Oh Dear!

by **Davec** » Sun May 07, 2006 11:02 pm

I had a coffee today that had to rate as the worst I have ever had....it was so bad I actually couldn't drink it and returned it for a Tea. When asked what was wrong with it (it's difficult to say, everything), I tried to explain. The 2 young lads were very good and showed me the beans they used (a lot of robusta in them and the odd peaberry along with a few wrinkled old Arabicas). Was this the cause of the problem...possibly and possibly not (the robusta quality actually looked OK, I know a contradiction in terms).

A little bit more questioning elicited the problem (i think), as I had had a fair, but not great coffee there many many months before. The 2 lads were new and trained by the outgoing staff on a very nice twin group electra. They didn't have a backflushing disk (although one of them had worked at Costa and knew what it was). They had NEVER backflushed the machines with anything in at least 5 months!!!!

I asked if were they still getting crema and got some blank looks, I said the brown foam on coffee when pulling an espresso...."nah" one of them said "we never get any of that". It's quite sad...the young lad did write down: blank backflushing disk and Puly Caff....but really, i think the chances of it ever happening are remote. :cry:

The saddest thing of all is that this goes on in far too many establishments and many of the general Public probably get a completely wrong impression of real coffee. I can understand it, as instant would often taste better than the coffee that one can sometimes find. :roll:

by **Paws** » Mon May 08, 2006 2:25 am

Davec, was this by any chance my old employer John Lewis Aberdeen? Just kidding, its just what you've wrote above reminds me of the sheer ignorance and the total lack of education about coffee.

Its a shame that the general public think that there are only two types of coffee - Nescafe and Kenco.

However, its rather good that the young lads asked you what was wrong. Most often the staff would be like "oh okay, tea instead".

Its pretty rank about the detergent. Although at my last employer they said you could only clean the machines once a week as the detergent was too strong to use everyday.

Sadly this will continue unless the general public are educated. It will take many more people like you to start this.

by **CakeBoy** » Mon May 08, 2006 2:32 am

It's a sad state of affairs and makes me wonder if establishments would get away with serving other foodstuffs with such contempt and lack of care

by **espressomattic** » Mon May 08, 2006 7:41 am

It reminds me too of my days as a bar manager in Pubs...beers lines that were clogged up because they were never cleaned and didn't get cleaned because they were too clogged up. Pepsi dispensing taps that had mould growing on them....distgusting really!!!!

But then should we be at all surprised? No, not really because people just don't care in this day and age. I mean who gives a S**t about quality, heck it's all about £$£$£$£$.

I think a big problem with coffee shops these days is that a lot of it is all about fashion. The coffee may well taste like the rancid poo of a sick parrot (Not that I have tasted it personally!!), but because the cafe maybe 'CHic' then who realy cares, you just have to be seen in the right place, oh and you also have to pull a face when you taste that rancid little cup of filth. Oh heck just hide it with 10oz milk and double whipped cream flavoured with Caramel syrup and 27 sugars!!!!!!!! BANG there you go crap coffee made palatable and fashionable too!!!

Am I ranting??? Damn right I am ranting

Same goes for food, as we have discussed in previous threads.

Soapy here is your box back, maybe we should have a communal box for TMC??? (As long as it is cleaned on a regular basis it should pose no health risks!!

)

by **GeorgeW** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:03 pm

Went out to a friends for lunch yesterday and after a good meal was offered coffee. Problem was the coffee I was offered were the beans I had roasted and given them about five months ago.
"You'll like this", she said, "You gave it to us so it must be good"
Now this was just after explaining that roasted beans will go stale after about a week and a half.
In respect of my supposed expertise I was asked to make the coffee and presented with a small blade pulverizer/grinder and a Mocca pot in order to do this. You can imagine what it tasted like. You can imagine what I felt like.

Tomorrow I'm going back to finish burying them in the garden.

by **Davec** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:25 pm

Haar ha

George:

by **CakeBoy** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:58 pm

GeorgeW wrote:Went out to a friends for lunch yesterday and after a good meal was offered coffee. Problem was the coffee I was offered were the beans I had roasted and given them about five months ago.
"You'll like this", she said, "You gave it to us so it must be good"
Now this was just after explaining that roasted beans will go stale after about a week and a half.
In respect of my supposed expertise I was asked to make the coffee and presented with a small blade pulverizer/grinder and a Mocca pot in order to do this. You can imagine what it tasted like. You can imagine what I felt like.

Tomorrow I'm going back to finish burying them in the garden.

Don't you just hate those situations? Sorry to hear about it George

by **lukas** » Mon May 08, 2006 8:34 pm

I feel with you, George. Had a similar situation with my parants a while ago.
What happens often is something like this: You give people good coffee because you like them and think they're better off with it than with supermarket coffee. They put it to the shelf, and let it sit there for months - because it's quality coffee and not everyday coffee. Gnarf! Quality Coffee _is_ everyday coffee! What else?
That is one of the main un-similarities to wine, isn't it?

by **nickr** » Mon May 08, 2006 9:19 pm

Being a coffee snob really does bring problems. If I have a meal out I always want a coffee after the meal. I've given up asking for an espresso. Yesterday I tried "filter coffee". YUK dishwater in a nice cup.

by **Steve** » Mon May 08, 2006 9:47 pm

It is tough, to the point where Sarah says " we dont want coffee thank you can we go straight to the bill" before they even ask

by **wallisj** » Mon May 08, 2006 9:49 pm

Its the 1 thing with the whole coffee enthusiast thing i don't like ...

I so like to have coffee after a meal but i can't even bring myself to try anymore.

If they have espresso equipment i tend to try and watch them pull a shot for another customer to see whether there is a chance it might be good...

So far .... zero!

by **Steve** » Mon May 08, 2006 9:52 pm

I agree its no fun. I used to enjoy the whole coffee shop experiance more than anything. I wish I was in london so I could just go and sit in monmouth and watch the world go by with good coffee. Around here there is no where at all, for a good coffee in a nice commerical enviroment

by **kingseven** » Mon May 08, 2006 9:55 pm

Anette had to teach me to drink tea last year. (I still take it with too much sugar, and prefer the less manly ones like earl grey)

It is very hard for me to "switch it off" when I am in cafes. I can't help but listen to milk, hear the click off the pump coming on followed all too soon by the click of it turning off.

I know what goes into so many of the commercial coffees, and all in all tea is just a lot harder to screw up and usually of a much higher, and more consistent standard.

by **espressomattic** » Mon May 08, 2006 10:58 pm

I am lucky in that my local cafe is supplied by Matthew Algie, so I know how old the beans are, what training has been given etc. It is a pleasure to go because of the quality of the cup, but also the knowledge of the staff. I even take samples of my own roast in now and again for them to try. Spoilt really I guess.

by **kingseven** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:01 pm

Well - I must confess that Flat White spoil me a bit. I haven't paid for a coffee in there for quite a while - I just like chatting to them.
I really must stop endorsing a company so much on here!

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