Let's make some tea-flavored cookies later.
After lying down for a while, Lu Mingming made up her mind.
In the quiet environment, Lu Mingming closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep with the sound of the little tiger's breathing.
"Ding-dong—"
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Mingming was woken up by the doorbell. The little cubs around her all perked up alertly, showing a quick reaction ability far beyond that of cubs.
Lu Mingming padded towards the door in her slippers. She looked through the peephole and saw three delivery men holding white wooden boxes outside.
"Come in,"
Lu Mingming said as she opened the door.
"Put these two boxes in my room, and take the other one to the hotel kitchen."
The delivery men nodded and followed Lu Mingming's lead to the kitchen.
Lu Mingming opened the star network.
My goodness, they were indeed fast. It had only been half an hour from purchase to delivery.
In that case, should she process this tea first?
Lu Mingming rolled up her sweater sleeves vigorously and started unpacking the lids of the white wooden boxes in front of the hotel kitchen staff.
The chefs in the kitchen had already become familiar with Lu Mingming during her previous "visits" to cook. Now, seeing the delivery men carrying such large wooden boxes, they knew immediately what new items Lu Mingming had bought.
The chefs all gathered around, surrounding the large wooden box as if it were a treasure.
The oldest gentleman, with his hands behind his back, stretched his head out to get a closer look.
"Mingming streamer, what did you buy?"
Lu Mingming was peeling off the tape on the side, her voice laced with a smile. "It's tea. I haven't seen anyone in the interstellar era drink it, so I want to try making it myself."
"This?"
The old man stroked his white beard in thought.
"I've heard of vegetable leaves, though."
"I promise you'll love it once it's made from this tea, elder."
Lu Mingming set aside the seals.
She opened the latches at the four corners and gently tapped the lid to lift it.
A burst of refreshing fragrance mixed with natural comfort wafted into everyone's nostrils.
The tea from the home planet of plants, Elf Star, was extraordinary. Each leaf was tender green, lustrous, and uniformly translucent, like emerald algae, emitting a lingering fragrance like a secluded orchid.
The old man took a whiff, and the aroma filled his chest, bringing a sense of exhilaration and refreshment.
As a goat beastman, he had eaten no less than a hundred tons of tender grass since childhood, enough to drown a person. It was easy for him to recognize that the quality of these leaves was extremely high.
"Hey, what is this thing?"
"Tea,"
Lu Mingming replied.
"Are you going to stir-fry it to eat, or how do you eat it? As a herbivore, I'm quite knowledgeable about plants."
The old man pinched a verdant leaf, observing it closely, and asked Lu Mingming earnestly.
"Grandpa, it's not for stir-frying, it's for steeping to drink. It can also be ground into powder and added to other foods."
Lu Mingming couldn't suppress the smile that bloomed on her face, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
She buried her hands deep into the white wooden box, scooping up a large handful of tender green leaves from the bottom. The leaves in her palms brought her immense satisfaction.
Tea came in various types, and not all tea could be made into matcha.
However, this batch transported from Elf Star was indeed top-grade matcha material.
Judging by the translucence of its greenness alone, it far surpassed many teas Lu Mingming had seen on Earth. It must have been nourished in a shaded place, growing with abundant sunlight and water.
Lu Mingming enjoyed tea, but she was unsure if the beastmen of the Interstellar Alliance could easily accept it.
She said immediately,
"Grandpa, if you're interested, why don't you watch me make it? Afterwards, you can taste what I've made and give me your feedback."
The old chef's eyes lit up. "Sure, I'll wait here."
Lu Mingming stood up, patted the dust off her hands, and opened her smart device.
"Then I'll do a live stream while I'm at it. I promised my viewers I would."
After getting permission from the chefs, Lu Mingming changed the thumbnail to a basket of tea leaves and pressed the "Start Live" button.
As soon as the broadcast began, the first wave of viewers rushed in.
"Hello everyone, I'm Mingming is Still Sleepy. Today, I'm going to make some fried and steeped tea for you."
Lu Mingming pointed the camera at the basket of tea leaves on the ground to display them. Almost every viewer who joined could smell the faint, refreshing aroma.
