Rodríguez de Mendoza

When Perusina, Perusino, and Franz arrived in Rodríguez de Mendoza, the morning still hung softly over the hills. The air was cool and green, and everywhere leaves shimmered as if someone had just washed the entire forest.

Franz stopped in the middle of the path.

"I smell something," he said.

Perusino also stopped. "If it's something to eat, I'll smell it too."

Franz raised his nose. "It smells of chocolate. And rain. And earth. And a little bit of adventure."

Perusina smiled. "Then we're in the right place."

They had heard about a coffee plantation that was supposedly so good that the adults in Rodríguez de Mendoza would only nod mysteriously when asked about it. Nobody said where it was. Everyone just said: "Whoever wants to find it must first learn to smell properly."

Perusino found that unfair.

"I can smell very well," he said. "Yesterday I smelled banana bread through two doors."

Franz looked at him. "That was me."

The path led between coffee plants. Small red fruits hung from the branches, looking like tiny cherries. Perusina carefully picked one and turned it between her fingers.

"This is coffee?" Perusino asked disappointedly. "It doesn't look like coffee at all."

"Coffee isn't born as a brown bean," said a voice.

Behind a bush stood a woman with a basket on her arm. She wore a straw hat and laughed as if she had been expecting the three of them.

"I am Doña Rosa," she said. "And you must be looking for the best coffee plantation in the world."

Franz immediately stood up straight. "We're on official business."

"Of course," said Doña Rosa. "Then your first test begins."

Perusino swallowed. "Is there breakfast during tests?"

Doña Rosa pointed to three baskets. "The red coffee cherries go into the first basket. The green ones into the second. Everything else that doesn't belong goes into the third."

That sounded simple.

It wasn't simple.

Franz accidentally threw a small snail into the basket with the red fruits. Perusino put two red cherries into the third basket because they "looked suspiciously shiny." Perusina continued to work calmly until she suddenly laughed.

"Perusino," she said, "you've harvested your own pocket."

Indeed, a whole handful of coffee cherries were in his pocket.

After a while, Doña Rosa nodded contentedly. "Not bad. Now comes the drying area."

The drying area lay in the sun. Thousands of coffee beans spread out there like a brown sea. They smelled warm and sweet, and Franz's eyes widened.

"Don't lie down in it," Perusina said.

"I wasn't planning to," Franz said.

At that moment, Perusino slipped on a loose bean, flailed his arms, and slid across the drying area. Franz jumped after him to save him, got tangled in an empty coffee sack, and suddenly continued as a bouncing sack with ears.

Doña Rosa laughed so hard she had to hold onto her hat.

"Second test passed," she said.

"How?" Perusino asked from the ground.

"You didn't step on the beans."

"That was intentional," Perusino said with dignity.

After that, Doña Rosa led them to a small roasting oven. There, the scent grew stronger. Not just of coffee. Of chocolate. Of nuts. Of the forest after rain. Perusina closed her eyes.

"Now I understand," she said softly. "The plantation isn't just good because coffee grows here. It's good because you pay attention to everything."

Doña Rosa nodded. "To the red fruits. To the earth. To the water. To the sun. And to patience."

"Patience is difficult," Perusino said.

"Especially right before tasting," Franz said.

Finally, they arrived at a small wooden house among the coffee plants. Cups stood on the table. Steam rose from a pot.

Perusino sat down immediately. "I'm ready for the best cup of coffee in the world."

Doña Rosa looked at him kindly. "You are ready for the best realization of the day."

Perusino blinked. "Sounds less delicious."

"Coffee is for adults," Doña Rosa said. "Children are too young for it. It contains caffeine. That keeps you awake and can make you very fidgety."

It grew quiet.

Perusino looked as if someone had just announced the end of all adventures.

Franz whispered: "I'd be willing to take your caffeine."

"You're a sly one," Perusina said.

"Precisely."

Doña Rosa placed three other mugs on the table. They contained warm cocoa. There was also banana bread.

Perusino smelled it.

"I forgive everyone," he said.

They sat in front of the wooden house, drank cocoa, and watched the sun move across Rodríguez de Mendoza. Down in the valley, the rooftops shone, above, the forest rustled, and small insects hummed among the coffee plants.

"Did we find the best coffee plantation in the world?" Franz asked, with cocoa foam on his snout.

Perusina nodded. "Yes."

"Even though we didn't drink any coffee?" Perusino asked.

"Precisely because of that," Perusina said. "We learned why it's special."

Perusino thought for a moment and bit into his banana bread.

"Then this is the best coffee plantation in the world," he said, "with the best non-coffee for children."

Doña Rosa laughed.

And Franz? He was already sticking his nose into the wind again.

"I smell something else," he said.

Perusina sighed. "Please, no new adventure."

Franz smiled.

"Oh yes. But this time it smells like lunch."