CHAPTER 23: CHAPTER 23: ACCEPTING YOUR CHALLENGE

Damian Knight was about to speak but was stopped by a glance from Summer Monroe.

Summer Monroe smirked, "Alright. I accept your challenge!"

Clarissa Stanton was taken aback by these words but quickly laughed disdainfully.

"Great! Then I’ll challenge you right now!"

Underneath, Stella Monroe didn’t sit idle and quickly communicated with the organizers, soon everything was ready.

Two coffee tables were moved onto the stage, fully equipped.

Damian Knight looked worriedly at Summer Monroe but ultimately said nothing.

The host saw both of them were ready and said, "You two may begin."

As soon as the host finished speaking, Clarissa Stanton immediately got to work.

For coffee art, the first step is, of course, brewing the coffee.

All coffee is hand-brewed coffee, requiring competitors to brew the coffee themselves.

Clarissa Stanton weighed 15g of coffee beans and put them into the grinder, her movements elegant, her demeanor serious.

Clarissa Stanton took a moment to glance at Summer Monroe, shocked to find she was doing it in a well-versed manner as if she truly knew how to brew coffee?

Summer Monroe folded the filter paper expertly, placed it on top for brewing, and then picked up the boiling hot water, pouring it onto the filter paper in circular motions clockwise.

Seeing this, Clarissa Stanton found herself unable to stay calm anymore.

Only professional coffee brewers know this step, as pouring water in a clockwise circle allows the filter paper to adhere better to the filter cup, removes the paper taste, and serves to warm the pot below, making the brewed coffee tastier.

Summer Monroe knew even this, and her technique was graceful and skilled, clearly indicating she truly knew how to brew coffee.

This village girl could actually brew coffee?!

Clarissa Stanton was bewildered for a moment, certain she wasn’t hallucinating, but what exactly was going on here?

Wasn’t Summer Monroe a village girl?

Clarissa Stanton was stunned for several seconds, she pinched herself hard before finally focusing intently on her coffee brewing.

Brew then! Even if she can brew coffee, Summer Monroe surely can’t do coffee art?

Clarissa Stanton took a deep breath, trying to calm her inner turmoil, and continued her own actions.

Traditional hand-brewed coffee requires water to be poured twice, after two pours, a fragrant cup of hand-brewed coffee is completed.

Seeing she had finished brewing, Clarissa Stanton noticed Summer Monroe was still on her second pour, and chuckled inwardly with disdain.

She attributed Summer Monroe’s coffee brewing skills to — perhaps Summer Monroe worked in a coffee shop before.

Soon, Summer Monroe finished brewing coffee as well.

The host indicated they could start with coffee art.

Compared to coffee brewing, which is relatively simple, coffee art is the focal point of the duel.

Whole milk is used for coffee art, and before starting, everyone needs to come up with a theme for their coffee art.

Clarissa Stanton spoke first, maintaining an elegant smile, "My theme is ’At dusk, far mountains fade, cold weather brings poverty to the white house...’"

Now it was Summer Monroe’s turn.

Summer Monroe held the microphone, thought for a moment, then said blandly, "My theme is ’Suddenly, with the spring breeze one night, thousands of pear trees bloom bright.’"

Hearing Summer Monroe also recite an ancient poem, Clarissa Stanton grimaced with frustration.

This little brat dared to mimic her pretentiousness? How much education did she have?

She herself was attending University A — of course, the art department.

Clarissa Stanton felt extremely disdainful, thinking Summer Monroe’s theme would probably just be a few pear blossoms.

She didn’t give Summer Monroe’s theme a second thought, and focused on drawing with whole milk earnestly.

Clarissa Stanton first spread whole milk over the coffee surface, and then used a tool to gradually sketch out a distant mountain, followed by a small wooden hut.

At a glance, it truly conveyed a feeling of "cold weather brings poverty to the white house."