The Way of The Coffee Warriors 🐉

Protagonist: Fang Ping

Martial arts skill: Levitation Dragon Palm

Brew method: French Press

Fang Ping studied at the French Press Martial Arts School, where he learned the language of the Dragon King and the art of levitation.

His master Yang Chao charged him with the task of saving the coffee fields from flooding in the Yunnan Province along the Yangtze River. Fang Ping succeeded at his task and was awarded the title of Master of the Fàguó Méitǐ. It is the highest honor that a student of the French Press Martial Arts School can earn. All who wish to obtain the title of Master of the French Press must make a journey on the Yangtze River to the Ling Tao Fields of Enlightenment. Fang Ping trains them in the ways of the French Press Martial Arts School.

In Ping’s travels, he met a woman called Ling Daiyu, who was said to be a descendant of the Dragon King’s Daughter. Ling Daiyu became his first disciple and lent her name to the enlightenment fields. Fang Ping became the first Master of the French Press to train a woman protege Ling Daiyu. In exchange for teaching her the Ways, Ling taught Fang Ping the language of the Dragon King.

How to Brew French Press Coffee

Instructions for Fang Ping’s perfect cup of French Press coffee:

600 ml for 2 to 4 servings

40g of ground coffee, coarsely ground

1. Boil some water. There should be enough hot water to both heat the carafe and to make the coffee.
2. Preheat the carafe with hot water and then throw out the water.
3. Grind up the coffee and pour it into the bottom of the carafe; no water should be in the carafe.
4. Fill the French Press with the hot water. Wait for 4 or 5 minutes.
5. Stir the coffee with a chopstick. Spoon out the foam that gathers on top. Give the coffee another 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Put the lid on the French Press and plunge. However, don’t push the plunger all the way down. It should just sit on the coffee’s surface.
7. Serve the coffee and enjoy.

Protagonist: Chen Bo Er

Martial arts skill: Shapeshifting Six Flow

Brew method: Pour over

As an adherent to the French Press Martial Arts School Chen Bo Er first studied the martial arts under master Yang Chao. The old master taught him many secrets, including the art of shapeshifting and alchemy. Yang Chao also tutored him in subjects like poetry, the Tao, philosophy, and the martial arts.

While at the French Press Martial Arts School, Chen Bo Er developed his alchemy skills. People who consumed Chen Bo Er’s coffee and tea experienced alchemical transformations, leading to enlightenment. After his training under Yang Chao, Chen Bo Er went on to found the School of Alchemy.

Over the course of his life, he became known for his military prowess and strategic thinking. He conquered many villages and towns in and around Beijing. Despite being ruthless with his enemies, Chen Bo Er’s people had great love for him. Many of them joined his army. Many more studied at the School of Alchemy.

Chen Bo Er’s greatest strength also became his greatest weakness. He was disciplined to a fault and avoided leisure time, a habit which eventually became his undoing in his later years as his physical health went into decline.

How to Brew Pour Over Coffee

Instructions for Chen Bo Er’s perfect cup of pour over coffee:

200ml for 2 servings

13-20g medium-fine to medium ground coffee grounds

170ml for 1 serving

11-13g medium-fine to medium ground coffee grounds

1. Gather your filter papers. Put it into the V60 coffee carafe.
2. Wet the filter down with hot water. Then, dump the water.
3. Grind the coffee into a medium to medium fine texture. Put the coffee into the coffee carafe. Be sure the the coffee ground surface is flat. If it’s not, then tape on the sides of the filter until the grounds settle.
4. Pour the water over the grounds, going slowly. Allow the grounds to saturate; wait at least a half a minute to a minute.
5. Pour the coffee into the cup for a minute or two, going in a circular motion. Fill the cups until they’re full.
6. Throw out the filter and drink your coffee.

Protagonist: Li Feng

Martial arts skill: Nine Phoenix Subduing Palm

Brew method: Aeropress

Li Feng lived during the time of Genghis Khan. Strife, conflict, and warfare broke out constantly; because this was the reality of Li Feng’s life, he learned martial arts to protect himself. A student of the School of Alchemy and a new school, the Neuro-Energetic Medicine School, Li Feng gained fame as a master martial artist in the singlestick and double stick as well as renown as a healer.

