So I went to Starbucks yesterday... - Page 2

[dgblkbelt]

I think the lesson that needs to be learnt here is simply.... Don't get coffee from chains or crap coffee shops.

Know what places are good and go significantly out of your way to make sure you buy your coffee from them.

It may not make a big difference, but quality coffee shops deserve your business.

Indeed, but what to do when you are away?

[luca]

Thanks for sharing your story. We've regrettably had similar experiences at fine restaurants:

* Second Empire - scalding hot cappuccino. After the best meal since leaving Paris, the after dinner cappuccino burned the roof of my mouth. Why didn't I complain? Why did I pay for it?

* Enoteca Vin - a very expensive refurbished Astoria; unfortunately the staff didn't know the grinder was adjustable and I saw the 90 second extraction. The waitress noted that I sipped and immediately set it aside. It wasn't on the bill.

* Bistro 64 (formally Cosmopolitan) - the waitress not only knew the roaster, she correctly listed the five coffees in their espresso blend. My wife joked that I was frequently disappointed by restaurant espresso drinks; the waitress offered to bring one and if I didn't like it, it would not be on the bill. A thin, blond, flavorless... bleech.

Three good restaurants in our area, three bad experiences. I really would love to order coffee after a nice dinner, but I'm tired of disappointments. Instead I recommend a port or sweet wine from the dessert menu.

Yep; it's pretty much the same downunder. We have a wonderful restaurant called "Vue De Monde" with an absolutely sensational chef who seems to have been using Illy forever. There was a bit of space in the building, so they opened up a cafe along the footpath. The food is exceptionally good value cafe fare, particularly the pastry. Anyhoo, while I was there I tried the coffee, expecting it to be a disappointment. It was pretty funny, actually - I got my hopes up at one point when the baristi were scoffing at the fact that an Illy trainer was coming in in a few days. The barista paid attention and the flow rate of the pour was more or less right. My recollection is a bit fuzzy, but I think that he even ground the coffee freshly, but forgot to flush the machine. After all of that buildup, I think that if I had emptied the contents of an ashtray into my espresso and then drunk it, it would possibly have tasted less ashy. Why are the pretty ones always so dumb? Other than that, brilliant cafe. I blogged about it here.

Not too long ago, Neil Perry from Rockpool was on TV talking about how the coffee that they use is the "market leader" because it has the highest market share ... wtf?

Cheers,

Luca

[RegulatorJohnson]

Yesterday, I stopped at a McDonald's and it wasn't a three star restaurant. The chef wasn't wearing a top hat and couldn't handle a knife.

mmmm, no knife needed to cut TVP? (textured vegetable protein)

i once visited a starbucks in the bathroom of a starbucks.

rj

[gtrman]

There is a starbucks about a mile away from my house, and two dunkin donuts within 1/2 mile, and a small double drive thru specialty kiosk even closer. My usual at starbucks is a medium cappa, and at the other places i usually get lattes. It may come as a surprise that the two dunkin donuts do the best job out of all of them. These dunkin' employees seem to be the most attentive, and atually produce a pretty good quality shot (super auto or not). The kiosk is a close second, but the starbucks is by far the worst. the milk is always boiled and the "baristas" are always preoccupied with friends that have come to visit them at work. keep in mind all of these places use super autos. To my inexperienced tastebuds, the best drink i can get in the immediate area is a latte from dunkin donuts either hot or iced, however going a little bit farther i can do better.

There are a couple of starbucks (one nearer home and one near my school) that can make a decent cappa, IMO. But the best ive had is at the Trident Booksellers cafe on Newbury St in Boston.

-Jeff

[Psyd]

I think the lesson that needs to be learnt here is simply.... Don't get coffee from chains or crap coffee shops.

Know what places are good and go significantly out of your way to make sure you buy your coffee from them.

It may not make a big difference, but quality coffee shops deserve your business.

While staying at the Hyatt on Market St in San Francisco, I took a cab to Blue Bottle Roasters to get coffee. We hailed a cab directly (and I do meant directly) in front of a Starbucks to do so. We were right around the corner from a "Java City" or some such chain. We drove past at least a dozen other coffee houses to get to BB. Three drinks, and a half a pound of beans, plus cab fare both ways, $50-ish. You don't need to tell me.
OTOH, there are times when you are trapped. Airports, ferinstance. I can't remember, but it was in the south, coming back from DC (with a bike ride to murky!) but the girls at the (non-SB) coffee shop at the airport let me pull my own shots! We had met at another kiosk, and I had asked the clerk where to get good espresso, and the girl she was chatting with had just left the coffee shop for the day. She grabbed me by the hand and led me to the shop!
OTOH, ninety percent of the airports I get to have Starbucks affiliated kiosks. This means that they have a Starbucks-looking place, use Starbucks coffee, but have no other resemblance to a Starbucks. This can sometimes, but rarely be good.
I order a short cappu. It's Howard Schultz' drink, too, when he visits. It's been lost somewhere. I believe that they have been unofficially instructed to try to discourage a 'short' cappuccino, as it resembles something that is actually a cappuccino too closely.
Howard Schultz is in it for the money, plain and simple.