*Rant* Anybody else hate the Brewster cafe?

[Maybell]

Youre good at dramatic writing xD

I personally drank too much coffee during some time and now if I have more than one I get anxiety/*****y.. so for me its more that he wants me to enjoy a healthy amount, it also makes it more special. (He is a coffee geek, so he takes great pride in making coffee which is also why he tells you to be up to his standards and to drink it before it cools because it affects the taste.) Its part of why I love his character, its good to take pride in ones work and master ones craft.
So to me he just feels hardworking and serviceminded and a little shy which is super cute to me ♡

I definitely get “the coffee geek” part.
The thing is, I wouldn’t mind him telling me how to drink my coffee if I actually had a choice not to listen to him.
It would make the cafe more realistic and him less intrusive. (I mean, aren’t shy people supposed to not be pushy or intrusive...?)

I also think they could’ve switched up his dialogue if they were going for “a healthy amount” as his reasoning for not wanting to serve you more than once per day.
For example, make him say “Drinking too much coffee wouldn’t be healthy, so I only serve one cup per day.” instead of just “....I only serve one cup per day...”

But even then, it would still be too pushy for someone who’s supposed to be shy, which is why I would rather describe him as aloof.

 

[meggiewes]

Eventually, after I finally managed to waste enough money, Brewster dignified to ask what kind of coffee beans I prefered, after which I had the privilege to choose between three different kinds of beans for him to pour hot water over.

I’m gonna go drink some TEA now and listen to sad songs...

I can see how you would be frustrated with Brewster. I didn't understand how the part-time barista job worked either until I looked up a guide.

But, as a self-named tea snob turned coffee drinker, there is an actual difference with the taste of a coffee if you have different beans. Coffee culture is also really different over in Japan where they are focused on super high-quality beans. And it is a faux paux in the coffee community to have hot coffee cool because the flavor changes and turns more bitter the longer you let the coffee sit. That is why Brewster gets upset if you want to have the coffee cool first because you aren't able to appreciate the nuances of flavors within the hot coffee.

I might have done a deep dive on the ACNL coffee bean types after discovering that there is a difference between store-bought Folgers and freshly roasted coffee beans from Kings Coast coffee (who are small batch and roasted to order). That being said, I still don't drink my coffee black!

Post automatically merged: Jan 16, 2021

I definitely get “the coffee geek” part.
The thing is, I wouldn’t mind him telling me how to drink my coffee if I actually had a choice not to listen to him.
It would make the cafe more realistic and him less intrusive. (I mean, aren’t shy people supposed to not be pushy or intrusive...?)

You do have a choice not to listen to him. He just feels upset when you don't drink it right away. I have told him more and gotten up with my coffee still on the bar before.

And shy people not being pushy or intrusive is a bit of a stereotype. All of the "shy" people I know in real life are some of the most opinionated, argumentative, and pushy people I know. You just have to get to know them first.

 

[Maybell]

I can see how you would be frustrated with Brewster. I didn't understand how the part-time barista job worked either until I looked up a guide.

But, as a self-named tea snob turned coffee drinker, there is an actual difference with the taste of a coffee if you have different beans. Coffee culture is also really different over in Japan where they are focused on super high-quality beans. And it is a faux paux in the coffee community to have hot coffee cool because the flavor changes and turns more bitter the longer you let the coffee sit. That is why Brewster gets upset if you want to have the coffee cool first because you aren't able to appreciate the nuances of flavors within the hot coffee.

I might have done a deep dive on the ACNL coffee bean types after discovering that there is a difference between store-bought Folgers and freshly roasted coffee beans from Kings Coast coffee (who are small batch and roasted to order). That being said, I still don't drink my coffee black!

Post automatically merged: Jan 16, 2021

You do have a choice not to listen to him. He just feels upset when you don't drink it right away. I have told him more and gotten up with my coffee still on the bar before.

And shy people not being pushy or intrusive is a bit of a stereotype. All of the "shy" people I know in real life are some of the most opinionated, argumentative, and pushy people I know. You just have to get to know them first.

It’s not Brewster asking what kind of beans I preferred that annoyed me, but rather that it took him 400 years to do so.
I should’ve been able to choose what kind of coffee I wanted from the start, since that’s usually how cafes work.
(Btw, I understand that different temperatures can impact the flavor of coffee, however, what flavor and what temperature you want your coffee to be is purely a matter of preference.)

