Since things had come to this, Lu Xinyi endured and closed her eyes, focusing on the taste. As the liquid swished on the other side of her mouth, she was able to taste some vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, radishes, and arugula. However, there was this layer of sour and bitterness combined that she couldn’t point out.
Lu Xinyi cast aside the flavors she already knew and focused on this unknown flavor. She was perfectly sure that it wasn’t a vegetable. Could it be a fruit instead?
Thinking hard could what it was, Lu Xinyi tried to remember some fruits and berries that fit the description that has a sour and bitter taste. There were several she could think of, but only cranberries had left the same impression on her.
Fresh cranberries were both sour and bitter. It had less than four percent sugar. If one ever tasted a fresh cranberry or tried to drink a pure cranberry juice, one would know that it’s hardly palatable.
Originally, cranberries were used for meat preservation. It was also used in making sweet sauces to accompany meat dishes. In today’s world, most fresh cranberries were unfit for sale.
Because of their bitter and sour flavor, the only solution to bring cranberry products to market was to add sugar. A lot of sugar. In fact, most people didn’t know that cranberry drinks tend to have more added sugar than colas!
Lu Xinyi was able to taste a fresh cranberry once when she mistakenly thought it was a sweet berry when she was younger. In the end, she confirmed that it was indeed cranberries.
Heh, Uncle He had cunningly tried to hide the flavors by using the vegetables and the scent of garlic. She could taste all the vegetables in their raw state and wondered if her uncle was trying to impair her sense of taste. A little more and it would ruin her tongue for good!
When she wrote down the cranberries, she took time to watch He Haotian’s expression. She had an idea that the man was pondering if she could find more or she’d already given up. One thing was sure though, Lu Xinyi knew she hadn’t written anything wrong, or else He Haotian’s face would say otherwise!
For the last time, she took a small sip and winced as she felt her throat sore from the stomach acid that was trying to come out and her mouth tasted of vomit. She wondered if someone would fetch her a glass of water or offer to clean up the mess if she decided to throw up.
The vile, viscous liquid slid down her throat making stomach contract so violently. It was with great effort that Lu Xinyi was able to stop herself from vomiting. Still, there was another set of flavors left in her mouth with an aftertaste.
Taking pity on her, Gao Hong kindly passed her a glass of water which she immediately used to wash and gargle her mouth to get rid of that nauseating flavor. She spat the water at the sink before eyeing the remaining liquid on the cup.
At this time, Gu Meina—who was holding another cup of clean water—suddenly reminded her that she only had one more sip left.
Lu Xinyi cursed inwardly. If this was the kind of training all professional food tasters had to undergo, then she would rather stay as a chef.
“Have you written all the ingredients? It’s okay if you don’t take the third sip as long as you could distinguish the ingredients and if your answers are correct.”
He Haotian leaned on the nearest wall and waited for Lu Xinyi to decide.
“I’m not done yet!” Lu Xinyi took the cup and had a mouthful for the last time, mindful of what flavors she was missing.
She found two flavors with distinct taste and aroma. She couldn’t believe how dumb she was for not realizing it sooner. Of course, He Haotian would try to cover up its flavors by contradicting each other.
The first ingredient left insoluble remnants on her tongue, making it easier for her to spot on. How could she not know the cocoa’s bitter taste?
The second one made her took a sniff again from the cup to confirm her suspicion. She hesitated a bit, not knowing what kind of tea she was looking for. It was tea for sure, but what kind, she couldn’t tell.
Lu Xinyi started to feel uneasy. This was the last one she was missing. There couldn’t be anything else but tea! Shen Yi had given her an opportunity to taste different kinds of tea before. She couldn’t put his effort into waste like this.
She lowered her head and thought about it. Tea, just like fine wine, was a balance of sweetness and dryness described as astringency. In the mouth, it causes roughness and dryness, similar to the bitter taste one got from biting an unripe fruit or a very dry wine.
She contemplated if it was black tea or green tea. Between the two, black tea had higher amounts of tannin which gave teas their astringency.
Black tea. So intense and yet smooth, this tea appealed to both the palate of a reluctant tea drinker and that of a gourmet. Meanwhile, green tea was on a different level. Clean and sweet; it gave that same pleasant sweet astringency that tea lovers wouldn’t get tired of.
This left Lu Xinyi to think of how both teas retain their flavors while brewing.
The two important factors to consider were the tea quality and its quantity. If one’s loose tea contained more leaf dust than leaves, it was more likely to increase the tea’s bitterness. This was because tea dust brews faster than larger tea leaves and releases tannin faster. Using too much tea would make a stronger bitter brew.
Thinking hard about it, Lu Xinyi took the pen and wrote the last two ingredients. Cocoa and black tea.