So, is this the place...?

I think so. Minori just messaged me saying that their group just finished doing their meeting.

Oh, Kanade, Ichika, welcome!
We were just getting ready for our practice tea party.

Okay, pardon us...

Pardon us.

Umm... Hanasato? Momoi?
Thank you both for finding a place where we can practice.

I think I'll do better than I've done in the past, but I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to prepare our tea properly during the actual thing...

Don't worry!
That's completely understandable!

Also, since we'll be at a park, we won't be using quite the same things as here!

So, let's just do our best today to simulate the real thing!

Okay, sounds good.

(My initial hope was that they'd just give us a little advice, but they've gone out of their way to put together a practice tea party...)

(That means I need to do what I can to learn how to prepare the best tea I can.)

Alright, we're all set to go!

Okay, the water's boiling, so we can start steeping the tea.

I'll give it a try this time as well.

Hehe. This is so exciting!

How's the teapot...? Okay, it should be warm enough.

Just put in enough tea leaves for one person for this taste test.

Also, we'll need to make the most of the water in our kettle during the day of, so we should see how our tea turns out after the hot water's cooled down a bit.

Okay.

So, enough tea leaves for one person...

You'll need to steep yours for two minutes, Kanade, and mine needs four, right?

*Nod*

Really? I didn't realize each type of tea had to be steeped for a different amount of time.

Oh, it apparently depends on the size and length of the leaves.

Kanade's tea leaves don't take very long to steep because they're so thin. Mine are much bigger, which means steeping them for longer.

I see!

That reminds me, I've heard that it's much better to use glass teapots like this one.

Yeah, because they allow you to see how the color of the water changes and the way the leaves are moving.

The way they're moving...? Oh, they're spinning around.

That's right. The tea leaves “jump” because of convection.

I've heard that before!
The tea's supposed to taste better after they've spun around a lot, right?!

Go, go, tea leaves!
MORE MORE JUMPING!

Hey, not so close to the table!
You don't wanna ruin the groove by shaking it!

*Gasp*
I'm sorry...!

Hehe.

It smells nice...
But it tastes a little bitter...

Then, why don't we try using less of the leaves or not steeping it for as long?

Oh, right...
We can just keep making adjustments like that.

Can you tell me what you think of this herbal tea?

Wow, it smells so nice and fresh...!
This aroma makes me feel really healthy for some reason!

And it tastes great!
You can definitely stick to whatever you just did.

Thank goodness...

Momoi, Hanasato...
Thank you for tasting everything for us.

We feel much better about our tea party now.

I'm glad we could help.

Yeah, so let's make this tea party a great one!

Yes.
Let's!

Now, as much as I hate to say this, it's time to start cleaning everything up.

Right.

Oh, actually, before I forget...

Before you forget what, Kanade?

Umm... I bought some cookies to go with our tea.

But I'd completely forgotten about them until now because I was so nervous...

You bought cookies?!

Then, let's have them now!
We still have a bit of tea left.

Can we, Kanade? I was actually just starting to get a little hungry!

Yes, of course.
Would you like some as well, Hoshino...?

Yes, thank you!

Mmm... Tea and sweets. What more can you ask for?

Yeah, these are so yummy!

(I'm so glad we got a chance to practice for our tea party.)

(And I want to do my best for everyone when this happens for real.)