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Only had Starbucks coffee once and wasn't impressed, thought it was over-roasted and burnt tasting, I much prefer the Cafe du Monde I make at home.
Of all issues people might have with Starbucks, this really shouldn't be one considering you can choose between a rather large list of roast options. If you asked them for dark roast, that's on you.
Of all issues people might have with Starbucks, this really shouldn't be one considering you can choose between a rather large list of roast options. If you asked them for dark roast, that's on you.
Personally I find their roast and flavor offerings (coffee tasting notes, not added flavoring) to be very narrow. On top of that, their 'blonde' range roasts usually tastes over-roasted or what I would typically consider to be a lighter roast and all of them lean toward 'burnt' in the actual brew/preparation (differentiating from the roast). They're all blends that mostly focus on 'darker' flavors even in their lighter roasts: coffee, nutty, toffee, chocolate etc.
I'm quite certain they do this on purpose to maintain a specific flavor from a branding standpoint.
If you compare it to more local coffee shops you do truly offer a large range of roasts, flavors, and origins, their variety of flavor absolutely blows something like Starbucks out of the water.
But what Starbucks offers in contrast to their lack of variety is consistency. If you do like that Starbucks flavor, you're mostly going to find the same product all over the US.
Ive never been a coffee drinker, but I love their Mocha Frappucinos. They just opened the sixth Starbucks within 5 minutes of my house, so I guess their doing OK here. Of course, this is Los Angeles, so there is that.
I'm visiting in Tucson at present time. In this area, SB has lots of competition from relative newcomers Dutch Brothers and Black Rock coffee. I've never been a Starbucks fan, especially with their typical burnt roast flavor from Pike's Place brew. I drink plain black coffee, no cream or sugar, an no sugary coffee drink mixes that they typically love to sell. I just make my own coffee at home with a simple brewing and filter method.
Personally I find their roast and flavor offerings (coffee tasting notes, not added flavoring) to be very narrow. On top of that, their 'blonde' range roasts usually tastes over-roasted or what I would typically consider to be a lighter roast and all of them lean toward 'burnt' in the actual brew/preparation (differentiating from the roast). They're all blends that mostly focus on 'darker' flavors even in their lighter roasts: coffee, nutty, toffee, chocolate etc.
I'm quite certain they do this on purpose to maintain a specific flavor from a branding standpoint.
If you compare it to more local coffee shops you do truly offer a large range of roasts, flavors, and origins, their variety of flavor absolutely blows something like Starbucks out of the water.
But what Starbucks offers in contrast to their lack of variety is consistency. If you do like that Starbucks flavor, you're mostly going to find the same product all over the US.
What you're explaining is that many Americans are finally realizing that Starbucks offers a very generic set of coffee and that people's understanding of coffee finally matching that of Europe and Asia so that many smaller artisan cafes are popping up that cater to the more discriminating taste buds. If you're gonna pay $5 for starbucks, might as well go down the block to a smaller more artisan cafe.
What you're explaining is that many Americans are finally realizing that Starbucks offers a very generic set of coffee and that people's understanding of coffee finally matching that of Europe and Asia so that many smaller artisan cafes are popping up that cater to the more discriminating taste buds. If you're gonna pay $5 for starbucks, might as well go down the block to a smaller more artisan cafe.
That is also possible. This has always been my feeling with SB, but obviously I know my taste does not represent the masses.
I like their coffee...it is getting expensive though. I've tried making my own (i drink iced coffee) and it's just not the same. Local shops around me aren't much cheaper and they dont have the mobile order app the way starbucks does and i hate waiting in lines.
A. Have you tried making Japanese style ice coffee?
Here's how I do batch brew some maybe 200 days a year.
Tools/stuff: Hario V-60 #3, filter, 1500ML mason jar or any carafe laying around, scale, timer, grinder, precision kettle, good coffee, clean water and ice.
It varies little but I generally use the James Hoffmann recipe/ratio - in my case 600 ml/mg ice, 900 ml water and +/-90 mg ground coffee.
The immediate yield is 1500 ML of cold, strong coffee. In my experience, probably because 90 mg coffee in #3 Hario is really pushing it, the recipe scales down really well. I make individual cups all the time that are usually a little better than the 1500 ML brew.
6 to 9 ice to water ratio, 10 to 1 hot water to coffee ratio for a final coffee to water input ratio of 16.667 and yield of around 1440 ML. There's a little loss to evaporation and some water remains in the grounds of course.
B. My mom has brewed a little weaker ratio into a Chemex since I was a little kid.
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Hoffmann also has a YT vid. about immersion brewing ice coffee that is frankly a tad better than the above but slower and there is no way to make more than maybe 375/400 ML of coffee at a time.
I go to Starbucks probably 4 or 5 times per year, usually on a road trip. When I worked for a living, I stopped at a Starbucks 4 times per week in the morning on the way to work.
I used to drink an espresso or latte or cappuccino, but nowadays I just drink black pour-over coffee. I wish Starbucks had a separate line just for people who wish to order coffee (no espresso drinks) - and people who want to order complicated drinks and food could be in another line.
Nowadays, I roast my own coffee from high quality beans I source from specific plantations, and currently use a Clever Dripper or a Vacuum Pot, each of which give me a better result in the cup than Starbucks or their competitors. The best way I can describe it is Starbucks is black-and-white two dimensional whereas my home roasted is technicolor 4-D.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcenal813
Of all issues people might have with Starbucks, this really shouldn't be one considering you can choose between a rather large list of roast options. If you asked them for dark roast, that's on you.
Nah, I don't believe dark roast should mean burnt roast and have had enough dark roast that was tasty without tasting burnt to know it's possible. As far as my one experience at Starbucks goes, I didn't specify, I told the guy taking my order I didn't want to have to read a short story to order coffee, I just wanted a decent cup of coffee and what i got was meh.
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