The obligatory Starbucks post

(image taken from beeractivist.wordpress.com)

OK OK you knew it was coming, and I knew it was coming, a Starbucks post. Yes it feels like it's almost necessary to mention Starbucks if you're going to talk about coffee. Honestly though I thought I'd make it at least ten posts before I ranted about this corporate/coffee giant but well, screw it, it's just too easy of a subject for me not to talk about. Unlike my other posts I didn't start this post with a definite plan, I'm not intending to rant and rave about how I hate Starbucks, nor do I want to rally support for this company that made it big. I know that on the corporate level these guys have made mistakes that alienated certain people, but in the spirit of what this blog's goal is I think I'll focus on what I have been focusing on, their coffee.

OK so maybe I lied a little because first I'd like to take one little detour before talking about Starbucks coffee. It seems anyone who considers themselves passionate about coffee has a vendetta against Starbucks, which is fine by me; if you don't agree with how workers are being treated or how resources are acquired then by all means yell at the top of your lungs. However I personally have had quite a few friends that worked for Starbucks and they said their experience couldn't have been better (in fact one of my managers at Noah's worked for Starbucks and would constantly talk about how much more organized it was than the piss poor upper management at Noah's). So when it comes to working conditions I've always viewed them as average to slightly above average. But what I do have a problem with is their coffee.

It seems that whenever I go to Starbucks I run into one major problem with my drinks, inconsistency. I don't mean this from location to location, I mean within the same shop there could be any number of "baristas" that do the same drink any number of ways. To me this is very frustrating because I know how a cappuccino or vanilla latte or mocha should taste. There's a slight range of variation for each specific drink but for the most part if I go to Coffee Shop A I have some gauge as to how they do their lattes versus Coffee Shop B; maybe Coffee Shop A uses whole milk versus 2% at Coffee Shop B, maybe they use different grounds or flavoring brands, there are any number of reasons why one specific coffee shop might taste different from another. But when you go to Starbucks there should be a level of consistency. They're a chain, they have a business model thus each shop should theoretically be clones of one another. Now I went through this train of thought once before to one of my friends and they told me that the difference between shops and even baristas was to give them each a unique feel, like it's your personal home grown coffee shop. I beg to differ, people go to a Starbucks for the convenience not for the "coffee house feel" if I wanted that I would have gone to any one of the dozens of actual coffee houses around town! Additionally in being a chain there is a level of consistency that is implied (Allow me to abridge that last statement, I mean consistency in the terms of a Mcdonalds or other fast food chains, certainly not all chains- McMinimums comes to mind- follow this model). I feel that when drinks vary drastically from location to location, Barista to Barista that this is a shortcoming of the person working the bar.

Coupled with the inconsistency of the drinks I find that I don't actually like Starbucks' roasts in general. Now I understand that this is a fairly subjective complaint but after trying several different brands (Stumptown, Seattle's Best, illy, Pete's Coffee, etc.) I feel like Starbucks by far has had the most acidic after taste of any of them in every drink, sometimes it's even harsh right off the bat. I mean I guess I now understand why they invented Frappaccinos, because the only way to curb the bitterness of their espresso is with that amount of sweetness. I don't know what makes their coffee so bitter: are they over extracting the shots, are the coffee beans old, is their espresso roast roasted far too dark? Any one of these reasons could cause espresso bitterness, but I'd put my money on the roast itself being too dark. I say that because I doubt the beans are old, and even if they were the bags are vacuum packed so those beans will stay fresh for a while. I also don't think it's the barista's fault because I've seen the espresso machines that Starbucks uses and those things are pretty damn idiot proof (note though that in the article linked apparently new Starbucks espresso machines now have manual milk frother levers, I have yet to see those in Oregon). What I'm left with is the roast burning the beans which seems odd, you'd think that a company that made it big off of their coffee roasts would strive to have a better roast as opposed to burning it.

