Butler Reina writes about the time she spends alone at a butler café she loves on her days off. A private record of a single cup — and what only becomes visible when you sit on the side that receives hospitality.
Hello, everyone. This is Butler Reina. Today, a slightly personal story. Let me tell you about a butler café I love — the one I wander into alone on my days off.
Usually I am the one serving guests, on the floor of a private dining room. So it may seem a little strange that I go out of my way to visit a butler café on my time off. But when you move to the side that receives hospitality, the scenery you normally stand in looks completely different.
That day, too, I was shown to a seat by the window. The moment I took a first sip of the tea brought to me, I always find myself sitting up straighter. The amount of leaves and the steeping matter, of course — but even more, the cup gently warmed beforehand, the pouring paced to my own breath. It is these unspoken courtesies that make one feel truly cared for. The very things never written in any manual — you only realise their weight once you are sitting in the guest's chair.
The seasonal baked treat served alongside is one of my small pleasures, too. A sweetness that does not overpower the fragrance of the tea, quietly set beside the cup. Ah, this person truly understands their leaves, I think, and it makes me happy. And before I know it, I have gained one more idea for the next time I set a table myself.
In the end, this time at the café is, for me, both rest and study — quietly learning the server's hands while being served. Do become a guest yourself now and then. Your everyday table may come to look just a little more dear.
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Back to the Butler Journal
See the full list of daily notes and reflections written by our in-house butlers.
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