How to Enjoy Delicious Coffee: Acidity and Bitterness, Episode 3

When I asked, Natsu-san looked a bit puzzled for a moment before nodding and saying, "Well, let's see."

“A creative director is a job where you comprehensively build and supervise the overall design and expression of something.”
“No wonder you’re so stylish.”
“Oh, I don’t really focus on being stylish, though.”

Natsu-san gave a wry smile. I took a sip of the coffee in front of me, black, to start.

“Wow. The acidity is fruity. The body and sweetness come through afterward.”
“I knew you’d get it.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I poured in the milk from the small container placed in front of me.
I took another sip.

“Amazing. The sweetness really stands out...”
“Exactly. When you brew these beans with a French press, the sweetness and body of the coffee oils come out, so it creates a great synergy with milk. People usually say you should only add milk to bitter coffee, but... don’t you think this kind of pairing is fun too?”

I nodded excitedly. I had thought I didn’t like the acidity in coffee, but drinking it this way, I found that I actually enjoyed it.

“Coffee acidity is often perceived as a bad thing, you know.”
“I get that. I didn’t have a good impression of highly acidic coffee either, I suppose.”

Just then, a customer left the shop.
Natsu-san handled the payment at the register, thanked the customer politely, and saw them off.

He seems like such a gentle person. I didn’t really understand what a creative director did, but I thought Natsu-san had a very gentle aura.

He was so natural that I wondered if he had worked in customer service at a restaurant before.

Natsu-san returned to the kitchen after watching the customer walk far away.

The shop has concrete walls, but it feels appropriately warm... for some reason, there are moss balls and plants like a Pachira in pots wrapped in coffee burlap sacks.

The shop’s fixtures are vintage-style tables and chairs made of old wood.
It doesn’t feel rugged; it has a well-worn warmth to it.
He really has good taste...

“Why is a creative director running a coffee shop?”

I checked Natsu-san’s expression, wondering if I had asked something too personal.
He was just wiping a cup, looking as calm as ever.

“The salarymen around me are always saying things like, ‘I want to quit my job and just run a relaxing cafe.’ Unless you already own a shop or have real estate, it’s not something you can easily do, though.”

Natsu-san was smiling brightly. It was as if he were saying, 'I’m living the dream that others don’t take action on.'

“Giving up your daily routine is a big deal, isn’t it?”

When I said that, Natsu-san nodded while cleaning the sink.

“I suppose so. Not having a family to support is probably my strength.”

Natsu-san smiled while looking down at his cleaning. Oh, I see, he’s not married.
Well, he looks young, so maybe that’s normal...

Just then, the shop’s cowbell rang.

Welcome...

Natsu-san gasped as she saw a beautiful woman in her late twenties walk into the shop.

Natsu...

The woman looked like someone who worked in the city, wearing a tight skirt and a navy jacket. Her shoulder-length, bright-colored hair was curled randomly from about 15 cm from the ends, and she had pink French-tipped nails.

She really looked like a woman who worked in an office.
She had a straight nose, and the line from her chin to her neck flowed beautifully. I thought for a split second, is this what they call a beautiful woman?

Can we talk for a moment?
If you didn't come here to drink coffee, could you do it outside of business hours?

Judging by the way she spoke, she seemed to be someone close to Natsu-san.
It felt like they had a special relationship, the kind where you might have complicated conversations...

You went out of your way to stop by, and that's how you're acting?
This is a shop.

Why was Natsu-san being so prickly?
The woman looked at me and the only other customer in the shop, a man in his forties sitting at a table, and nodded.

I understand. I'll contact you again.

The woman said that and walked out of the shop with a flourish. Her high heels clicked against the ground.
I was captivated by her beautiful back as she left, and I lingered on the thought that even among women, there are people like that.

I'm sorry, I kind of ruined the atmosphere...

Natsu-san apologized to me, looking awkward.
I felt like asking what kind of relationship they had, but the other customer in the shop would hear, and I didn't have the nerve to ask Natsu-san, whom I had only just met.

I stood up, said, "I have to get back to prep," paid, and left the shop. Natsu-san apologized, saying, "I'm sorry things got weird," but it didn't really have anything to do with me.

When I got back to the shop and my father asked, "How was it, next door?", I told him it was stylish and just mentioned that the coffee might be surprisingly interesting.

I went straight into the kitchen, tied up my hair, and put on my apron and headscarf.
I washed my hands and started washing the vegetables for the evening.

My father had already finished preparing the dashi, so all that was left was the prep for the fish and meat.
Today was the day for simmered flounder and ginger pork.
Every Wednesday is ginger pork day, and some students even come specifically for this day.
I always think that ginger pork must be popular.

Come to think of it, that manager... Natsu-san, apparently her job is a creative director.
Hmm, that's quite a fancy foreign term.

