As has been established, I live in the Northwest. Seattle-ish. Birthplace of Starbucks coffee. At once, the savior and death knell of the coffee industry. Spanning the globe with it's brand of family friendly snobbery, allowing even the indiscriminate to be bone fide hoi polloi. Now, you too can be an elitist.
The concept was and is brilliant. I too fall sway to the plush chairs, the somewhat less than a roar of a propane flame, the warm and inviting colors. While at the same time taking espresso to the masses, it has killed the craft.
Can we still call them barista's? What do they have over the guy who pushes the button to fill a shake cup at any of the 4-corners of fast food locations in your town? I'm all for consistency (my Americano is the same in Seattle, Turlock, or Tokyo), but I'm even more for artistic expression through shot pull. Grind, temperature, pack, etc... All these have been left in the dust of consistency.
Let's save the idea of tipping the "barista" for another post and get on to what spawned this entry, though less compelling now that I think about it. Oh well.
This weekend I went through the Starbucks drive-through. Most drive-throughs have a nice awning to shelter the driver from the rain when paying and receiving food. Why not at the ordering station? I still get water on the fake wood paneling of the mini-van (yet another post) when ordering. I've concluded the awning is strictly for the employee and possibly considered a benefit in HR terms.
So I love coffee. I even love the ice-creamy-powdered drinks. And I will patronize the majors. But if you can find a stand that pulls a real shot, and if its good...tip. And tip well. The craft is dying. The crema is breaking.
Who's the elitist now?
Blast.
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ReplyDeleteStarbucks is the WonderBread of coffee. Both introduced innovations to a product with a long (even ancient) history. Both offer a "consistent" product. But neither offer artisanship.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks not only faces a problem with their "auto-barista" approach, but they also face problems through the mass-market nature of their business. In order to create a consistent flavor in their coffees, they must blend beans from a large number of producers, spread across a large geographical area, in order to achieve a consistent taste. They do market "single estate" beans in their store, but they do not usually offer these for consumption in drinks made in the store. They are more expensive to produce, and therefore, more expensive to serve.
I love coffee, and drink unhealthy amounts of it every day. I even stop at Starbucks once in a while when there's nothing else available. But, you're better off sticking with a smaller store (like Tully's, or better yet, Victor's, if you live in Redmond, WA) where single-estate coffees can be had, and shots are pulled by hand, with hourly adjustments made to the shots to accomodate changes in temperature and humidity.
I always tip when a barista makes an espresso drink for me without pushing a button. In certain circumstances, I tip when they pour a cup of drip coffee for me too, but that’s only when my grande drip, no room, is waiting for me at the counter before I even walk in the door, because I’m a regular, and they saw me pull up in my gas guzzler. If they have to ask “do you take room?”, no tip. Furthermore, if the person is unaware of the proper angle that needs to be set between the lid hole and the cup seam, no tip until they get it right. (FYI: If the hole is in the 6 o'clock position, the seam should be at 3 o'clock for righties, and at 9 o'clock for lefties. The seam should NEVER be at the 6 o'clock position.)
For an even more artistic approach to latte construction, check this out:
Latte Art
I wonder if Starbucks is already working on a machine to do this...
The Best part is being able to pay for your overpriced coffee with your Starbucks credit card. Great nothing like paying for a mochaittietto blah blah for the next few years. smart
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