Surprising Infused Coffee Lychee Honey

What is this scent?

I was surprised by such an unexpected aroma.

Are you familiar with what infused coffee is?

I only recently learned about it myself and decided to give it a try.

Infused coffee is coffee where the beans are picked and, while still in their green state—during the pre-roasting stages of fermentation or aging—are combined with other ingredients like fruits or spices to infuse them with those flavors.

It is a bit different from flavored coffee, where scents like vanilla are added to the beans after they have been roasted.

The one I purchased this time is coffee infused with the fresh and floral scent of lychee.

It was a coffee that Masaru-san, the owner of the shop where I bought it, Lace Flower Coffee, said he likes. If a coffee shop owner likes it, it must be delicious, right?

As soon as I opened the aluminum pack, the aroma wafted out. If scents had color, it would be like reddish smoke billowing out and spreading.

This aroma has the sweet, refreshing scent of lychee fruit, but I also felt it was a bit different. It is more complex.

I tried hard to search through the fruit scents in my memory, but nothing matched. When I asked my wife, who was drinking it with me, she said, "It smells like citrus."

My wife isn't the type to worry about subtle differences, so I kept to myself the thought that my child's opinion might be more reliable, but I also feel it is a bit different from citrus.

I took another sip and felt the aroma as I swallowed.
I was fully focused, as serious as if I were trying to solve a riddle my elementary school daughter had given me.

...I thought it might be similar to the scent of dried berries or strawberry-flavored tea. Hmm? Peach?

Perhaps I shouldn't be teasing my wife.
Please keep this to yourself.

Perhaps the aroma matures into something more complex as it permeates the beans. If you dry lychee, does it become concentrated and smell something like this? How one perceives scent is different for everyone, and it might vary by lot, so please enjoy finding what scent it reminds you of yourself.

When I tasted it, the bitterness was mild and I felt a bit of acidity. This might be due to the master's roasting level. Perhaps he matched a fruity acidity to go with the fruit aroma? It might be the character of the beans themselves, but I cannot tell. However, it is refreshing and easy to drink.

Compared to regular coffee beans, it is a little more expensive because of the extra effort and ingredients involved, but I think it is well worth it as a special cup.

And this aroma can be enjoyed even in the second cup. The coffee flavor fades, but I actually went up to the fourth cup. Even on the fourth cup, I could enjoy a better aroma than with spent tea leaves.

I usually only grind and drink coffee beans on holidays. However, when I was under unavoidable mental strain,

I sought help from this coffee, saying, "Help me, Masaru-san ( ；∀；)!" Then, perhaps because this coffee is delicious, or perhaps because my stress increased, I started calling for help as easily as Nobita calls for help from Doraemon. And I would open the seal of this mysteriously fragrant coffee and sniff it, grind the beans and sniff them, brew the coffee and sniff it, and enjoy the transition of its aroma.

This aroma is different from the coffee you drink in the office. It is in a class of its own. In another time, this would be coffee for the nobility. Coffee that a nobleman dressed like the comedian from the Renaissance, Higedanshaku, would elegantly sip on a sunny day in May, while looking out over a well-maintained English garden in the castle courtyard, feeling the breeze on his cheeks, accompanied by a berry-like scent.

How about such a special cup as a reward for yourself?

What kind of reward, you ask?

Just by living your life normally, just by that alone, you are more than deserving of a reward.

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