When Genghis Khan’s armies marched through Li Feng’s village, Li Feng became a member of his tribe. Li Feng learned Khan’s ways and eventually became a governor of one of Khan’s tribes. Over the years in Khan’s service, Li Feng became wealthy in his own right; he amassed land and planted coffee fields in the Yunnan Province. He developed a method for brewing coffee on the road that resembled the modern Aeropress technique. As a result, in the modern times he has become associated with that brewing method.

Li Feng took on apprentices, which allowed him to spread his coffee empire further. He traded with other merchants along Khan’s route. Because Khan forbade his troops from attacking merchants, Li Feng and other merchants like him never feared the roads during his travels. Li Feng married the Dragon King’s Daughter Ling Daiyu, who he met on a trip to the Ling Tao Fields of Enlightenment.

How to Brew Aeropress Coffee

Instructions for Li Feng’s perfect cup of Aeropress coffee:

220ml for 1-2 servings

14-18g of medium to finely-ground coffee grounds

1. Wet down the filter. Then, drizzle some warm water into the filter.
2. Flip the Aeropress over and push its plunger into the Aeropress until the plunger is just above the #4.
3. Put the ground up coffee into the Aeropress.
4. Heat water until it’s between 80 and 90 degrees. Pour the hot water into the Aeropress, allowing it to saturate the grounds for 30 to 40 seconds.
5. Add 220g more water (or until the water level reaches the #1). Wait for 2 minutes.
6. Put the filter in the Aeropress and cap it securely.
7. Grab the mug and the coffee apparatus and flip them over so that the plunger is right-side up (on top).
8. Slowly push on the plunger until the coffee is done.

Protagonist: Ling Daiyu - Aka the Dragon King’s Daughter

Martial arts skill: Fairy Glacier Swordplay

Brew method: Cold brew

Ling Daiyu descended from the original Dragon King’s Daughter. As a descendant of the Dragon King’s Daughter Ling Daiyu achieved enlightenment at a very early age. Like her ancestor, the original Dragon King’s Daughter, Ling Daiyu worked as a shepherdess, tending flocks of sheep by day.

At night, she descended into the Kingdom Under the Lake to visit the Palace of the Dragon King. There she performed ancient water magic, a supernatural gift she inherited from the ancient Dragon King, who was the maker of floods. When Ling Daiyu first performed the water magic, the banks of the Yangtze River flooded often.

Eventually, she mastered the wisdom of the waters, and once she did, the fields in the Yunnan Province grew lush and green. It was then that she met Fang Ping and went to live at his hut on the river. After studying in his school for many years, Fang Ping decided to name the fields surrounding his hut the Ling Tao Fields of Enlightenment to honor his disciple.

Although Ling Daiyu developed many psychic gifts, the gifts of clairvoyance and claircognizance manifested especially strong in her. It was through these gifts that she eventually saw the recipe for the coffee she became known for, the cold brew. Ling Daiyu went on to marry the merchant and martial artist Li Feng. Together, they traveled the coffee and tea routes, taking apprentices and disciples along the way.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Instructions for Ling Daiyu’s perfect cup of cold brew coffee:

500ml for 1-2 servings

50g of coarse ground coffee grounds

1. Grind the beans until they’re coarse. You should have at least 50g of coffee grounds.
2. Add the grounds to a glass container. (A Mason jar will also work.) Next, pour filtered water into the jar.
3. Stir up the grounds so that the water and the grounds become thoroughly mixed.
4. Allow the mixture to brew overnight. It can be put into the refrigerator or left out at room temperature.
5. Strain grounds out of the coffee using a coffee filter and a wire strainer. You could also strain the coffee with a cheese cloth.
6. Serve it over ice. Add creamer, Half and Half, or milk and drink.

Protagonist: Meng Da - aka Master of Thunder and Geysers

Martial arts skill: Thunder Lion Roar and Demonic Blade

Brew method: Moka Pot

Like Chen Bo Er, Meng Da was known for his interests in the arts (including the culinary arts), philosophy, and the martial arts. At a young age, Want Lei was forced to leave his village when his father was exiled from the Macau Province after a political uprising. His family fled to the Yunnan Province. Eventually, they settled in a village near the Ling Tao Fields of Enlightenment.

