I have been studying a couple "contemporary issues" in the retail coffee business. One is cup sizes: is it really necessary to have 16oz and 20oz cups if all is happening is the coffee is being covered up? Two: Syrups - Is it really necessary to cover up the taste of your hand selected espresso with that garbage?

I have listened to a couple different podcasts and heard opinions from shop owners and read on coffeed.com about all of this, but today I was in Greenville, SC at Shannon Hudgens shop Coffeeandcrema.com and a customer comes up and orders a latte with a syrup. I didn't think anything about it, that is normal right? She walks away and then about two minutes later comes back with a complaint: "All I can taste is coffee. Can I have more syrup?" Shannon quickly obliges and she sips and says, "Nope, I still can't taste anything but the coffee in this latte."

I almost fell right off of that bar stool! It was all I could do to contain myself. This lady taught me a whole bunch today. I won't say what she taught me, but she sure did take me to school!

Welcome to America! How long do you plan on staying?

Look at the lines at Starbies and at Mikkiedonald's. Those folks aren't there for the fine coffee and the prime beef... Or are they? Perception can be created by the spreading of a false image and mis-information. (As an example, read "The Warlords of Washington" by Bruce Catton. Not much has changed since WWII.)

My only real complaint about Starbies is that they have placed the dollar on a pedestal to be worshiped above all else and thrown coffee by the wayside. They had a huge opportunity to educate America as to what fine coffee could have been while still making a wonderful profit; but making coffee faster, with as little overhead and training as possible is the direction they took. Sure, employees will talk about all the training they receive, but the real LMs have been replaced by superautos. I wonder what percentage of the training was written by lawyers and not coffee experts.

Sure, it has paid off, but now a majority of coffee drinkers in this country think that a 16 ounce cup is a small, and that any coffee beverage should be thick like a milkshake. And in most of the coffee establishments around, being able to taste the coffee really IS a bad thing.

On this site we tend to discuss the finer side of coffee, but to the masses, it's just a large, hot, morning fix to help make it through to the bear claw at first break and the double cheese with fries at lunch. But Google for "Rogov" in alt.coffee and see what the "expert" said in print. This guy is supposedly a food expert writing in magazines and newspapers in Europe. Although the actual date of the article in question here is not given, Mr. Rogov's article entitled, "The Well-Made Cup of Coffee," was "originally written for an audience of restaurateurs and hoteliers..." It sounded like he had others do the research from magazines from the 30's and 40's and he signed his name to it. The article included the following knowledge nibbles which I quote as examples of this problem:

"No one loves coffee more than Italians, and about 150 years ago it was an Italian who first realized that one of the very best ways to make coffee was by forcing pressurized steam through coffee grinds."

"First of all, the best espresso will be made from freshly ground coffee.... After the coffee has been ground and put in a dispensing unit, it is important to teach staff members that a single espresso requires two full spoonfuls of coffee (most espresso machines come with a device for automatically measuring the coffee grinds)."

"...The trick is packing the coffee firmly but not so tight that the steam cannot make its way through."

"If the water in the espresso machine is hot enough (under pressure, the water should be maintained at 160 degrees Celsius/320 Fahrenheit)....."

"Another popular use of espresso is in making cappuccino. The best cappuccino will be made from strong double espresso and on the surface should be floated a generous amount of whipped cream. Sprinkled over the cream should be chocolate flakes.... To demonstrate to customers that they are really important, the whipped cream should be made from fresh cream (38% fat content) and should not come from a spray can, and the chocolate or cocoa sprinkled over the top should be of a high quality."

Now, much of that could be written off and tossed aside as drivel, but you have to remember that this was an article that appeared in a trade magazine as the writings of an expert. We won't get into the storm I created when I posted my response to his article on his website. Suffice it to say that the article was removed shortly thereafter and the response forum for it was closed and removed.

So what to do? I do all I can to try to hold back the flood of ignorance by placing my portafilter handle into the hole that Starbies et.al. created in the wall of coffee knowledge. And YES, that is my portafilter handle in the wall and not my... never mind.......

I am ranted out... but I am already looking forward to my morning cappa.. WITHOUT whipped cream or chocolate flakes.... or was it cocoa? Even he couldn't get that straight.

Grab your portafilters and hold them on high as you march into the morning's light to spread the good word and pull the good pull...

In these situations:

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Enjoy an espresso.

Repeat.

