Had to confirm my hypothesis. Espresso was so burnt I retuned it for bland drip. I did learn that their Reserve coffee is what we are used to roasting at home. $19 for 8.8 oz. They didn't have that to taste. Also tried Dutch Bros drip on this trip. More bland brown water.

starbuck is a marketing driven company, nothing more nothing less...they used to see me through my coffee needs during business trips in the US, not anymore...

My wife regularly reminds me that my coffee hobby / obsession doesn't benefit her. And I reply that's because she likes coffee flavored milk and sugar. And she likes to have that milk and sugar (and flavorings) custom made to her specs. I think Charbux has that down and hence the appeal to consumers.

My brother in law choose the spittoon route on the espresso.

Just went to a "reserve" a few weeks ago. I spoke briefly about it in my Chicago cafe hop thread. The words that came to mind for me when I entered were "brand masturbation." Lofty language, brass and copper, mid-range coffee gear with their logo plastered on it, sculpted pipes/metal work, a huge probat roaster that looked like it was placed and then never used, and tourists ooohhing and awwwwing over old beans. They were charging upwards of $40 for 9oz bags with no roast date. Felt like Disney world, all glam but no substance.

Sounds like a roastery we went to on Kona.

CarefreeBuzzBuzz wrote:Had to confirm my hypothesis. Espresso was so burnt I retuned it for bland drip. I did learn that their Reserve coffee is what we are used to roasting at home. $19 for 8.8 oz. They didn't have that to taste. Also tried Dutch Bros drip on this trip. More bland brown water.

I've talked about it here. Just about every store bought roasted beans are "expired" by the time it's in the consumer's hands including the premium brands. There are small exceptions around me but the quality isn't worth the trip and price. That's why I do my own roasting.

Milligan wrote:Just went to a "reserve" a few weeks ago. I spoke briefly about it in my Chicago cafe hop thread. The words that came to mind for me when I entered were "brand masturbation." Lofty language, brass and copper, mid-range coffee gear with their logo plastered on it, sculpted pipes/metal work, a huge probat roaster that looked like it was placed and then never used, and tourists ooohhing and awwwwing over old beans. They were charging upwards of $40 for 9oz bags with no roast date. Felt like Disney world, all glam but no substance.

I've been there little after the grand opening. I've heard that there was long line every day to get in for couple of months. The words came to your mind are very fitting description. Everything is overpriced. In other words, tourist trap (that whole neighborhood is). I've seen someone operating that big Probat when I visited. Maybe they only did it first couple of months.

We went to the Reserve and original Starbucks in Seattle; it was an a nice tourist stop; they were very friendly and the roastmaster spent some time explaining the process to the visitors. The original store by Pikes Place Market was the more "touristy" of the two, Reserve a bit theme parkish if that's a thing.

So when people ask I can now say you can home roast or spend $35lb for Starbucks reserve. As I recall there were no roast dates on the product, but considering we were in Nipomo CA (75 miles north of Santa Barbara) I can assure you there was no Reserve roastery near by.

I didn't comment on Dutch Brothers much in my first post. They appear to try to sell you every oz of sugar they can in any form possible. Even when I asked for a cappuccino they wanted to convert it to a mocha or something else I can't recall. Their plain drip was so so bland I can't even give it a tasting note.