It was on one of Meng Da’s daily walks to the Yangtze River that he met the Dragon King’s Daughter, who invited him to become a student in the French Press Martial Arts School. Despite being short in stature, Meng Da had enormous physical strength and speed. After studying with the Dragon King’s Daughter for many years, Meng Da learned how to create thunder and command geysers. When the Dragon King’s Daughter was away, it was Meng Da who performed her duties at the Kingdom Under the Lake.

Eventually, Meng Da’s father was pardoned of his political crimes, allowing the Wang family to return to the Macau Province. Meng Da eventually became a tribal king and ascended the throne at the age of 31. During his reign, Meng Da pursued many relationships with the merchants who came through the Macau Province, including Li Feng. His relationship with Li Feng proved to be profitable, both on a commercial and spiritual front.

How to Brew Moka Pot Coffee

Instructions for Meng Da’s perfect cup of Moka Pot coffee:

15-17g of finely ground coffee grounds

1. Heat up some water in the kettle.
2. Pour the heated water into the bottom portion of the Moka Pot.
3. Grind up the coffee, then pour it into the Moka Pot’s filter basket. Shake the filter basket to even out the level of the coffee grounds.
4. Place the filter basket into the bottom compartment.
5. Assemble the bottom and the top pieces together. They should just screw together. Remember, the bottom basket will be warm because you’ve already poured hot water into the bottom section.
6. Put the Moka Pot on your stove. Turn the burner onto medium heat.
7. When the coffee is ready, the pot will start to hiss and the coffee will bubble up into the top portion of the pot.
8. Pour the coffee into a cup with your favorite creamer or sweetener.

Protagonist: Hong Xifen

Martial arts skill: Heavenly Pulse Finger

Brew method: Siphon Coffee / Vacuum Coffee

Abandoned by her father in the woods when she was a child, Hong Xifen was adopted by a forest witch knowns as Māmā Xióng or Mother Bear. Māmā Xióng was renowned in the Macau Province as a chemist, a master archer, and a philosopher. During Hong Xifen’s formative years, Māmā Xióng trained Hong Xifen in these arts until Hong Xifen became the best archer in all of China, becoming better than even Māmā Xióng herself.

When Genghis Khan’s army invaded, Hong Xifen disguised herself as a man and joined his troops. Because of her skills as a runner and archer, Hong Xifen rose to prominence in Genghis Khan’s army until she eventually became an imperial assassin, archer, and messenger. Once during a particularly grueling mission, Hong Xifen survived on a diet of fruits and wild boars that she shot with her bow and arrow.

Eventually, Genghis Khan discovered that Hong Xifen was a woman, but she had already earned such respect from Khan and his army that she was permitted to remain at her post.

After Genghis Khan discovered her true identity, Hong Xifen developed a reputation for being very beautiful and cunning. A rival chieftain Li Junjie approached her with a marriage proposal. Initially, Hong Xifen refused. The chieftain appealed to Genghis Khan, who didn’t like the idea of losing his best assassin.

As a result, Khan suggested that the matter be settled with a race. Whoever won the race determined the outcome of the marriage proposal. Until the last few minutes of the race, Hong Xifen had the lead. It was then that one of the Li Junjie’s spies threw magic apples in her path; Hong Xifen couldn’t resist the apples and stopped to pick them up. Li Junjie won the race and Hong Xifen’s hand in marriage.

How to Brew Siphon Coffee / Vacuum Coffee

Instructions for Hong Xifen’s perfect cup of siphon coffee:

300ml for 2 servings

18-20g of medium ground coffee grounds

1. Warm up some water and soak the filter in the warm water for 5 or 6 minutes.
2. Place the coffee filter into the siphon’s bottom portion. Attach the filter.
3. Fill the round glass carafe with some of the warm water (300ml).
4. Assemble the top funnel onto the siphon’s bulb. Put the burner underneath this.
5. The water will start boiling and eventually move into the hopper. Once this occurs, stir the coffee grounds in gently using a wooden spoon.
6. Turn the burner down to lower the flame. Allow the java to brew for at least 1 minute.
7. Remove the burner. Stir the coffee a few more times with the wooden spoon.
8. Wait for 2 minutes until the coffee grounds form at the filter.
9. Use a hot pad or a kitchen towel to remove the top funnel. The coffee is now ready to serve.