So when I said this whole post wasn't going to be a rant against Starbucks it may seem like I lied again so maybe I should point out some of the things I actually like about this brand. The convenience of Starbucks is undeniable, if you're in a pinch and can't get your brand or your shop is closed for whatever reason you know that within a ten block radius somewhere there is a Starbucks close to you, maybe you don't like their drinks but we all have to bite the bullet once and a while. The atmosphere (though mass produced) is inviting and you never feel uncomfortable in one of their shops, sure the music is generic and decor is uninspired, but that's all the more reason to sit down with your friends and talk. The service has always been very good at the locations I've been to, I have been to some other coffee shops where the order taker acted like I was wasting his time and I always want to tell them, "Yeah buddy I get it, you're way cooler than I'll ever be and know more about espresso than anybody on earth, now can I just get my damn drink?" However at Starbucks order takers are always cheery and usually if there's anything wrong they're quick to give you a free ticket for any drink (and seriously you can order the most ridiculous drink you want and that coupon will cover it) overall it's fairly positive.

What it boils down to is this, if you just like coffee then you're probably going to hit up your local Starbucks every once and a while. If you're a teenager then you're probably going to go there and hang out with your friends, Starbucks has this pseudo "cool factor" veneer about it that is appealing to younger coffee goers. And I kind of have to give Starbucks props because it was my introduction to the coffee world. But for anyone who really likes espresso and is into how it's made and what the correct temperatures and pressures are, how much crema a shot should have and how to froth milk, or those into latte art they will probably not be going to their local Starbucks if they can help it.

How dry I am

We've all been to a coffee shop where the person in front of us orders some god awful long ass drink. You know the one, he/she says something like, "Yeah I'll have a half caf, breve, dry, sugar free, tall vanilla latte with one packet of sugar over the top." Now maybe you are that person and if so, kudos you have successfully displayed your knowledge of coffee and you made damn sure everyone around you knows it. For the rest of us a simple drip cup or latte will suffice. However in wanting to delve into the coffee world more I decided to make myself a drink which I have despised for a long time, the Dry Latte.

To bring any of those who aren't up to date with their coffee lingo up to speed, to have a drink "dry" means that only foamed milk and espresso are used, when making it there is no hot milk, the result is that the only liquid in the drink is the espresso.

Now that we got our vocabulary lesson out of the way I'd like to explain why I dislike the dry drinks. My first experience with the dry latte was making one for a customer at Noah's Bagels. At first I didn't know what they were talking about (as you can see "baristas" at Noah's don't really get that extensive of training when it comes to coffee). The customer explained what they wanted and I went about preparing it. What I first noticed was that it was very hard to get the foam I needed, you see the consistency of the foam is very important in espresso drinks, when I tried to make it I kept getting milk bubbles like this as opposed to nice foam like this. It was very frustrating and to top it all off I gave myself a good burn on the steam wand while making this monstrosity. Ultimately I was able to produce an adequate drink for the guest but not before mentioning to them that they might want to take these kinds of requests to Starbucks in the future.

My second gripe with the dry latte is that I don't really view it as a latte. Now this may be splitting hairs but if you look at this chart the middle left shows a latte and the bottom left shows a cappuccino. Now while their differences are minor you'll notice that a cappuccino has equal parts steamed milk and milk foam while the latte just has a small dollop of foam on the top. I always thought this drink should be called a dry cappuccino as the foam is more important, but maybe that's a rant for another day.

Well now that my bitching is out of the way let's get onto the drink. I'll start with the recipe (if you haven't already figured it out):

Dry latte (Cappuccino)

• 1 oz. espresso
• fill rest of cup with foamed milk
• add the flavored shot of your choice (optional)

The drink itself looks great, it looks like you're drinking a cloud (and in truth I'm pretty sure it's about as close to that sensation as you can get). What I will say is that you'll need a spoon because once your espresso shot is gone the foam is very reluctant to slide out of the cup. Because of the nature of the drink you don't really taste any milk while drinking it unless you shovel frothed milk into your mouth while drinking it, but even then the milk taste is very mild. The result of this is pretty much just an espresso shot flavor, but the interesting part of this drink is the texture. The foamed milk is lighter than whipped cream but heavy enough to still fill your mouth, it's very strange and if you let it sit in your mouth you can almost feel the little foam bubbles dissolving. I personally left the rest of the foam until the end and ate it with a spoon, it was fairly tasteless so I decided to eat a small piece of rolled wafer before each spoon full. It was pretty tasty.

