Who has the best coffee??

over_extracted

Well on saturday i was reading the smh only to find another story on the coffee scene here in sydney,well what can i say this reporter whent to a cbd cafe and got to have a go behind the machine loading shots of coffee.In the article she states that she went to a coffee school and did the 3 hour course(sounds familiar)and she was ready to have a go after that.she not only states that its so hard  to learn the art of espresso making but she forgets to mention what a waste doing a 3 hour coffee  course can be to the average person.there is no way that a person that does a 3 hour course can open doors in the barista world and think that they can get a well paid job,it takes more than that, try a few months at least just to learn the correct way of grinding coffee and extracting the brew.people wanting to enter the world of coffee should first be told by these teachers that there is no guarantee that they will get a job in the industry and that they should work on their own time in a cafe learning the art of coffee.good luck OE :P

FreshCoffee2

The question is, why do journo's (and others) think that the so called "cafe society" is so important, or has so much credence, that it's necessary to pull a publicity stunt like that to make up a good sunday read. Reminds me of a british TV show from a few months ago where the producers would take someone with no experience whatsoever and train him/her up thoroughly for a few weeks in a particular "profession", then put them into that "profession" and see if a panel of judges could tell the real professional from the faked up professional. The difference being that for the TV show the contestant was trained up extensively for a period before being placed in the job, only from what you say, our journo was only given a short introduction. The cafe and coffee supply industries need trained professionals at the helm. I didn't see the article you mentioned...I wonder if this was the point of the article?   Fresh Coffee.

dcbc

]I read the article and I don't think there was any real point being made. Just a fly on the wall senario. It just happens that baristas are the wall in this article. The lack of respect the majority of coffee drinkers have is not intentional it is just a lack of education and a mix of coffee drinking habits. Which results in such crappy articles. I think it is important to get rid of starbucks, gloria jeans, instant coffee, ground vaccum packs, coffee bags etc etc so that people do not confuse this with coffee next FINES! On the spot fines to those who do not clean their machines! grind per shot and only those who have passion should get behind a machine. Dedicated roasters who roast according to taste not markets. how can we change market taste if we don't offer something different. keep cup sizes to a minimuim people want quality!!!! and no more candy coffee reports until the public has a grass root taste for coffee as it should be.

Unknown

 ;D ;D  I think that some of the fine print in the article may have been missed.  Maybe this article was also a bit of an advertisement for a particular training company.  The name of the training company was in the article.  8) ::) :-[ :-/ I was wondering if the journo frequents the training company for a coffee???? Did the journo pay for the course or was it a freeeeeeebeeeeeee??? When reading this type of article, we need to take our blinkers of and think outside the square!!!!! A vaild comment made by the journo was that it is not as easy as it seems to make a decent coffee.

FreshCoffee2

very valid points in the last post. Regarding one of the comments in the penultimate post however... "......Dedicated roasters who roast according to taste not markets. how can we change market taste if we don't offer something different...." With respect, are you sure you are not living in a fools paradise? We are all in business and need to pay the bills...and the market actually seems to be telling us that a great majority of cafe clients lap it up when they are presented with freebies, inducements, lip service, and glossy pamphlets with promises promises... They appear to believe what sleazy "johnny come lately" coffee reps tell them, and can be duped by the oldest and corniest of phrases like the old "they're not looking after you" cliche and all that comes after it. The rub for coffee drinkers is that they think that what they are drinking has been selected on the basis of quality when in fact a vast proportion of it has been selected on the basis of inducements and marketing. ...And ofcourse, the even bigger rub is that many coffee drinkers apparently cant tell the difference between many very well known, stale, roasted imports that are full of low quality robusta and the flavour that all that induces, and excellent quality fresh product roasted locally! The market is telling us right at this time, that taste / quality apparently have very little to do with anything, but money, glossy marketing and customer perceptions apparently do. We are in the generation of the marketing of "lifestyle choices", not ethical quality in coffee beans. Taste and Quality alone, apparently do not by themselves help pay the bills. Fresh Coffee.

dcbc

Fresh, point taken! Alas I am not a sell out, I will compromise but I refuse to pull down my pants and bend over because the market demands.  :o

FreshCoffee2

here here, but sticking to our principles means we dont get as many sales as we might. Fresh Coffee.

dcbc

Reality is that you can weed out customers that you don't want in simply by making choices!!! Those choices if they are well researched will pay the bills and more and you'll laugh all the way to the bank with ethics intact.

