Posted Mon Sep 26, 2005, 3:58pm Subject: Charbucks sinks further into Micky D's mentality
I stopped into $bucks for some pumpkin bread (no honest) this morning and to grab a sandwich. I look over and notice they have changed out thier real espresso machines for these self contained dual needle muck squirting devices. All you hot shot barista types can forget about imparting any wisdom to $bucks now. Kinda like goin to 7-11 at this point.
Jasonian Senior Member Joined: 8 Aug 2005 Posts: 3,856 Location: Lubbock, TX Expertise: Professional
Posted Mon Sep 26, 2005, 10:11pm Subject: Re: Charbucks sinks further into Micky D's mentality
It's been that way for quite awhile.. I was trained on a fully automatic machine when I worked at one over the summer. Espresso quality isn't very good at all.. hardly drinkable.
dankbean Senior Member Joined: 8 Jun 2005 Posts: 886 Location: Raleigh, NC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: mine Roaster: self
Posted Thu Sep 29, 2005, 6:56am Subject: Re: Charbucks sinks further into Micky D's mentality
(Reuters) — Burger King Corp. Chief Executive Greg Brenneman said on Tuesday the No. 2 burger chain will launch a new coffee brand called "BK Joe" in the next 10 days, beating McDonald's Corp.'s nationwide rollout of its new coffee blend by several months.< > The blend will replace Burger King's existing coffee, which Brenneman said "wasn't any good." "I would bet that we'll have premium coffee before McDonald's does," Brenneman said at the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit at Reuters U.S. headquarters in New York.<
looks like Burger King is trying to step their game up
because little sissy coffee drinks are for little sissy men
Mr_Bingley Senior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 185 Location: New York Expertise: Professional
Posted Thu Sep 29, 2005, 7:40am Subject: Re: Charbucks sinks further into Micky D's mentality
Yeah, I was kinda surprised when I heard about Starbucks going to those auto machines. I guess it must be a labor issue (getting peolpe properly trained) and maybe with the gazillion stores they have there's some employee liability issues with all the other machines. Crazy. For a place that gets a lot of it's mystique and value added due to ambience and all that jazz this seems to be a dumb move.
mgrignan Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2002 Posts: 77 Location: WY Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Sep 29, 2005, 8:02am Subject: Re: Charbucks sinks further into Micky D's mentality
Honestly? I'm glad Starbucks went to superautos. I don't go to Starbucks for proper espresso, I go for a quick caffeine pick-me-up. Because I don't like drip, I usually order a nonfat latte, a drink where terrible shots really really stand out, and I can tell you that the average quality of shots from the various Starbies nearby has greatly improved since they put in superautos. OF COURSE the shots would be even better if they'd been made on a real, well-maintained, espresso machine by a highly trained barista, but if that's what you're after, why are you at Starbucks? Complaining about Starbucks becoming less authentic is ridiculous. I don't expect haute cusine when I go to Chipotle, but that doesn't mean I can't still applaud Chipotle for taking steps to improve within the restrictions of their business model, such as switching to better meat suppliers. If I want real espresso, I'll go find a real espresso bar (or just go home), but if I'm at work and only have ten minutes in which to obtain something caffeinated and not hatefully bitter, damn straight I'm happy that the Starbucks next door has a superauto. I have good friends who are Starbucks baristas, and I really don't mean this as a knock on them - it's just a sad truth that most of the "real" espresso machines at Starbucks weren't properly cleaned/maintained, nor does the high volume of business allow for careful and exacting brewing. The superautos are a much better fit for the Starbucks business model, and in my experience they are improving shot quality.
Posted Thu Sep 29, 2005, 10:39pm Subject: Re: Charbucks sinks further into Micky D's mentality
I don't see why Starbucks went from the Lineas to the Superautos.. I think a cheaper and more effective move would have been the Swift grinder.. Less training and more consistency.. And Superautos need to be cleaned just like a regular machine.. so if they weren't being cleaned before I can't see a real difference now..
I can't really say, honestly. I boycotted Starbucks on principle LONG before I ever worked at one. And even then, the only reason I drank any of it was because it didn't cost me anything and contained caffiene. It also gave me a chance to practice different recipes and milk techniques. But the espresso side of it was never all that great.
Jasonian Senior Member Joined: 8 Aug 2005 Posts: 3,856 Location: Lubbock, TX Expertise: Professional
Posted Fri Sep 30, 2005, 1:00am Subject: Re: Charbucks sinks further into Micky D's mentality
Well, cleaning of the superautos is a fully automatic process that we run upon closing. Press a button, drop the tablet in the top chute, press another button, and the manual part of the cleaning process is complete. The machine was designed to be cleaned this way. concidering that, I'm sure that rancid oils are much less of an issue comparitively.. but the shots severely lacked any real crema. Upon settling, there's hardly any crema at all and the shot is bitter and burnt. (gee.. I wonder why that is). The steam, however, does lack the control that the old machines had. Steam is "on" and "off". It's a button. There is no control of steam rate, and the steaming power of these machines is unreal. steaming a pitcher of milk for a Venti latte (2 shots and 18 oz. of milk.. yup) takes no time at all. The up side is that microfoam is a breeze with minimal effort. Any effort for microfoam will give you microfoam. It was very simple.
Even so, the barista who does not care will make TERRIBLE drinks. One thing about STarbucks is that their shots will burn if not infused with milk within less than 10 seconds of being pulled. There is a hugely noticeble difference in quality in that window of time. A drink made with a burned shot is flat-out undrinkable, imo.
So.. for those who DO venture into the sacreligious temple of charring, make certain that you watch them every step of the way on your drink, and make sure they do not let the espresso shots sit before mixing in the drink. If they do mess it up, return it. Starbucks policy.. the customer is ALWAYS right.. even if it's the customer's fault, it's automatically the fault of the barista and they have to remake the drink. Just keep that in mind.
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