Northern Refreshments 4

"Thank you for coming, Matriarch Halid," Nora said, noticing Vida's eyes on her.

"Oh child, come here." Vida said. Nora walked up and Vida embraced her in a hug. She felt the girl tremble slightly and then hug her tighter. "Congratulations. You look so radiant. Both of you do." Vida said as she stroked the young girls back with affection, it hit her that she was an orphan. "You have been creating with Cerez, I see. He writes about what you two have been up to. Those drink vessels look absolutely wonderful," Vida said. The coined citrus fruits floating in them looked very aesthetically pleasing submerged in the amber fluid.

"Oh yes, Matriarch Halid please try the Northerner drink that I and Cerez prepared this morning for the celebration." Nora said. 

"You may address me as Vida, Nora. You are family now. Do not forget it." Vida said, now in a very wonderful mood. She knew that Vida would enjoy the all-natural drink, but she mentioned Cerez's name to encourage her. Vida was the very person who gave her the tonic that was preventing her nausea she was so thankful to her.

"You both made this?" Vida asked. Most of the women she knew did not like to get their hands dirty. 

"Yes. But I did the heavy lifting," Cerez said. Cerez eagerly fetched his mother a drink from one of the many coolers they had prepared. Vida was pleased, this was something her son helped her do. Of course she would try it. It smelled sweet and it was a foggy red brown color.

 "This is made from Pekoe, it is a shrub we have started to cultivate recently. The leaves are specially processed and dried. It is called Iced Tea. It is mixed with fruit and cane syrup. It is excellent for rehydration and focus." Nora explained as Vida took a sip and then started to enjoy the cup. It made sense now as to why he had asked for so many of those shrubs.

"The color is curious, it's almost like the color of your hair," Amrita said as she took a glass that was poured for her by Kadir with a smile on her face. He was more sociable and warm. Liem poured a glass for both Allurai and Nora. A queue started to form as their parents became very interested. There was such an interesting mouth feel from the drink. It washed the palette clean and made you want to drink more.

"Pekoe was used in traditional medications historically for infections. It is interesting since it is not palatable when chewed and does not muddle well." Vida explained. "How did you get the flavor so potent and the color so rich?" Vida asked. She was incredibly fascinated with herbs and traditional medication. It was often green when boiled. Awful when muddled raw.

"We collected the leaves at a specific stage of their growth and used a special traditional method to process the leaves by hand for flavor. After it is completed, the leaves are steeped in hot water." Nora explained. Vida took a look at the empty glass. She drained the glass very quickly. 

"This is excellent. Delicious. Amrita? Allurai? Your thoughts?" Vida asked her friends.

"This is really good. It leaves you wanting more. I have already asked for another cup," Allurai said with a smile. She was pleasantly surprised by the bittersweet taste. It would sell very well as a food product, it would not cost much to produce and manufacture.

 "Are there other Northern refreshments that use Pekoe?" Dorien asked. He was unaware of the purpose of their project. Or of the popularity of it to the indigenous Northern peoples. It seemed like a practice they must have started after fracture. He raised his brows. He was the one who managed the gardens they plucked the leaves from. He also saw the screens outside which were used for part of the processing steps and watched them working outside on them in the early morning each day. Dorien felt very proud.

"Yes. This is going to be one of the first of the planned products. Nora has thankfully memorized most of her people's recipes and products. There are many that are produced by the pekoe plant itself. Due to their resourcefulness. We still have some research and development of hot drinks, but we think that Northern drinks like Iced tea and Milk Tea will be very popular in their respective markets." Liem explained. Nora was surprised at the news that it would be a line of business for their clan. A lot happened when she was sleeping, as per usual. This time she inadvertently started a refreshment company. A blush crawled across her face as everyone enjoyed it, the accolades she received felt unjustified..

 "We are still looking for a proper milk that simulates the northern taste. Nora is going to start research on that. We will be making several other test batches of new flavors soon." Cerez added. Nora looked at the men who already had a business plan. She was already starting to make an impact on this society by introducing new products to them. She would have to make sure that the business was run ethically and sustainably. Humans had this problem of screwing up their planet. Nora could not ethically be the Mother of a major polluter.

 "I would like to make the trip out to the facility to see how things are run. I am very interested in learning about agriculture. If you have any suggestions for materials or products I should try, please do not hesitate to contact me." Nora said. She was feeling a little left out.

"You are definitely most welcome to come and stay with Halid whenever you wish. I am excited to see what you come up with. Please send samples to our home. Clan Halid is very interested in partnering with you," Vida said excitedly. She was so proud of Cerez for following in her footsteps in the food industry, Northern foods would be very profitable even. Vida enjoyed new food experiences. She was suddenly very envious of Allurai for having her in the building. What delicacies would she get to eat at the next family banquet?

"Clan Sedai can help with the automation of processing Pekoe into Tea." Amrita added. It sounded like there was some human judgment involved in choosing which leaves were suitable that would have to be made by hand. She was interested in getting involved to see how Kadir would handle her decision-making on staffing. Nora felt a little uneasy about rushing into this business. 

"We are, of course, still in the testing phase. Nora is still in the process of finding authentic and adequate ingredients," Kadir said.

"Actually there are some refinements that I would like to make to existing ingredients. Cane syrup is something I would very much like to try experimenting with, but we do not have adequate room to do so." Nora said. Cane syrup was excellent, it was sugar. It was so lucky that it was readily available. However, she would like to experiment with so much more to recreate versions of her home world to make her feel more at home here. Amrita was surprised about her inquisitiveness. It was clear that Kadir had met his match. This woman was just as curious as her beloved son.

 "Kadir will have to bring you to one of our test sites, or we will have to see if there is room to make you a lab here so you can experiment. Dareem, could you help me if I want to make arrangements?" Amrita asked her brother, one of Allurai's spouses, directly. She felt invigorated by her curiosity about culinary science and had another drink. 

'Kadir must be really spending a lot of time with her.' Harrit thought with great pleasure. He was getting over his phobia. 

"I would enjoy that. We'd actually get to leave the courtyard. I have been stuck inside buildings mostly since we have been in Callor, it would be nice to see the scenery," Nora complained. She looked at Kadir and back to Amrita. She then focused her gaze on Dareem. "Wait, that's your uncle?" Nora asked. 

"We will have to visit more." Nora said, looking at Allurai. Nora was shocked to know that Dareem was related to Kadir. Now that she took a closer look, they did share some similarities.