I guess my end result was good, it had a nice texture, the espresso was good, and it really looked pretty. If you've never had a dry latte I guess I would say you should try it out once, if you're expecting a latte you will be surprised. However I would like to say if you are going to order this go to a place that specializes in espresso drinks, not a place that just has an espresso bar. Real Baristas are supposed to know how to do these drinks, you're only going to piss off the less experienced

Long over due test drive

So as I mentioned in my first post I have a Bialetti Moka Express that I use to make myself espresso. Until tonight I have been making straight shots and ones with cream for my friends, tonight however I got to test out my actual Barista abilities and made Vanilla lattes in cappuccino cups. The results were (in my very humble opinion) very good! The shots were very smooth and the foam was nice and thick. I thought I'd leave my recipe for making cappuccino sized lattes for anyone who was thinking of having a mini latte some time.

Mini Latte

• 1 oz. espresso


• 1/4 oz. vanilla syrup


• 1 oz. steamed milk


• top with a small dollop of frothed milk

Now because I made this with a stove top espresso maker and a Aerolatte milk frother as opposed to a milk steamer I wont go into the specifics of how to create this drink (how much pressure to pull your shots at or how hot your milk should be etc.). However should anyone feel the urge to buy me one of these bad boys I'll be as detailed as you want!

I used a 4:1 ratio of espresso to syrup because I like to taste the coffee first and have an after taste of the vanilla, but you can easily use 1/2 oz. of syrup and just fill your cup a little fuller (the 1/4 oz. syrup recipe allows a little room for foam). The result of all this should look something like this:

(Photo taken from Coffeeconfusion.com)

Not only will this drink taste great, but it's very aesthetically appealing.

Well let's get the ball rolling

Alright first post on this coffee fan blog! So... where to begin? Well I guess I'll start this all out by saying a little something about myself, my coffee experience, and what led me to be the coffee lover I am today.

It all began in high school and Starbucks. By my high school was a Starbucks that served as a general hangout spot for myself, my friends, and just about every other high schooler that needed a caffeine fix. It was nice, comfortable atmosphere, laid back Baristas, and good coffee (though my definition of "coffee" at the time was a white chocolate mocha or Frappaccino). After just about every school day my friends and I would retire to Starbucks for general bullshitting until our rides home arrived. It came to pass that Starbucks would become a social hub for us, the days events were rehashed (at times embellished) friendships were broken there and remade there, relationships bloomed and fell apart, but no matter what the ever shifting variables were there was one constant, coffee.

After high school coffee began to evolve for me. Soon it was no longer a substance of social events, rather it had become an elixir of life. OK that may be a bit excessive to say, but when I began working at Noah's Bagels and needed to wake up at four o'clock in the morning to get to work anything that helped to shake my tiredness felt vital. There was a short while where a cup of joe was good for me, but later espresso became my good friend. It was fast, strong, and I could go for a good few hours on just four ounces of espresso. Because the morning crew generally worked until three or four in the afternoon I remember one of my managers instituting "twelve o'clock shots", everyone would pull two espresso shots for themselves and pound them, this kept us going until we had to leave, and once again it was a kind of social thing to do.

I spent four years working at Noah's until I moved on for greener pasture, but even though my scenery changes coffee stuck with me, however now I found my tastes had evolved a bit. When not pounding espresso shots I found that my favourite cafe drink was a vanilla latte. As it was so close to Noah's I was regularly going to Starbucks for my drink, however when I left I found that there were several other drive through espresso stands on route to my new job. Previously I had no desire to go to them I had this preconception that they would have some gross roast or something. But one day I decided to let go of my Prejudice and try one of these places. The first drive though I ever tried was Brewed Awakenings which uses Stumptown beans. It was summer and hot so I decided to have my vanilla latte iced that day, when I first had a sip it was as if I had never had coffee before, it was smooth with no acidic after taste like I had always had from Starbucks, I felt reintroduced to coffee.

Anyway the rest is history I guess. The place I regularly go for espresso drinks is another drive though called Espresso Works right there on Multnomah Blvd. It's fantastic and has great customer service. Though lately I have been brewing my own espresso using my 3 cup Bialetti Moka Express and Stumptown's Hair Bender roast.

Hope you enjoyed this self indulgent first post. If you have any comments on your coffee experiences or suggestions for what I should try please leave a comment!