Thank you John. And this from a guy who runs a cafe in SLC, Utah and roasts his own. He's definitely fighting the good fight, or pulling the good pull as Randy says. If you've never been there, it's all about SUVs, McD's and suburban sprawl. If he can advise to take a breath and chill, it seems like we will all live. I'm sure the baristas at Stumptown here in Portland and all the other great cafes in the Pacific NW get asked for mondo, syrup-laden lattes all the time. If that's what the people want, who are they to argue? But they are patient and always ready to educate if someone is willing to listen. I think it's a good attitude to have.

Justin

I NEVER go to starbucks for a cappa, or a machiatto, or any espresso flavored drink. I do however still go to starbucks for, well for lack of better terms, a starbucks. I love their caramel mocha frappuccino, their eggnog latte, and on occasion, their caramel machiatto. People never say, let's meet for coffee, they say: let's meet at starbucks. Likewise, I like Taco Bell's crunch wrap supreme, but I would NEVER tell you that I was eating authentic mexican food.

Starbucks has gone fully auto; even steaming milk is pretty much full auto. This serves two purposes; one, it creates consistency. I can go to any starbucks and get the same "quality" drink. Second, it provides a supply to meet the demands. Starbucks is busy, and a fully auto set up allows them to get the masses on their way to work. I've been ten deep at the register and still gotten my drink in a VERY timely manner.

Without Starbucks, the masses still wouldn't know beyond "give me a large coffee". Starbucks has created a passion for "espresso". W/O starbucks, I myself probably never would have encountered Stumptown roasters, or The Albina Press. My ONLY problem with Starbucks is I feel they are deceptive to their customers by touting themselves as a place for coffee aficionados. I guess it's all part of their marketing, but let's call a spade a spade. They really don't have anything to be ashamed about, because most people I know really like starbucks' coffee. I guess "ignorance is bliss".

WilsonHines wrote:She walks away and then about two minutes later comes back with a complaint: "All I can taste is coffee. Can I have more syrup?" Shannon quickly obliges and she sips and says, "Nope, I still can't taste anything but the coffee in this latte."

I'm not surprised, most Americans learn that espresso is a black, bitter brew that needs to be tamed with milk and sugar. The lady saying "This tastes like coffee" probably means "it tastes bitter and ashy." Or it may be that she really doesn't like the taste of coffee and her latte is simply a pleasant milky sweet caffeine delivery medium. There's probably less demanding preparations for such a beverage than an espresso machine, whatever that drink is...

When you are behind the counter, most of the people want something like this, sad though it is. But the people that good baristas wait for are the ones who understand what espresso should taste like. If you are that sort, expect a true smile from that barista, not the fake "of course I will make you a sugar bomb" look.

AudiMan wrote:Starbucks has gone fully auto; even steaming milk is pretty much full auto. This serves two purposes; one, it creates consistency. I can go to any starbucks and get the same "quality" drink.

And... you need to get out more. The only thing more consistent at the 'buck than the seventeen second doppio is, 'I am Joe's complete lack of consistency'. I tend to spend as many nights on the road in a year as I do at home, and (until recent years) sometimes the choice has had to be *$ or nothing. That choice used to be the 'buck for their consistent mediocrity, and now it's nothing due to their consistent horrendousness.
To quote Howie, "We are not in the coffee business."
No Sh!t.

Psyd wrote:I tend to spend as many nights on the road in a year as I do at home, and (until recent years) sometimes the choice has had to be *$ or nothing. That choice used to be the 'buck for their consistent mediocrity, and now it's nothing due to their consistent horrendousness.

A better option might be to get yourself tricked out with a travel espresso kit. Then you can laugh your way right past all the syrupy drink makers.

Kaffee Bitte wrote:A better option might be to get yourself tricked out with a travel espresso kit. Then you can laugh your way right past all the syrupy drink makers.

Done and did. Silvia and Rocky go on the truck, and if I'm on the truck, great. If I fly, sometimes I'm a bit skrood. I used to be the best espresso maker with a Krups 963 you ever met! I pulled art-laden capps that made pro's and home machine enthusiasts skritch their heads in wonder. Every once in a while, though, that Green B!*(# would rear her ugly head and there'd be nothing else for it. I started drinking tea when I was away from home and separated from my travel kit, and even then I couldn't get room service to make me a proper cuppa. Do you know how much water cools from the kitchen to the eleventh floor?