It's a word that my father and I have never used in our lives.
I don't really know what kind of work she does. I just think it sounds like a stylish job.

When I finished the prep, it was about 10 minutes until opening.
Before I hung the noren curtain outside, I looked up Natsu-san's name on my mobile phone.

Creative Director Yutaro Natsuki

When I searched on the internet, despite thinking nothing would come up, tens of thousands of articles that looked like interviews featuring photos of Natsu-san popped up.

Huh...?

Setting aside the fact that Natsu-san had no beard and looked incredibly young, the interview articles contained comments about winning awards, words of advice for young people starting out, and details about what he focused on in his videos.

Since the name of his affiliated company was written there, I looked it up. It seems to be what is called a production company. What exactly is a production company...?

On that company's website, Natsu-san's photo and interview were posted. Even though he is already a coffee shop manager, he is still treated as if he works at that company.

What does this mean? It's true that his business card had the title 'Creative Director' on it, but still...

While I was thinking about that, ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. I hurriedly put out the shop curtain, and the usual student was outside.

Sorry to keep you waiting, please come in.

When I called out to him, the student entered the shop as if he knew the place well and immediately ordered, 'Ginger pork, please.'

Coming right up.

The usual night business begins. It seems the place next door is still open, as light was spilling out from it.

*

Today is Sunday. My shop is closed.

In the evening, there is a meeting for the local shopping district association, the 'Inari Shrine Street Shopping Association.' We gather at the nearby association office to discuss the summer event to be held in two months.

Every year, the shopping association's summer festival is held on a Saturday. Each shop sets up a stall on the street to liven up the festival. My shop participates every year, and sales of alcohol and snacks are good.

I took Natsu-san with me into the office. Natsu-san seemed nervous about his first shopping association meeting.

Hello there.

The office is like a two-story residence, and you take off your shoes at the entrance to go up. After putting my shoes in the shoe rack and going up the stairs, everyone was already gathered in the large tatami room, and it was already like a party.

Hey, Ritsu!

My childhood friend Shota, a hairdresser, spotted me and waved with a beer in one hand. His bright, shining blonde hair stood out against his tall frame. Thinking it was a good opportunity, I decided to take Natsu-san over to where Shota was standing.

“Long time no see. This is Natsu-san, the manager of the coffee shop next door.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Natsuki.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m a hairdresser in this shopping district, Shota Sakai. Just call me Shota, like Ritsu does!”
“So you’re a hairdresser, that explains the blonde hair, Shota-san.”
“That’s right. I’m a practice model for the younger staff.”

With Natsu-san’s gentle demeanor and Shota’s experience in customer service making him comfortable with meeting new people, it felt like they would get along right away, just as I had expected.

“How many years have you been a hairdresser, Shota-san? Have you always been in this shopping district?”
“Well, since I finished vocational school... four years. It’s my mother’s shop.”
“So, you’ve been here since you were born?”
“Yeah, this is all I’ve ever known.”

While Shota was talking about that, the chairman noticed us and came over to say hello. The chairman is a local real estate agent and knows almost everything about this town.
It seems the chairman also manages Natsu-san’s shop, so they were already acquainted.

“How are things, Natsuki-san? Any issues?”
“No, nothing in particular. Besides, everyone in this town has been very kind to me.”

As Natsu-san was saying that, Ohno-san, the lady from the deli, looked at Natsu-san and exclaimed, “Oh!”

“Are you the new shop manager?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Ohno-san, do you know Natsu-san?”
“She always buys a bento from me at night.”

Natsu-san smiled humbly and said, “I always enjoy them very much.”
Ohno-san’s deli stays open late for salarymen on their way home from work.

Natsu-san might not know it, but people who run shops in this town generally remember the faces of their customers.
That is part of the charm of a downtown area, and it’s also the reason for what people call the old-fashioned sense of duty and humanity that is rare in modern times, though things can get complicated during adolescence.

“I heard you’re running the shop all by yourself? Are you okay?”

Ohno-san, true to her meddlesome nature, was worried about Natsu-san.
She likely knows all too well how hard it is to run a shop alone.

“For now, I’m managing somehow.”

Natsu-san said, “Thank you for your concern,” while looking a bit overwhelmed by Ohno-san. Shota laughed and said, “Don’t go trying to help out, Ohno-san.”

At the venue, there were side dishes from Ohno-san’s shop lined up, and there was even a beer server.
Everyone was eating and drinking as they pleased; it was no different from a family gathering.

“Um... what about the discussion for the event...?”
“Oh, the chairman and vice-chairman will come around eventually.”
“Come around?”
“Yeah, you just need to apply for what you want to do and what you need for it when they do.”

