This is something I thought of in terms of how Youkou would possibly greet Gene should she meet him, and that's with a freshly steeped cup of hōjicha. She'd be overwhelmingly polite & modest and honestly very nervous and trying to not trip over her words and not come across as too much because, how often do you meet someone who is the champion of multiple regions? That is like, the greatest honor!
This has the unfortunate side-effect of making her come across as incredibly stilted as a way of maintaining a calm appearance.
I'd imagine that Gene would pick up on this and gently tell her that they're both equals; to not fret over it, and to not think of him as some sort of celebrity but as just A Guy, and she'd calm down substantially and apologize. (he'd probably tell her to not worry about it and then she'd have to bite back apologizing about apologizing. She's better about this after knowing Fukakai for some years and she loosens up quite a bit and isn't so formal, but it's still a hard habit to break. She's making progress, though) She'd be much more naturally friendly to him and not be so worried about making a flawless first impression. (especially so if he catches sight of her Alcremie and remarks on its uniqueness to which her anxiety would dissipate and she'd happily gush about it and how much she adores her precious Kanbi)
Though she offers him hōjicha, she'd certainly also offer one of her homemade confections that would be best paired with it. ("Some flavors that pair beautifully with hojicha are maple syrup, chocolate, matcha, black sesame, sweet potato, fig, caramel, and vanilla.")
She'd make specifically hōjicha for him because she'd learn of his love for coffee and not know how exactly he feels about tea, so she'd go a safer route by making a tea that tastes and smells reminiscent of coffee which also has the plus of being the most luxurious of the tea she sells. (again, first impressions— but also wanting to provide him with a gift of something very nice to enjoy)
(Gene would like hōjicha, right? I had a thought he possibly would given what's stated in this [https://www.goldenmoontea.com/blogs/tea/106690311-hojicha-the-perfect-tea-for-the-coffee-drinker] and this [https://hojicha.co/pages/hojicha-vs-matcha#:~:text=Hojicha%20is%20made%20by%20slowly,stems%2C%20stalks%2C%20or%20twigs.] I am not concise so I give the links themselves for viewing. Anyway, I thought this, and your answer as to Gene's taste in coffee further left me with the feeling he'd like it, but I'm curious to know how he'd react to a tea that smells similar to coffee and tastes somewhat like it)
(context for fukakai, context for youkou)
(link 1; link 2)
(Honestly that tea looks so delicious I'm tempted to buy some myself to try it... My sister makes matcha all the time and I'm a huge fan of jasmine green tea and my mom can't drink coffee, so it would be a big hit in our household 😳😳😳)
Absolutely, Gene would jump at a chance to have a decaf tea that still has the taste of coffee,,, I originally planned to have him cut back on the caffeine over time and start drinking more tea once Team Ultra Flare got defeated, but (gestures at Lysandre and the others who are still working as usual)
More importantly, Youkou is so sweet,,,, her character design and personality are so well implemented, and Gene would love to hear about her Alcremie 🥺🥺🥺
