Kabaret is a chilling, gorgeously designed visual novel and puzzle game that sees players interacting with various monsters from Asian folklore. Taking on the role of Jebat, a boy cursed into the form of a monster, players will meet and befriend – and possibly more? – the many supernatural creatures inhabiting the titular Kabaret. This dark, compelling adventure combines mini-games, puzzles, and point-and-click and visual novel elements to create a unique gameplay experience.
One of Jebat’s main roles within the Kabaret is as the Tea Master, who performs tea ceremonies to calm down and cheer up dissatisfied guests. Completing tea ceremonies successfully and serving guests the kind of tea they want is the best way to raise Jebat’s relationship with these characters and learn more about them. The game also features several achievements tied to serving guests the correct tea. It can be tricky to remember all the steps of the tea ceremony in Kabaret, which is where GameLuster’s handy guide comes in!
Choose Three Ingredients To Add To The Tea
To make tea in Kabaret, you will have to select three ingredients: tea leaves, liquid, and a third “extra” that adds a bit of unique flavor. Each time you serve tea to a customer, you will be given a different mix of ingredients to choose from, typically three of each. While you can make a drinkable tea with any combination of ingredients, the goal is to find a tea they will like to increase your relationship with them.
You can do this by observing their behavior and hearing what they have to say. Hover over each ingredient – but do not click on it yet – and see if they express interest or disgust. Additionally, many tea ceremony customers will smile or look intrigued when presented with an ingredient they like, or visibly recoil when you show them something they hate. You can also check the scroll situated on the right side of the screen at any time for a few hints about the customer’s tea preferences.
Once you’ve picked the ingredients, click on each of them. This will add the chosen ingredients to the tea tray. Try to avoid clicking on the wrong ingredient here, as it will be quite a while until you can discard it and remake your tea. Once you’ve selected your three ingredients, click on the teapot to add them and brew the tea. (You may need to click a second time to start the brewing process.)
Serve The Lucky Spirit, Then Your Guest
Once the tea is ready, click on the cup to pour it. However, do NOT immediately serve it to your guest! First, you must offer up a serving of tea to the lucky spirit, Raden, who accompanies you at all times. He will be sitting on the left side of the tea tray holding a coin in his mouth. Click on Raden to offer him tea properly. Seems he prefers to take a bath in the tea rather than simply drink it, but we won’t judge!
After this, the teacup will once again be empty. Click on it again to pour a second cup of tea. This is the only time you are able to dispose of your tea. If you think you have accidentally mixed the wrong tea, you can click on the drainage holes on the side of the tea tray to pour it out. Keep in mind, if you do this, you will have to start the entire brewing process all over again, so be careful to only throw out your tea if you think you have made a big mistake.
If you think your tea is ready to serve, click on the small serving plate on the right next to the scroll. Your guest will then drink the tea and react either positively or negatively. If you get it right, the name of the tea will light up and you will receive relationship points with the guest, while another completed tea ceremony will be added to your Journal. If you got it wrong, the name of the tea will turn gray and you will not get a completion mark – but don’t worry, you will have plenty of other opportunities to make tea in Kabaret!
Kabaret is a sinister yet fun visual novel and puzzle hybrid that takes players into the compelling world of Southeast Asian folklore. It is currently available for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. You can check out GameLuster’s review of Kabaret to see what we thought of it!
Have you been enjoying Kabaret? What do you think of the tea ceremony aspect of the game? Have you made any particularly interesting brews to serve your guest? What other Kabaret guides would you like to see from us? Comment below and let us know!
