He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 78

78. Special Coffee Beans

The day after asking Mrs. Butler for a favor, the meeting with David Spencer, which had been so difficult to arrange, was miraculously set up.

Mrs. Butler herself delivered the message from Mr. Spencer to Tae-oh, saying he would be happy to meet.

In return, Tae-oh promised to visit Miss Elisa Butler on Saturday and provide marriage counseling.

“Mrs. Butler, I will visit on Saturday and provide counseling for your daughter’s marriage.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you so much.”

“No, I should be the one thanking you.”

During their first meeting, Elisa’s expression and emotions weren’t very good, but her overall appearance and character seemed fine.

Her emotional state might have just been particularly bad that day.

In some ways, she was the most outstanding bride among the young women present, and her family was wealthy enough in Jamaica to be comparable to most prominent families in London.

‘Well, Elisa is presentable enough to be introduced to London’s social scene right away. This might be a good thing after all.’

◈ The Next Day

Clack. Clack.

Tae-oh headed to Mr. Spencer’s house with a lighter heart.

Every time he had gone before, he had been told that Mr. Spencer was unavailable and had to turn back.

But today, the thought of finally meeting Mr. Spencer made him nervous and excited.

‘Is this how Liu Bei felt when he visited Zhuge Liang three times? [A reference to a famous story in Chinese history about persistence and seeking wisdom.]’

Tae-oh suddenly remembered what Mrs. Butler had told him about Mr. Spencer.

He had run a large coffee farm in the French colony of Saint-Domingue [now Haiti] for over 30 years in partnership with a Frenchman.

However, a major conflict arose with his partner, and his life was threatened, eventually being forced out penniless.

He barely escaped Saint-Domingue with only his adopted young twins.

After much hardship, Mr. Spencer arrived in Jamaica and went straight to Lord Butler’s house with his twin children.

At the time, Mr. Spencer only knew Lord Joseph Butler by sight.

However, Lord Butler was the only person he had ever spoken to in Jamaica. There was no other choice.

Lord Butler, after hearing the circumstances, was outraged that the Frenchman had used vile means to insult an Englishman, and lent Mr. Spencer and his twin children a fairly large house and covered their living expenses without any conditions.

And with Lord Butler’s full support, he was able to start a coffee farm again in Jamaica.

Thanks to his skills accumulated over many years, Mr. Spencer’s coffee farm quickly generated considerable profits.

However, Mr. Spencer wasn’t very fond of his coffee beans, constantly complaining that Jamaica’s growing environment was the worst for coffee farming.

Eventually, after paying off the loan and earning enough money to live on, he sold the coffee farm without hesitation and stopped farming altogether.

Since then, he occasionally went to coffee farms to give advice when he received a special request, but he had stopped doing even that entirely for the past 2-3 years.

Tung-tung-

When Tae-oh knocked on the door knocker, a young Black maid soon opened the door.

She was a maid whose face he recognized from his previous attempts to visit.

“I’ve come to see Mr. Spencer. I have an appointment.”

“Ah, yes. Please come in.”

Having already heard the news, she opened the door willingly, unlike before.

Tae-oh felt newly grateful as the door, which had been coldly closed every time he came, was now wide open.

“This way, please.”

As he followed the Black maid, someone came out of the next room and greeted Tae-oh.

He instinctively reached for his hat to return the greeting.

“Wow…”

A gasp escaped his lips before he could stop it.

A handsome young man and a beautiful young woman, like movie stars, stood before Tae-oh.

They seemed to be the mixed-race twins that Mr. Spencer had adopted.

Their attractive faces and the palpable warmth emanating from them made it easy to see that they were children that Mr. Spencer cherished and adored.

While he was admiring them, a man walked out into the hallway and spoke to him.

“Did you say you were Sanderson?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

“David Spencer.”

Finally, the first meeting with Mr. Spencer took place.

The first impression he gave was striking.

His appearance was so strong that it was hard to believe he was in his 60s, and his face radiated the confidence that can only be seen in someone who has conviction and pride in his work.

‘I have to get this man on my side no matter what.’

Even before they had a conversation, he instinctively knew that he was the best expert when it came to coffee.

However, his expression wasn’t very welcoming.

It was clear he was only making time for Tae-oh because of Lord Butler’s request.

“I heard you’re a baronet [a British hereditary title]? What brings a baronet to me? I have an appointment soon, so I would appreciate it if you could get straight to the point.”

He felt a strong sense of rejection from his blunt expression and tone. In such cases, rambling on with unnecessary words would only hurt his chances.

A word that could stir his emotions completely.

He needed such a decisive move right now.

Tae-oh took a moment to compose himself and began.

“Mr. Spencer… you’re looking for truly exceptional coffee beans, aren’t you? The kind that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.”

Mr. Spencer’s expression subtly shifted.

In fact, Tae-oh had never heard from anyone that Mr. Spencer was actively searching for good coffee beans.

However, through the coffee company CEO he had met in modern times, he knew how intense the desires and fantasies of people obsessed with coffee could be when it came to finding the perfect bean.

Moreover, based on what Noah and Mrs. Butler had said, he suspected that Mr. Spencer was constantly seeking something related to coffee.

