I stumbled upon a *$'s in Hong Kong the other day, when I was walking to the Apple Store at the IFC Mall, that had a semi-auto LM and Super Jolly's. I was so shocked to see it I walked inside and asked why they were still using a the older grinder/machine setup, they said "What are you talking about?".

I said never mind and then went upstairs for a shot from "Fuel", those guys can make a mean espresso. Check out their menu.

So serious, why do they still have the super jolly when using superauto?

Any info on which superauto they use or do they use their special, oh-so-wonderful custom-made for Starbucks machine?

They opened their first store in The Netherlands in 2011.
Now they got already 11
Just looked on their website and one of them is only 15 miles away from where I live.
So I guess I should avoid it?Never had one of their coffees.I'll give it a shot when I'm in the neighbourhood.

They only have 11? Shocking.

No, that Hong Kong location does not use Super-autos, they use a Semi-auto LM and Mazzer Super Jolly grinders. But, when you run those blackened greasy beans through the gear, it makes no difference, it is still acrid swill.

dkny3939 wrote:They only have 11? Shocking.

Check the size of holland .You've got ballparks that are bigger.

That has never ever stopped Starbucks from opening multiple locations across the street from one another . It makes me sad every time I walk around and see $'s on literally every block.

That's true, STBX absolutely saturated the market in many cities, hurting their own business. I don't see why people would be sad or angry about it, or have to be preachy about the quality or lack thereof, of STB coffee. People can drink fermented horse urine and claim it's good for all I care.

joatmon wrote:Easy does it Randy. You a blues harp player?

Sure am. And I have a witness - Double-O posted photographic incriminating evidence:

Things are in motion for me to start teaching a beginners' blues harp class as well...

My biggest problem with the 'buks is that they had an opportunity to create a business model that could have educated Americans as to what espresso could be AND have a profitable business, but they chose to concentrate on profit and ignore the basic product. Maybe I am a bit touchy having been a teacher to 20+ years, but the missed educational opportunity is a sad thing, and even sadder is their product. They talk a good game, but a large number of their beverages are just unhealthy (sugar and fat).

For further damning evidence, spend some time HERE at the "I Hate Starbucks" BB. It is populated by employees using screen names to hide their identity.

There are tons of pages of threads on here and on other websites addressing connoisseurs' frustrations with the company if you want to look them up and read more. Not really any point in dragging up the emotions again. Fortunately, the flame wars are pretty much one sided on home-barista.com, thus they die out pretty quickly since everyone is pretty much preachin' to the choir. I've said it before, I don't care if they do well in their business; it's a free country. It just annoys me how much they think they are high quality and how the majority of people believe it. But like I said, let's not get into it...

As far as machines go, they have been using customized machines from Thermoplan in Switzerland. They were using the Black & White model renamed Verismo (not to be confused with their single serve machine coming out sometime in the future also called Verismo), and in the past 4 years they switched to the Tiger. Seattle's Best got the hand-me-down Black & White from daddy Schultz. Still a lot of them floating around out there, though not as exciting as when they unloaded all of their Super Jollys and LMs. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=the ... &_osacat=0
Here is the Tiger platform that they now use. It has been customized quite a bit and renamed Mastrena. 5 pound and 1 pound regular and decaf hoppers, respectively. Plastic (maybe teflon or other heat resistant plastic) steam wand with temp probe, adjustable brew head height, larger grounds drawer, and probably some other technical modifications. http://www.thermoplan.ru/tiger_en.html

from: http://www.singleserveespresso.com/arch ... led_12.php
"It's an unbelievable tool that will provide us with the highest-quality, consistent shot of espresso that will be second to none," -Schultz from http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2008/0 ... ys-clover/
It's words like this that annoy me. Simply nonesense! At least McD's understands what their burgers are and doesn't try to market them as the pinnacle of hamburger cuisine! Fortunately for Starbucks, their customers still believe they are drinking quality.

EDIT: One more thing that I don't like about Starbucks. They make relationships awkward. How do you talk to a friend or family member about coffee when they "love coffee" but they think Starbucks is good, high quality coffee? It's difficult to share with them without insulting their intelligence or palate.