I explained to Natsu-san, who was confused and full of questions, that there wouldn’t be any formal discussion. The shopping association is just about getting together to deepen friendships and then doing our best on the day of the event—that’s it.

“So, you don’t make anything in common for the festival?”

At Natsu-san’s question, Shota and I tilted our heads. What could she mean by something in common?

“Well, for posters, we put up the usual ones with just the dates changed... and there’s a banner hung across the shopping street, but...”

Even though I kindly explained it to her, Natsu-san didn't get it at all.

"Don't the individual shops offer items tailored to the festival's concept...?"
"They don't... but why?"
"O-oh, I see..."

Since Natsu-san looked shocked, I poured some beer and handed it to her and Shota. While I was pouring my own from the server, Shota was staring at Natsu-san, as if something had caught his attention.

"Um, Natsu-san... was that the kind of work you used to do?"

Shota said that even though he didn't really know her well. The customer service skills of a hairdresser are truly formidable.

"Well, it's not exactly the same, but I did work that was relatively close to that."
"So, does that mean you know what could be done to make things better in situations like this?"
"...Well, yes."

At the content of the conversation between Shota and Natsu-san, I gripped the plastic cup I was holding so hard I nearly spilled my beer.

"Wait? Isn't Natsu-san's job to make videos or something?"

When I expressed my surprise, Natsu-san laughed and said, "I do make videos, but in reality, it's a bit different. Actually, Ritsu-san, you know quite a lot, don't you?" She then added, "Video is just one method of expression."

Shota and I were sitting cross-legged on the tatami mat with Natsu-san.
We placed our beers on the low table and listened to what Natsu-san had to say.

"Hmm, for example, even if you call it a festival, there are different kinds, right? Does this shopping district's festival originate from something specific?"
"It's supposed to be tied to the shrine's festival."

If you walk through our shopping district for a while, there is a fairly famous shrine. The festival was supposed to have a strong connection to the shrine's summer festival.

"So it's a religious ritual, then... Is there anything you do at the shrine?"
"There's supposed to be a rain-making ritual. The shrine is an Inari shrine, and I heard this area used to be rice paddies a long time ago."

As the three of us sat cross-legged and talked seriously, the people nearby also began to listen in.

"For example, let's say the festival itself is a 'remnant of a rain-making ritual' and is about 'gratitude and prayers to the local Inari deity'."
"Yeah, that's pretty much it."
"That's true."

As Shota and I nodded, the owner of the izakaya and the dry cleaner, who were listening from the other side, approached with interest. Shota and I briefly introduced them to Natsu-san.

"Based on that concept, let's say the shops try to offer items related to 'rain-making' or 'the Inari deity' at their stalls. Then, even if each shop is doing something different, there will be a sense of unity."
"A sense of unity..."
"And what happens if that comes out? It's still just the same as always, isn't it?"

We felt like we understood what Natsu-san was saying, but not quite. In particular, we couldn't understand the significance of doing that at all.

"That's where you're wrong. It depends on whether both the participants and the stall owners have creativity based on the concept."
"Hmm... well, I don't think anyone wants to pray for rain nowadays, anyway."
"And there are countless Inari shrines all over the country, too."

The dry cleaner and the izakaya owner chimed in after hearing Natsu-san's story.
They were right; there probably wouldn't be any customers who would want to participate because of a rain-making ritual, and Inari shrines are said to be the most common type of shrine in Japan.

"But this is the 'Inari Shrine Street Shopping Association,' right? It's in the name of the association, so it's natural that the association's festival would have something to do with the Inari shrine, but..."
"So, what kind of effect does that have?"

Unlike me, who couldn't understand, Shota was fascinated by Natsu-san's story.
Shota's mother's hair salon doesn't set up stalls just because there's a festival. They weren't really involved in this festival.

"If we're talking about things that don't cost money, let's say we hold a Bon Odori dance at the shrine, right? Bon Odori is related to the Obon season, but in many regions, dances are turned into events as part of rain-making rituals."
"Well, considering the timing, a Bon Odori might be a possibility."
"The dry cleaner could hold an event for cleaning yukatas for the Bon Odori, and the hair salon could offer yukata dressing services. The izakaya could offer special perks for customers who come in wearing yukatas."
"Oh, that's interesting."

The manager of the izakaya's eyes were sparkling. Come to think of it, the izakaya was running a stall for soft drinks and beer.

"This is just an example, and I think what you actually do should be in line with the convenience of the shopping district association and everyone's wishes. However, just by having various shops liven up the same event like this, it creates benefits for everyone, doesn't it?"

Natsu-san's words were persuasive.
It was a proposal that none of us in the shopping district association, including myself, had ever thought of.

What on earth is a creative director's job?
In my mind, I recalled the interview with Natsu-san that appeared when I searched on my mobile phone. I'm sure it said something like this.

"I want to help people with my proposals."