Cerridwyn Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2010 Posts: 395 Location: Inland Empire California Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Sat Oct 27, 2012, 7:12am Subject: Re: C'mon guys, be honest
A couple of jobs ago, one of the people I worked with had a daughter who worked for *$ corporate. She would send her mom bags of beans now and then.
They were absolutely nothing like what came out of the shops / stores. They were actually drinkable, I was shocked.
Someone told me once, that the reasons they roast like they do is so that (ala McD's) no matter where in the world you go, you get the same cup and that the skills of the Barista don't matter much.
I don't know if they still provide their corporate people with decent roasted coffee as opposed to the stuff in the stores, but overall I found that interesting. This was about 6 or 7 years ago.
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,099 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Sat Oct 27, 2012, 11:16am Subject: Re: C'mon guys, be honest
Starbucks? The answer is "no," I can't drink their stuff at all. In the maybe five times I've been there in the last 2+ years, I only order brewed coffee (not espresso), and it's just gotten worse . . . whether they are changing or I am, who can say?
I can still "deal with" Peet's for a latte or a cup of (brewed) coffee. It's not my favorite, but I've also been drinking it since the 1980s.
I guess the more you get used to top quality espresso, and the more you know about know that subject, in other words the greater CoffeeGeek you are, the less you are willing to tolerate badly made coffee, simply because you recognize it at once. I've come to the point that in a restaurant I rather do without an espresso after dinner than drink a horrible one from a badly maintained superautomatic or an inexpertly operated portafilter machine. Some of my non-CoffeeGeek friends don't understand. They enjoy their watery, underextracted espresso made from stale beans or rubber foam latte, even praise their taste, but they just don't know any better. People as a general unfortunately have been de-educated not to know good coffee.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
Eiron Senior Member Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 332 Location: Loveland, Colorado Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Quick Mill 0930 Grinder: Quick Mill 031, Solis 166 Drip: TechniVorm KBTS Roaster: frying pan & wooden spatula
Posted Thu Nov 8, 2012, 9:31am Subject: Re: C'mon guys, be honest
LOL, this is an old thread!
I do go to Starbuck's, but only when I'm travelling. That's when I get myself into the "road coffee" mindset, where I just expect that everything's going to taste sub-optimal until I get back home. I guess it's a kind of survival tactic, as it helps me "enjoy" the experiences of diner/hotel coffees in different locations. And last summer, Starbuck's was the only place open at 10:00pm when I really needed a jolt to make it home. I had been driving for 14 hrs & still had another 3 hrs to go. A quad breve from anywhere was a necessity at that point! And since people keep giving me Starbuck's gift cards, this provides the opportunity to use them. (I've still got $4 on the $20 card my BiL gave me last Xmas.) :-)
"Just what I need - another 'geek' label..." - my friend Mark, on being told of Coffee Geek's existence
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,730 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Thu Nov 8, 2012, 9:39am Subject: Re: C'mon guys, be honest
*$$ sells other things besides lousy coffee...so (besides your need for something that resembles coffee while traveling) you could use the gift cards for food items, teas, other drinks (I think they even carry Red Bull), and hardware. You could even use the gift cards to buy gifts for other people...lol!
Eiron Senior Member Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 332 Location: Loveland, Colorado Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Quick Mill 0930 Grinder: Quick Mill 031, Solis 166 Drip: TechniVorm KBTS Roaster: frying pan & wooden spatula
Posted Thu Nov 8, 2012, 9:58am Subject: Re: C'mon guys, be honest
:-D True 'nuf! I do have a knockbox from them. But most of the eqpt they sell is not something I'm interested in buying. And yeah, I do pick up the tab when I'm with friends. The last time I used my card (this summer) was when I was driving to a group bike ride with a co-worker. He loves Starbuck's, & wanted to hit the drive-thru on our way out of town. But he likes those jumbo syrupy drinks... :-(
"Just what I need - another 'geek' label..." - my friend Mark, on being told of Coffee Geek's existence
Posted Fri Dec 28, 2012, 8:10pm Subject: Re: C'mon guys, be honest
Well, I finally had some blonde roast that I've been wanting to try since I first heard about it.
Funny prelude: I was on a road trip. Stopped at a Starbucks outside Orlando. (Now I did have some fresh Yemen and a Zass, and a V60 in the van, but . . . )
My 8-year-old said as we were walking toward the store, "Daddy, I thought you didn't go to stores for coffee."
"Yes, that's right."
We approach the door: "Daddy, I thought you didn't like coffee from here."
Her bewilderment was growing rapidly. She was quite weirded out.
We walk in the door: "Daddy, why are we even here?"
I asked her if she smelled what I smelled. I proceeded to explain that that's what burnt coffee smelled like.
I greet the sweet lady who helped me. She patiently allowed me to look at the beans and scowl at the environs. I asked if they had the blonde roast. They showed me the beans. Ground them in a Ditting, did a manual pour-over, and hey! Better than . . .
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