House: Ravenclaw
Class: Charms
Category: Drabble
Word Count: 578
Prompt: [Word] Coffee
Major Warnings: N/A
Hermione's Coffee Lesson
Fall, 1997
"Honestly, do either of you know anything at all about coffee?" Hermione asked her best friends. They had finally gotten situated at Number 12 Grimmauld Place after a dangerous encounter with a pair of Death Eaters at a Muggle caffe.
"Yes, of course I do. Uncle Vernon made me make it for him almost every morning." Harry groaned. Harry rarely drank coffee because it was too bitter. He made sure that he dumped a lot of sugar into the cup before trying to drink it. He would prefer a Butterbeer over any coffee.
"Yeah, I know about coffee too. Dad likes to drink it." Ron stated, running his fingers through his red hair. "I just don't know whatever drink you told that waitress to make."
"It was just a cappuccino, Ronald." Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "That is coffee."
"Why is it called something different? Why not just order a coffee?" Harry wondered.
"It's called something different because of how the coffee is served." Hermione explained. "There are plenty of ways to serve coffee. A cappuccino, the one I like, is an espresso drink that is served with steamed milk and foam."
Harry tilted his head in confusion. Hermione could practically see the gears in his head turning behind his concentrated green eyes. "Hang on, what's espresso? I thought we were talking about coffee."
"Espresso is a type of coffee. It has more caffeine in it." Hermione explained. "There's all sorts of ways to serve coffee and they all have names. There is Irish, Americano, lattes, macchiatos, and flat whites."
Ron leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear. "I understood exactly half of those words. Is she trying to create new spells?" The only reply Ron received was a subtle shrug from his best friend.
"What I don't understand is why you like coffee, Hermione? It's too bitter." Harry asked.
"Well, that's where the different ways to serve coffee come in. You can add things to it to make the coffee taste sweet. Harry, I think you would enjoy a caramel macchiato." Hermione recommended.
"A caramel what?"
"Macchiato." Hermione repeated. "It's where you pour caramel syrup into the cup first, then add milk, and then you pour the coffee over the top. If you want it as sweet as possible, stir it when you want to drink it. It's quite delicious."
"Sounds like a potion recipe." Ron joked. "Dad just drinks coffee without anything like that in it. When Mum drinks coffee, she might add some sugar, but that's all. I tried coffee once, but I didn't fancy it."
"You know, when all of this is over, when we stop Voldemort, I need to take you both on a proper trip to a caffe so you can try different kinds of coffee."
"Only if you can make coffee taste like pumpkin juice." Ron laughed.
"You can make coffee taste however you like. That is the whole point!"
Harry pondered exploring ways to make coffee taste better. Perhaps Hermione had made a few good points.
Nineteen Years Later
"What would you like to order?" The coffee barista asked the middle-aged friends.
"A cappuccino, please." Hermione requested.
"I'll have a caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso." Harry stated, adjusting his glasses.
"Is it too early to ask for a pumpkin spice latte?" Ron inquired.
"Sorry, we don't get that until September." The barista sadly informed him.
"It's okay. I'd like a hazelnut latte."