[Sheep Doesn't Eat Grass: The streamer finally figured it out, are you preparing to become a herbivorous blogger? I've been eating mostly meat in your streams, it's hard, but it's really delicious.]
[Jasmine: I feel like this box of leaves will be transformed into some magical chemical reactions by streamer Mingming again.]
[Handsome Guys Get Attacked: +1 to the above. I feel the same way.]
"Alright now."
Lu Mingming feigned annoyance.
She had known her viewers for too long, and they dared to joke around with her.
"If you praise me too much, I'll become conceited. Because you all like me so much – I'll tell you a secret, I'm opening a shop."
If there was anyone who most wished for Lu Mingming to open a shop, it would undoubtedly be the millions of fans who had followed her journey.
Do you know how painful and frustrating it is to see delicious food every day but only be able to taste it in a virtual space, or frantically search for high-end restaurants online to replicate it?
If Lu Mingming were to open a shop, the first five minutes of its launch would be completely bought out by fans eager for her food.
[The Highest Good is Like Water: Really??? The streamer is opening a shop? Oh my god, finally, I'll have food to eat.]
[Deer Hits South Wall: New fan reporting! Catching the big giveaway, hope I can grab the first batch. You guys are too amazing~]
[Everyone Loves Little Rabbits: Mingming streamer, how much will you sell on the first day? Should I go find friends and family to help me click the link and rush to buy...]
"Hmm... I'm not sure yet. I'll let you all know the day before it goes on sale. It's very likely to be a limited edition. Wishing everyone good internet speeds, haha."
Lu Mingming picked out a few comments to answer the questions and then officially began frying the tea.
She scooped a handful of lush green leaves from the white wooden box and said, "I call these leaves tea. Before they are fried and fragrant, they look like this."
Lu Mingming held the tea leaves up to the camera, adding,
"After frying, the tea can be steeped in water, or ground into powder and added to various drinks and desserts. If you're interested, remember not to pick the leaves from the trees; look for tea leaves!"
Lu Mingming weighed out the appropriate amount of tea from the white wooden box.
Since tea was not widespread, there were no machines for frying tea. Lu Mingming had to resort to manual frying.
Fortunately, some interstellar technology could slow down the process to some extent. Moreover, manually fried tea leaves had better color, luster, and smoothness than machine-fried ones, and their taste and aroma were more mellow.
Considering it had been transported by sea, Lu Mingming picked out all the leaves that were slightly damp or had a musty smell and threw them into the trash.
After doing all this, Lu Mingming put the remaining good leaves into a pan for the first round of stir-frying.
This operation confused the onlookers.
[Blue Sea Blue Sky: Are these leaves delicious when stir-fried?]
Lu Mingming noticed this comment and replied, "This is the first step. There are many more steps to follow. Tea is not meant to be stir-fried and eaten; you must remember that."
The main purpose of the first round of stir-frying was to allow the green leaves to rub against the pan. Through the stirring motion of the spatula during frying, the leaves would be squeezed, releasing the full juice within the leaves.
After one round of frying, the leaves became dry and their color deepened to a dark green, with a slight caramel or roasted chestnut aroma, making the viewers in front of the screens salivate.
Even stir-frying leaves, Lu Mingming managed to make it look fancy!
The fried tea leaves were slightly hot. Lu Mingming simply poured the entire pan of leaves into an empty porcelain basin, put on safety gloves, and began to crush the leaves into powder, little by little.
The fried tea leaves were as brittle as flour. With a gentle pinch, a pile of dark green tea powder was easily shaken off the leaves.
Lu Mingming dipped her fingers into a small amount of tea powder and brought it to her nose to sniff carefully.
There was a light, sweet scent and the unique aroma of cooked plants. There was no burnt smell, so the making was considered successful.
Lu Mingming breathed a sigh of relief.
If a damp smell had appeared at this stage, the entire basin of leaves in the pan would have been useless.
Fortunately, the result was as expected.
"Our first step is successful!"
Lu Mingming displayed the fried tea leaves, speaking cheerfully.
The comment section was filled with congratulations, but some also expressed confusion about Lu Mingming's method.
[Mount Tai: Won't the water brewed from leaves taste like leaves? Aren't you all bored watching a streamer fry leaves for so long?]