Chapter 13 — Coffee Pairing Queen

It was a message from Co Nhien. "Tran Ban has been detained." "Police found twelve tons of inventory in his warehouse. All were expired, degenerate, repackaged beans." "The batch with the highest aflatoxin content exceeded the standard by eleven times."I put my phone away. Twelve tons. If it all flows into the market. I don't dare to imagine. PART 19 Things happened faster than I expected. On the third day after Tran Ban was detained, the local evening newspaper published a front-page story. "Man used fake goods as real goods, sold poisoned coffee, the amount of money involved exceeded one million yuan." The article did not mention my name, only saying "a consumer with professional qualifications discovered the problem first". But my phone kept getting called to the point of being dead. First are colleagues. Mr. Trieu sent me a very long message, basically saying "I was wrong about last time", "I will believe whatever you say in the future", "Can you re-establish the single pairing group, everyone still wants to drink with you". I don't answer. Next are strange numbers. There is a reporter who wants to interview me. There are other damaged businesses that you would like to contact. There is even a media blogger who wants to collaborate on a series of videos "exposing the dark side of food". I refuse them all. But there was a call I couldn't refuse. The caller's name is Luong Kha. She is the editor-in-chief of a public account about food, called “Eating To Understand”. I know this account, specializing in disseminating food safety knowledge, has more than three million followers. "Hello Ms. Khuong Ninh, we learned through several channels that you are the whistleblower in this coffee case." "We also know that you are Q-Grader, previously worked at Lam Son." "I'm not looking for you to interview. I just want to ask you something." "The anonymous blog 'That Cup of Coffee' is yours, right?" I was silent for three seconds. "Why are you?" know?" "I've been following 'That Cup of Coffee' for two years. The writing style, the tasting angle, the way of describing the extraction parameters... completely coincide with your testing thinking in this incident." "Furthermore, last month your blog just published an article about preserving coffee beans and identifying mold. The timing is too coincidental." I didn't say. "Don't be nervous." Luong Kha laughed. “I won't reveal you.”“I just want to say…your blog is very well written. Among the one hundred and eighty thousand followers, there are many people in the industry.”“Including the product managers of several chain brands, they all say your tasting reports are the most trustworthy.”“If one day you don't want to be anonymous anymore…”“We can cooperate.”“Just think. No rush.”She hung up. I looked at the home page “That Cup of Coffee” on my phone screen. One hundred and eighty thousand followers. For two years, I used my time after work to write more than three hundred coffee reviews and observe the industry. From seeds, extracts, tools to hidden stories in the industry. No one knows those articles were written by me. Including colleagues in the company, including Co Nhien. I always assumed this blog was just a personal hobby, a shadow of my former life. But now, something seems to be changing. That evening, I received another text message. From someone I haven't contacted for a long time. Research and development director of the old company Lam Son Coffee Group, Tham Viet. "Khuong Ninh, long time no see. I've heard about that coffee." "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." "I'll come to your place for work next week, can I invite you for a meal?" I thought and answered: "Okay." PART 20 I had dinner with Tham Viet at a quiet bar. He was thinner, his sideburns had a few more gray strands, but he was still in good spirits. Three years no see. That year when I left Lam Son, he was the one who didn't want to let me go the most. "You are the one who has

The most talented in the entire research and development department.” Then he said, "Once you're gone, the soul of the new product line is gone." But I still went. There are many reasons. Overwork, creative exhaustion, industry fights. There are also some private matters. I need some time to be a normal person. "Are you doing well in your new company?" Tham Viet asked. “It's okay. Softer than before.” “But you haven't left the coffee yet.” He smiled. “‘That Cup of Coffee’ is yours, right?” I looked at him. This is the second person today to guess it. "Don't look at me like that." He took a sip of wine. “Every article she wrote about natural processing methods, terms used, flavor evaluation logic... were all thoughts when she did research and development that year.” “Only she used the phrase 'structural sweetness'. That's a word you thought of yourself.” “Can you please stop talking nonsense?” “Don't say, don't say.” He raised his hands in surrender. “But I came today because I really have something I want to discuss with you.” He put down his glass of wine and became serious again. “This year Lam Son wants to upgrade its brand, shifting from fast-consuming coffee to specialty.” “We have just established an independent department called 'Quality Control and Food Safety'.” “I would like to invite you to be the person in charge of this department.”