He sighed and continued, “But sadly, it was only after all these trials that I researched more about the confectionery and learned that the ‘ume’ part is kind of superficial. There’re no plums in them whatsoever. The mochi you see before you are the result of that catastrophic tragedy. It’s pretty much mochi with white bean paste filling, but I’ve added plum syrup and plum pulp into the white bean paste, giving it a pleasant, sour tang. To give it a fuller body in taste, I’ve also mixed in crushed walnuts—the fine ones Tomiyasu farmed.” He shrugged. “So…yeah. Enjoy it while it’s hot and soothe your stomach a bit.”
After making this speech, Rei made a trip to the kitchen once again and began boiling some water. He grabbed a small teapot and made preparations to brew tea.
Mochi fresh out of the oven and steaming hot tea was a wonderful combination for soothing our stomachs indeed. Thinking that, I carried one piece of mochi into my mouth.
Just like he’d described, the aroma and sour tang of plums, combined with the elegant sweetness of white bean paste, unfolded on my tongue. I bit into my mochi and felt the crunch of walnut fragments dispersed in the filling, as well as their rich, nutty flavor. Wow. This is an unusual combination I’ve never come across before, but it sure is tasty.
For mochi with bean paste filling, its sweetness is what defines it. The classic mochi that everyone appreciates and loves would attack your taste buds like a small sugary bomb. Because of that, Rei’s mochi was quite a curveball, for what defined it were its sourness and rich body of flavors. It was still delicious, of course, but I would describe it as more of a unique kind of appeal compared to the tried-and-true approach.
When I swallowed my mouthful, I felt a pleasant warmth spread in my chilly stomach. Both my mouth and my tummy felt refreshed, possibly due to the wondrous powers of plums.
Rei called out from the kitchen. “I dunno whether there’s any scientific evidence, but it’s been said for generations that ume plums are good for our digestive systems. You’ve warmed your stomach and ingested some plums, so you should feel much better now.”
He returned with a tray of teacups for everyone present. “And here’s some plum tea on top of that. In case you’re wondering, no, it’s not ume kombucha. What I’ve done is add some umeboshi to standard tea. Trust me, it’s pretty good, if I say so myself. When I tried this out with high-quality gyokuro green tea, it was amazing. No, in fact, it was the taste of temptation itself. When I’ve got the chance, I’ll make some for you guys too.”
We each thanked him before accepting our teacups and slowly sipping on the warm plum tea. I gulped down more and more before letting out a contented sigh. And then, gradually, I noticed a growing glint in Techi and Kon’s eyes. It was the powerful, hungry look of a predator. Did they feel they were ready to take on a new dessert because their stomachs warmed up again? Or were they craving some sweet dessert because they had two consecutive sour items on their menu? This glint only grew more and more prominent with time.
Uh… I flinched slightly. I’m happy that you’ve got something to look forward to, but I honestly haven’t prepared anything that impressive…
Though I was daunted by their expectations, it wasn’t like I could back out now. I stood up to retrieve the last few items on our menu: yogurt with plum syrup, noshi ume, plum soda, and plum sour cocktail. The moment I arranged them on the low table, Techi, Kon, and Rei reached out at once. Literally in no time at all, the desserts I’d prepared vanished without a trace.
Looks like I underestimated the appetite of beastfolk. I should’ve prepared more for everyone, I thought. But then, Rei stood up with a knowing smirk again and marched back to his delivery van.
It appeared that he still had more specialty desserts up his sleeve prepared for this party. Meanwhile, I was completely out of ammunition, so as I gazed at him, I prayed from the bottom of my heart that he’d brought something that could satisfy Techi and Kon.
Soon, Rei made his valiant return. What he brought with him were dried fruits for making fruit tea, as well as Western cookies akin to biscotti with nuts.
Biscotti are essentially Italian biscuits with fruits and nuts. But compared to what you’d imagine when you hear the word “biscuit,” they are lighter, crunchier, and harder. Apparently, Italians often eat them during breakfast. Based on what I’d read, Italian breakfasts generally consist of sweet food, and sweet biscotti with dried fruits or nuts are an especially popular option because you can enjoy all kinds of different flavors.
I stared down at the paper box of biscotti and a glass pot that displayed an assortment of colorful dried fruits on the low table. “Well now… You’ve brought along even more sweet stuff.”
When Rei had boiled water to make tea earlier, he’d set some aside inside a vacuum water pot. He was busy carrying it over from the kitchen as he replied, “What else did you expect at a dessert party? I made sure to use plum syrup as an accent in everything, so I’m even following the theme. Plus, sweet equal calories, so combinations of food like these are important to us beastfolk. You’re a human though, so you can only have a little bit of each because you’ve probably already had enough sugar for the day. It’s easier for humans to get diabetes than beastfolk or something, right? The safest option for you might be having just a taste and stopping there.”
That was news to me. “Oh, it’s rare for beastfolk to get diabetes? To add to that, it’s also tougher for you guys to put on weight… I think I might be a little jealous.”