Values

Simplicity/Reduction

On a service level, try to reduce the amount of things someone needs to think about. Whether that’s menu choices or the infusion process itself. Take as much complexity out of things as possible

On a visual level, clean lines, minimal palette, limit clutter. Typography-first kind of approach

On a material level, less waste, less packaging, less...stuff. Water, leaves, vessel.

On a tone level, work towards clarity, reduce word count. Plain language where possible.

Quality Product

If it’s not great, it doesn’t need to be on the menu

There’s a difference between great and perfect—great is “what’s good is so good, I can forget about what’s bad”, perfect is “there are no negatives”

Form is a Function

Considering aesthetics/beauty on par with efficiency/utility

In particular, “elegance”—understated, quiet aesthetics

“Graphic-ness”

Abstracted, geometric or otherwise standing out from the fuzzier, more organic nature of daily life

This applies to other senses—music that sounds a little more abstract, smells that isolate more in the nose, textures that feel almost fake...

Obviously, furniture and books

Politeness/Respect (ignore for now, unsure how to phrase this)

It’s not “warmth” in the sense of being someone’s best friend. A slightly more formal regard.

On a service level, it’s not “traditional tea ceremony” or “stuffy French restaurant” but it’s not casual to the point of “hey, how’s it goin’?”...it’s maybe more like a spa reception or a yoga studio?

⁠

From Regarding Cocktails:

[...] Care probably sums it up the best. It extended to his patrons and employees. Milk & Honey was, in his own words, “a secret oasis of quality in the desert.” Good drinks served by conscientious people to appreciative customers on their best behaviour. That’s all he wanted. It was a lot to ask. The miracle is that he succeeded at all.

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