Also, yes, shy people can be pushy around people they know and feel comfortable with (depending on what their temperament is like), but in that case, they’re not feeling shy around them.

What I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t make sense for somebody to be both pushy and shy at the same time. You either feel comfortable enough around somebody to allow yourself to be pushy or you don’t, in which case you’re going to be more timid and reserved.

Since Brewster is at his workplace, and speaking to customers (mostly strangers), he really shouldn’t be so intrusive if he’s supposed to be shy.
Also, his dialogue is very similar to that of cranky villagers (blunt and curt), which again, is why I find him to be aloof. Not shy.

 

[meggiewes]

It’s not Brewster asking what kind of beans I preferred that annoyed me, but rather that it took him 400 years to do so.
I should’ve been able to choose what kind of coffee I wanted from the start, since that’s usually how cafes work.
(Btw, I understand that different temperatures can impact the flavor of coffee, however, what flavor and what temperature you want your coffee to be is purely a matter of preference.)

Also, yes, shy people can be pushy around people they know and feel comfortable with (depending on what their temperament is like), but in that case, they’re not feeling shy around them.

What I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t make sense for somebody to be both pushy and shy at the same time. You either feel comfortable enough around somebody to allow yourself to be pushy or you don’t, in which case you’re going to be more timid and reserved.

Since Brewster is at his workplace, and speaking to customers (mostly strangers), he really shouldn’t be so intrusive if he’s supposed to be shy.
Also, his dialogue is very similar to that of cranky villagers (blunt and curt), which again, is why I find him to be aloof. Not shy.

Eh, then it is just preference. I never ever thought of Brewster as shy. Just reserved. Then again, I never thought Sable was shy either. I just thought she was cold and distant. They remind me of each other.

 

[Belle T]

I remember reading on this forum that you can sell the beans in a flea market space for more than what Re-Tail gives you for them outright. Somewhere just below 8,000 if I'm not mistaken? That's not a terrible source of income, but I agree that it's not a particularly fun one, either.

I think my main problem with the café is mostly that the majority of the time I go there, it's empty. When someone is there, it makes for some very interesting interactions, such as when you meet Tortimer there. I think Brewster being insistent on you drinking the coffee he makes specifically the way it is intended is something that would make for a charming and interesting bit of characterization if it were explored more than simply giving you a meaningless dialogue tree. I'm reminded of a stereotypical European chef, who will get offended if you substitute butter with margarine or something of that nature. To many chefs (and whatever you call people make beverages), their food is as much of an art form as it is a service, and viewing art the wrong way can severely shape your experience. That isn't to say that his pushiness is justified, but I can see why it would be this way from the perspective of character development.

But I do agree that for such a novel idea as a relaxing café where you can take a load off and chat with other villagers, Brewster's is pretty under-developed. I think it would be better if it were something like this, for example:

Each time you visit the café, he gives you a different type of coffee with different instructions on how to drink it. I would change the "only serve one coffee per day" to "only one order per day counts towards the total needed to get him to offer you a job." Alternatively, have a menu and rather than "order X number of coffees," change the task to "order one of everything on the menu at least once." Based on how you choose to drink your coffee (whether you comply with his request or don't) he will offer you a job under different circumstances. I actually think it would be pretty funny if he offered you a job specifically to teach you a lesson about respecting his requests about coffee, provided that it is well written.

Regardless of what you choose, he would eventually outline everything I just said about coffee as an art form, elaborating on his love of coffee with backstory, perhaps discussing his relationship with Blathers, etc. You know, actually being a character. As for the mini-game itself, yes, I do think it's a tad shallow and vague. Perhaps counter-intuitively, I think that making it more so might actually be the key to mending it. Or, to be more accurate, I think that if they're going to have you doing a lot of guesswork on how each villager likes their coffee, there should be more opportunities in the game to interact with them wherein you might actually have a chance of learning that bit of information. Something to incentivize interacting more with the villagers in unique and varied ways, rather than looking up online what all their preferences are.

Though this all hinges on making Animal Crossing a game where the villagers have a lot more agency, personality, and narrative attached to them, which I don't think is really the games' current design philosophy. So basically this post has just been me projecting about how much I wish the games had those sort of things.

Eh, then it is just preference. I never ever thought of Brewster as shy. Just reserved. Then again, I never thought Sable was shy either. I just thought she was cold and distant. They remind me of each other.

I mean, from experience, the two aren't mutually exclusive.