling their training beautifully and having the extra help allowed her to have the time she needed to work on new drink ideas. She had already created the new drink menu for the fall. The customer she was serving ordered what everyone had been ordering since the review, the honey lavender latte. 

“Alice! Not too much lavender sprigs on the top of those lattes!” Monika scolded her newest hire. She turned back to the customer in front of her and was pleasantly surprised to see the old man from a week ago. “Hello sir! Welcome back, I assume you enjoyed your visit the last time?” She inquired. The old man gave her a slight smile, “Very much so. I see that people have also read the article?” 

“Yes, sir. It appears that our town’s mystery reviewer paid me a visit.” 

“Very good. I am glad that things seem to be running smoothly for you. You certainly are deserving.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

Monika took the man’s order and dismissed his payment, she enjoyed the company and aura he brought to the shop. She instructed Alice that she would make his latte, she hadn’t made a drink since bringing on the new hires. She worked carefully, wondering about the mystery critic and the advice the man had given her during his last visit. How silly it was to allow one unsatisfied customer to bring her down so much. Once the man’s drink was completed, she handed it to him and he made his way to the chair he sat in during his last visit, took his notebook out, and began writing.