Coffee.

3 Responses to “Coffee.”

1. Stephen Says:
   September 22nd, 2006 at 3:28 pm

   PZ,

   Don’t hate too much on Starbucks. I’ve just started a job managing a Starbucks just outside of Minneapolis. It’s a tough job believe it or not. There is no way I can have even a bad moment, there are hundereds of customers with a million demands, and everyone of them deserves a good latte and a good experience for the money they pay.

   I think the soul of Starbucks is still there. Back in the day, Starbucks grew from the guidance of Peets, and later early Starbucks owners aquired Peets. It does kill me that there are no E61 brewheads, Astoria grinders, not even La marzocco’s anymore like there was when Starbucks was still in Washington and Oregon. You could pull a better shot with your Rancilio Sylvia than I can with the machines we have. But there are a few of us working for starbucks that aren’t about gargantuan lattes with enough syrup to kill a lab rat. My hope is that I’ll be able to reach the mainstream and pull in a few more people who truly are passionate about the bean, the roast, and the shot. It’s sort of like your level of racing, it pulls a lot more folks in than our local crits here, people who might have been otherwise excluded. Maybe mass exposure can be a good thing.

   Peace,

   Steve Cottrell
   Minneapolis

2. philz Says:
   September 28th, 2006 at 6:21 am

   Steve. Well put, the fact that you are passionate about creating a good cup and take pride in your work is the most important factor. I really do believe that Starbucks was a great company at one time, visiting their original shop on Pikes Place Market shows that it was just a normal small cafe. They grew and spread good coffee around the country. In the past I would be excited to find a Starbucks in my travels. Unfortunately they have taken a route of production for the masses and instead of a coffee that is an individual piece of art made for the customer they have brought in enormous super automatic push button machines where coffee is grinded, tamped, and spouted out without any imput from the employee. Cheater tips on the steam wands don’t even require attention to froth milk. Just sink the wand into the pitcher and walk away. This allows for fast and consistently mediocre cups of coffee. And people love it.

3. Jesse Says:
   September 28th, 2006 at 2:22 pm

   Hey Phil, How about an update for some of your blog readers? …Who are you riding for next season?

   And great ride at Nats, by the way…

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