Starbucks, does anyone ever drink real coffee?

[Brian Livingstone]

In Canada we have a high end, very high quality line of fine restaurants known for their high quality food products and high quality coffee.  Tim Hortons.

For those not familiar, there is no comparison.

Best. Coffee. Ever.

Goes so good with a Boston Cream.  High quality pastry.

 

[Mort]

Around here we have espresso stands with girls in bikinis or lingerie serving you.

Coffee is terrible but I keep going back...

 

[semenza]

I too have always thought that Starbucks is over roasted. IMO everything they make tastes burned. I have had dark and French roasts that are strong but not burned tasting. So I know it can be done.

Diners ......... well it varies a lot. Some good some  OK, some terrible. I have not had any that was really good.

Just about every mini-mart, gas station, and pretty much every other type of place sells coffee in the USA. And most just do it to  provide  it and have it available. Most I have had are not good. Sometimes OK.

I have had some truly outstanding coffee in better restaurants. So few though that I can pretty much remember when and where. Even in better restaurants it is generally just  good.

Lots of simple factors though ..... cleanliness off equipment,  the WATER going into it, staff that cares, etc.

I tried Tim Horton's once or twice (same location) and it was only OK. Seemed really weak. But even within a particular chain it can vary a lot. EX- I have two McDonald's  near me in cities in opposite directions. One has good coffee consistently. The other has bad coffee consistently.  I am pretty sure in that case it is the water.  Because the same holds true for the water in restaurants in those two cities.

At least the coffee I am drinking right now from my own kitchen is pretty good  [smile]

Seth

 

[Michael Kellough]

Bob said;

"I'm no coffee aficionado, but I like a good cup of strong coffee, preferably French Roast....
I suggest having two lines - one for those pia customers ordering those time consuming phony-baloney dessert drinks and another one for people who simply want, well.....a simple cup of coffee! Or maybe I'm just getting increasingly impatient as I'm getting older."

I'm with you and I thought the exact same thing yesterday standing in line in Starbucks at the Ulster rest stop on the NY State Truway while waiting to get a chance to ask for a large dark roast coffee.

I'm older than you (Bob) and even more impatient. Grinding coffee had become too tedious so when my coffee grinder died I switched to buying fine ground Bustelo espresso (the history is interesting) and running it through the smallest Mr. Coffee dripper with a paper filter. The coffee to water ratio I use is probably high but the result is plenty good and strong (hate weak coffee) and the process is convenient. I know it violates several "rules" but it works for me.

Just got a cup and noticed that it's a small Cusinart dripper.

 

[alkaline]

The best coffe for me is the one I know from the beginning..

[attachimg=1]

[wink]

 

[alkaline]

...however, from the time I'm building up my workshop it often looks like this...

[attachimg=1]

[big grin] [big grin] [big grin]

 

[rst]

My wife and I have been buying Gloria Jeans flavored coffees since the early 80's.  I started buying in Lancaster, Pa and then in York.  Unfortuanately now, the closest reatail outlet is in King of Prussia, two and a half hours away, so now we buy online.  When we went to Hawaii in the mid nineties, we had to rearrange our luggage in order to bring back ten pounds of flavors that were not available in the our area.  It's unfortunate that the various McDonalds of the coffee world have taken over the US.  We've bought coffee all over the US and Gloria's is still our go to for great beans.

 

[Kev]

[member=13058]Kev[/member] I agree that Starbucks does not make Coffee; but I well remember having some excellent Expresso Shorts in NA, particularly in The Village and in some 'alternative areas' as in Hipster areas  of SF and LA. But then I have also had similarly excellent Expressos in some Italian and French motorway service stations.

If Starbucks are going to grow again in the Australian market, a significant barrier is McCafe as in McDonalds [at least it is Coffee]  let alone my local country general store with a trained Barrista.

[member=19746]Untidy Shop[/member] I'm ultra fussy with coffee and my wife is twice as fussy as me. I't wouldn't be unusual to see us throw a takeaway espresso away after a sip or for us to walk away from a coffee in a cafe ... I just can't tolerate bad coffee!

 

[Rock]

Coffee in the US is the worst I've had on the entire planet. Disgusting doesn't even start to describe it. And Starbucks pumps out putrid, vile sewer sludge.

I really don't understand why the US can't do coffee. It's not hard [sad] [sad]

You really think there is no good coffee in the entire US? You're obviously going to the wrong places. I've heard people say the same thing about beer as they think everyone here just drinks Budweiser.

 

[Sparktrician]

I'm with Seth.  I can't stand burned coffee.  Diner coffee is worse.  On the rare occasion that I do buy coffee, I buy it from a trusted, small-scale roaster about 90 minutes from here.  I prefer to drive there and buy a couple of bags, and they're open on weekends.  The owner grinds it as I wish.  Starbucks - MEH! 

 

[Kev]

Coffee in the US is the worst I've had on the entire planet. Disgusting doesn't even start to describe it. And Starbucks pumps out putrid, vile sewer sludge.

I really don't understand why the US can't do coffee. It's not hard [sad] [sad]

You really think there is no good coffee in the entire US? You're obviously going to the wrong places. I've heard people say the same thing about beer as they think everyone here just drinks Budweiser.

[member=28932]Rock[/member] I've had the odd "drinkable" coffee, but the majority was crap! Nothing I would rate as good. I've had good and bad US beer.

Obviously I haven't tried coffee across the entire US, but I've tried enough to say is was consistently bad.

