Madame Pamplemousse and the time-travelling caf - Rupert Kingfisher

In Paris, there is a caf, elegantly furnished with polished wooden tables and an awning of striped gold and green, whose walls are filled with vintage posters advertising drinks such as Green Fairy Liqueur, Mermaid Madeira and Red Devil Lemonade. And sitting on the bar is a large, silver, steam-powered espresso coffee machine.The caf is owned by Monsieur Moutarde, and Monsieur Moutarde has made the most extraordinary discovery. With the help of his friend, Madame Pamplemousse, he has created a time-travel machine (for that is what the espresso coffee machine is). Very special, highly flavoured, intense ingredients are fed into the machine, where they are subatomically blended with quantum froth and space-time foam. The resulting liquid looks like a small black coffee but in fact transports the drinker through time and space.