Just as the coffee company CEO had been ecstatic to secure the Blue Mountain [a highly prized variety of coffee grown in Jamaica] supply rights after years of effort, Tae-oh wondered if Mr. Spencer was also looking for truly special coffee beans.

“Aren’t you looking for coffee beans of a different caliber to apply your own unique coffee processing methods to?”

Even more subtle micro-expressions flickered across his face than before.

Tae-oh didn’t miss this.

‘That’s right! Mr. Spencer is looking for the best coffee beans. The kind he can pour all his skills into.’

The moment his assumption solidified into conviction, Mr. Spencer regained his composure and retorted gruffly.

“Humph- Who told you that? No. I’m no longer interested in coffee. If you’ve come to talk about coffee, please leave. I’m sick and tired of coffee.”

Mr. Spencer was clearly uncomfortable with the topic of coffee, but Tae-oh, having read his emotions, didn’t stop and pressed forward.

“Mr. Spencer, the coffee beans from our farm are several times better than those from the Clydesdale Coffee Farm [a well-known Jamaican coffee producer]. I think you’ll change your mind if you see them in person.”

Even with Tae-oh’s confident words, Spencer only scoffed.

“Hmph! I don’t know who you heard that from, but I told you, I’m not interested in coffee anymore! I’m the most tired of coffee in the world! Do you understand?”

Despite his negative reaction, Tae-oh didn’t back down.

“The coffee beans from our farm are very special. I am confident that good results will come if you apply the coffee processing methods you developed to our coffee beans.

I mean, we can surpass all the other coffee companies and create the best coffee in the world, something that doesn’t exist anywhere else. A coffee that will truly surprise the world!”

His eyes lost focus and trembled slightly.

“······.”

Mr. Spencer, who had been staring intently at Tae-oh, slowly parted his lips.

“How can a young man who doesn’t know much about coffee be so sure about what kind of coffee beans I’m looking for? And it’s long past the harvest season, so what coffee beans are you talking about seeing, really.”

“Yes, that’s right. To be honest, I don’t know anything about coffee. But I pride myself on having an excellent eye for quality. Although the harvest season has passed, there are also beans that have regrown due to the climate. Even subpar beans can be recognized as good coffee beans by an expert like you, Mr. Spencer, can’t they?”

“······.”

“I have been touring famous coffee farms in Jamaica for the past few weeks. Among them, the products of Clydesdale Coffee Farm are considered the best in Jamaica.

But the coffee beans from our farm were much larger and had a better density. So much better that there is no comparison.

Even though it is currently a mess because it is not being taken care of, it seemed to me that the quality was outstanding.

If you combine this with the special processing method that only you, Mr. Spencer, knows, I am confident that we can create the best coffee in the world right here in Jamaica.”

Tae-oh’s words were full of confidence and had a strange power to persuade.

Spencer, who also had a long experience as a merchant, instinctively felt that Tae-oh’s words weren’t empty boasting.

“Hum, hum. If there was really such a good product, why are you coming forward now? You should have been farming coffee a long time ago, shouldn’t you?”

“I was actually doing other business in London, but I came to Jamaica recently because of the coffee farm.”

For some reason, Spencer’s eyebrows twitched at the word ‘London’, showing an immediate reaction.

“Why would someone doing business in London come all the way here? To a coffee farm that doesn’t make any money?”

“I happened to acquire a coffee farm in Jamaica. At first, I was just going to look at the land and sell it off.

But the coffee trees and the environment I saw there were unusual. I was sure that if I properly processed the coffee beans from my farm, I would get very high-quality coffee.

However, since I am not an expert in this field, I wasn’t sure if it was really good or just my feeling. That’s why I came to see you, Mr. Spencer.”

“High-quality coffee, you say?”

Mr. Spencer showed great interest in the words “high-quality coffee.”

Tae-oh thought it was time to press his advantage and hurriedly spoke.

“I believe that even good things can only shine when they are in the hands of someone who can recognize them.

No matter how good the coffee trees and beans are, they are just ordinary seeds to those who cannot distinguish them.

I think you, Mr. Spencer, are the only one in Jamaica who can properly distinguish good coffee beans.

If you add the coffee processing method that you developed, I dare to say that Jamaican coffee will be sold as precious as gold all over the world.”

“······.”

David Spencer’s emotions were fluctuating.

At one time, he had wanted to make the best coffee in the world before he died.

So he devoted himself to coffee cultivation, dreaming of crushing the nose of the French partner who had kicked him out.

However, the low-quality coffee beans in Jamaica were far inferior to the coffee beans in Saint-Domingue, and his dreams and passions naturally faded away.

But Tae-oh was strongly stimulating that dream, reawakening his dormant will.

After a moment of contemplation, Spencer showed a positive reaction, as if he couldn’t resist.

“Hum, well… Lord Butler asked me to… well, after hearing your story, it might not be so bad to go and take a look in person…”

Tae-oh was overjoyed.

“Really? Oh, thank you so much. Thank you.”

“But don’t get your hopes up too high. Just because the beans look good in the eyes of a novice who doesn’t know coffee, it’s very likely that they will be terrible when I go and check.”

“Yes, I understand. I just want to get your expert assessment.”