Lord of the Coffee, Return of the Vendi;
Scions of Beans
There came a day when Grandélf could not be found, and the Companions wondered what was going forward. They wondered if the old fellow had come across some of the Steward's private stash of Numenorian coffeebeans, and they wondered that if he had, would he share with them?
But Grandélf had taken Aromagorn out from the City by night, and he brought him to a remote path that few knew of and fewer still dared to tread. It led high up the mountain of Mindollymadison, to a high hallow where the kings were wont to go. And standing there they surveyed the lands, for the morning had come, and they considered exactly what the word 'wont' might mean, and they considered also where they might go for coffee; there was no brew in that high remote place. They saw the towers of the City far below them, white as refined sugar in the growing sunlight, and all the vale of Andunkin could be seen beyond. The shadowy Mountains of Mordonut were clouded in a steam of mist. Upon the one side their sight reached to the grey hem of the Emyn Muumuu, and the glint of the Waterslide of Rauros was like a strobelight twinkling far off; and upon the other side they saw the River steaming like a rivulet of fresh coffee spilled upon the green quilted tablecloth that was the kingdom of Gondaroma.
And Grandélf said: "This is your Café, and the heart of the greater café that shall be. The Third Age of Coffee is ended, and the new age is begun; and it is your task to order its beginning and to preserve what may be preserved. You must select the menu and review the waitstaff. The keys to the café are in your keeping. For although much has been saved, much must now pass away, the refrigerator of the Third Age must be cleansed, and the moldy biscuits discarded; for now the power of the Rings of Cream, Sugar, and Chocolate is fading, for their fate was bound to the fate of the One CoffeeRing. All the lands that you see, and those that lie round about them, shall soon be filled with cranky, drowsy Men suffering from caffeine-withdrawal. I recommend you find some coffeebeans, and that you find them fast! Good luck!" and Grandélf turned as if to hasten away.
"I hear you, dear friend," said Aromagorn, catching his arm, "I could use a stout cup of java myself. What is your counsel?"
"You cannot rely on my counsel for much longer, King Delissar. The Third Age was my age. I was the Enemy of Sour'on and he was the Enemy of Good Coffee. Now that his Black Café is thrown down, I will be moving along. I hear that Vardecafé is cooking up some new espresso combinations in the Undrowsing Lands..." Grandélf began to inch away.
"But I shall sleep," said Aromagorn, "for I am mortal man and mighty dependent on the coffee I have grown to love. Though being what I am and of the race of Men from the West undiluted, I shall have life far longer than other men, but that will not seem so long if I can't wake up in the morning. Who then will govern the City when I am snoozing by the fireside? Where will I find beans to wake my people?"
"Turn your face from the green tea, and look where all seems dry and unproductive!" said Grandélf dramatically, tossing a pinch of flashpowder into the air.
Then Aromagorn turned, and there was a stony slope behind him running down from the skirts of the snow; and as he looked he became aware that alone there in the waste a growing thing stood. And he climbed to it, and saw that right out of the very edge of the snow there sprang a plant no more than three feet high. Already it had put forth young leaves round and shapely, sugary above and milky beneath, and upon its slender crown it bore one small cluster of silvery beans whose wholesome aroma could already be smelt; a divine and heavenly scent.
And Aromagorn cried: "Yé-ha! Utúbeanyes! I have found it! Where is my grinder??" He took up the plant tenderly, for it was only loosely rooted, and he held it up to show Grandélf, "See! This is a scion of the Eldest of CoffeeTrees! I have always wanted one!"
And Grandélf said: "Verily this is a sapling of the line of Cremefroth the fair, that was a seedling of Gallonjava, and that was grown from a fruit of the Tree of Silver Beans that once brewed coffee in the Undrowsing Lands. Very excellent coffee shall be brewed from these beans. Plant this in the Beanyard of the Citadel and guard it well... it is the good stuff! And remember this: for if ever a bean is ground, is should be brewed within two days, lest its flavour be lessened and the coffee dishonoured."
And Aromagorn did as Grandélf advised, and planted the CoffeeTree in the Beanyard of Minas Teabag, and swiftly and gladly did it grow, bearing a miraculous multitude of coffeebeans to the delight of the Companions and all Men and woMen who came round for breakfast and teatime.