 

[joraft]

I bought a refurbished Breville grinder from this company and it has been going strong for a couple of years now.  They have a great selection and give their honest opinions of each one.

I went through several Brevilles. They were nice to use, but they just didn't last long enough for my purposes, kept stripping the gears.

I heard such good things about Baratza on the Internet that I bought a Forté AP. It's built like a tank, truly the "Festool" of coffee grinders.

My coffee comes only from Mountain Thunder in Kona, HI. They are masters at growing and roasting. I buy several different roasts and blend them to taste while grinding. IMHO, the best coffee in the world, can't start my day without it.

 

[Bob Marino]

Was that made in the USA or in China?

Unfortunately...China... [crying]  [crying]  [crying]

Oh well, there it is.

 

[Bob Marino]

Bob, I live in SoCal and the Costco Warehouses here sell a 2 1/2 lb. bag of Starbucks French Roast Whole Bean for about $20.  The savings over Starbucks $12/ lb. will pay for the new grinder pretty quickly, or, you can use the Costco machine to grind it on your way out the door.  You just need a Costco card.

Steve

Thanks Steve,

Been meaning to get a Costco card for a while now.

 

[Bob Marino]

I too have always thought that Starbucks is over roasted. IMO everything they make tastes burned. I have had dark and French roasts that are strong but not burned tasting. So I know it can be done.

Diners ......... well it varies a lot. Some good some  OK, some terrible. I have not had any that was really good.

Just about every mini-mart, gas station, and pretty much every other type of place sells coffee in the USA. And most just do it to  provide  it and have it available. Most I have had are not good. Sometimes OK.

I have had some truly outstanding coffee in better restaurants. So few though that I can pretty much remember when and where. Even in better restaurants it is generally just  good.

Lots of simple factors though ..... cleanliness off equipment,  the WATER going into it, staff that cares, etc.

I tried Tim Horton's once or twice (same location) and it was only OK. Seemed really weak. But even within a particular chain it can vary a lot. EX- I have two McDonald's  near me in cities in opposite directions. One has good coffee consistently. The other has bad coffee consistently.  I am pretty sure in that case it is the water.  Because the same holds true for the water in restaurants in those two cities.

At least the coffee I am drinking right now from my own kitchen is pretty good  [smile]

Seth

  I don't know if it's changed, but in the NYC NE/NJ area most diners seemed to be owned by Greeks and the bulk supplied coffee was from a company called Vassilaros - I may knot have the named spelled correctly. That is why all that diner coffee tasted the same - weak, almost tasteless and not memorable. They have  never stepped up to a stronger brew as in their mind, most customers are satisfied with the current bland swill and would not prefer a stronger brew. Offering 2 different types of coffee would probably be considered non-efficient.
I'm betting some restaurants have some really good coffee, but I have yet to be impressed too much and for me, coffee is only something I would have at breakfast or maybe early afternoon - never at dinner. Actually, the chain Panera's, does have a choice of brews and their dark roast was pretty good.

 

[Bob Marino]

Bob said;

"I'm no coffee aficionado, but I like a good cup of strong coffee, preferably French Roast....
I suggest having two lines - one for those pia customers ordering those time consuming phony-baloney dessert drinks and another one for people who simply want, well.....a simple cup of coffee! Or maybe I'm just getting increasingly impatient as I'm getting older."

I'm with you and I thought the exact same thing yesterday standing in line in Starbucks at the Ulster rest stop on the NY State Truway while waiting to get a chance to ask for a large dark roast coffee.

I'm older than you (Bob) and even more impatient. Grinding coffee had become too tedious so when my coffee grinder died I switched to buying fine ground Bustelo espresso (the history is interesting) and running it through the smallest Mr. Coffee dripper with a paper filter. The coffee to water ratio I use is probably high but the result is plenty good and strong (hate weak coffee) and the process is convenient. I know it violates several "rules" but it works for me.

Just got a cup and noticed that it's a small Cusinart dripper.

  I'm forgetting the brand of ground, canned "imported" coffee -La Vazza, Bustelo, Medaglia D'oro???? I had at my brother a while ago, but was good enough to have a second cup. It just may be worth checking that out; the price is certainly right.

 

[Bob Marino]

I bought a refurbished Breville grinder from this company and it has been going strong for a couple of years now.  They have a great selection and give their honest opinions of each one.

I went through several Brevilles. They were nice to use, but they just didn't last long enough for my purposes, kept stripping the gears.

I heard such good things about Baratza on the Internet that I bought a Forté AP. It's built like a tank, truly the "Festool" of coffee grinders.

My coffee comes only from Mountain Thunder in Kona, HI. They are masters at growing and roasting. I buy several different roasts and blend them to taste while grinding. IMHO, the best coffee in the world, can't start my day without it.

Yikes, John. At close to $900.00, it better last. Great as that undoubtedly is, its way out of my price range. But it is nice to know that there are machines produced at this uber quality level.

 

[semenza]

    Also a difference between brewing whatever chain brand at home and getting it (brewed) at the store.

    Bob, or anyone, I would skip the Lavazza at the Ramapo NYS Thruway stop.

Seth

 

[joraft]

Yikes, John. At close to $900.00, it better last. Great as that undoubtedly is, its way out of my price range. But it is nice to know that there are machines produced at this uber quality level.

The Brevilles were around $200 each and I've gone through 3 of them, I'd be money ahead if I had bought a good grinder in the first place.

I call it the "Festool Principle".  [big grin]

 

[bkharman]

Look at my post above. Great grinder for a great price.

Cheers. Bryan.

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