FreshCoffee2

Depends on your definition of "success". It's different for every individual and company. Some want marketshare and will do anything to buy it. They think its great to be referred to as "movers and shakers", or "market leaders" in the industry, they upset the market, keep prices (and therefore profit) down, complicate the industry beyond any level of sanity, encourage and take active part in graft, and make money on building turnover. They dont understand why many of their competitors take the musical customers market share GAME personally.   Movers and shakers...they play GAMES in the market...hmm. Then there are those who stick to their ethics and because of that, get less market share. They can make an honest living purveying a quality service and while they dont laugh all the way to the bank, keep themselves and their families quite comfortable and their clients generally happy. One of their main problems, is the continual headache created in the market by the "movers and shakers" busily playing their little GAMES, with "no offence" intended of course! You are asking for more individuals in the Cafe, and Coffee industries to assess what brand of "success" they aspire to, and stop playing Games. Add a dash of competition (understatement here) from the explosion of individuals who for various reasons keep entering these industries (instant experts in product and marketing),  and you have a very interesting marketplace! Fresh Coffee.

pab

Simple answer to a simple question...the best coffee is in my backyard overlooking our garden 6:30am before getting ready for work. It may only be Grinders (bring on the abuse :P), it may only be through a little Krupps machine, but I make it exactly the way I like it. To improve the experience I'm already starting to nag my wife about a grinder (that's how I got the Krups). As much as there is right and wrong about coffee, at the end of the day it is what your sense prefer. As for the Grinders, well, the service I get from them is excellent and extremely convienient - the Hills area is lacking in local roasters. I order 1x250g/week. They grind it especially for me in order to extract well through our Krups. I get it delivered to work the next morning and inhale the armoa all day until I get home. All this for $12!!

FreshCoffee2

As you are paying a premium, you should be entitled to expect to be very pleased with the coffee you have chosen to use. Fresh Coffee.

john

I read the article.   Lee Guru made a few valid points. Who has the best coffee?????? I really must agree with 'pab'. For any person serious about getting a decent coffee there are a few basic steps to follow. 1. Avoid the local cafe unless you are hanging out 2. Buy yourself a decent top of the range domestic espresso machine or single group commercial. 3. Use filtered water 4. GET YOURSELF A GRINDER (not a $99 special from a Department Store) 5. Experiment with a few different coffee beans 6. Get a decent tamper, stainless steel jug and a few decent glasses/cups 7. Start making a few coffees 8. Enjoy!! I guarantee that with a little practice and patience the espresso you will end up making will be superior than 99.99999% of what is served up across the nation. John

Unknown

I am with you John. Any domestic machine that you prefer? Any coffee you recommend? If you make your own and stuff up, who do you blame.

dcbc

Please gentlemen, throw out your krups crap, buy a grinder and plunger, grind fresh and plunge your way to a far superior coffee. Try this and you will NEVER go back.

FreshCoffee2

As has been said above, in this market the best cuppa is usually the one you make at home...what that says about most so called cafe's has already been said many times before and doesn't need repeating here. What that also says about individual taste also does not bear noting as some people are perfectly happy to drink instant coffee... and for them, that's good! However, it is a well known phenomenon among sellers of good quality espresso machines and coffee, that many happy machine customers return to buy coffee and always say the same thing..."we never go out for coffee any more and come home to make our own". This ofcourse does not take account of the social factor of going out for coffee with friends, but it does account for people that go out for a meal and dont follow it up with coffee at the venue they have dined at. With regard to the subject of "what domestic machine do you prefer". I'll stick me neck out and say all methods of brewing offer something and are good, as long as they are used properly. So plungers, espresso machines, percolators, vaculators, filter machines etc are all great given the time and place and occasion. However given the enquirer was probably referring to what domestic ESPRESSO machine do you prefer, here are a couple of ideas for you to ponder. Anyone pondering the purchase of a domestic espresso machine should seek advice from a domestic espresso machine specialist. That way the machine is "fitted" to the expectations, budget and requirements of the purchasor. The purchasor should be given, or should ask for, a demonstration of the model to be purchased. No demo, no buy. This will sort out what does and does not operate as it should, in a market full of different makes and models, many of which have different methods of operation one from the other (new fangled gismos that do and dont work properly) marketed by all and sundry marketing companies all making their own claims (as opposed to manufacturiing companies). The purchasor should also sort out the easy availability of service. Too many domestic machines in the market, too many do not work properly, too many are too complicated to operate by inexperienced operators, too many have instructions that tell you how to operate the machine, AS OPPOSED TO instructions on how to brew nice coffee with the machine, and too many people who expect they will be able to entertain with their "micro" espresso machine, only to find it is a nightmare when operated by the inexperienced operator trying to make coffee for a dinnerparty attended by any more than 2 people, too many espresso machine "testers" doing comparisons that are meaningless in real terms. And as been said (by me) so many times before, beware "big" brand names. Consult your local specialist in this regard and get a demo and a lesson with your purchase. Fresh Coffee.

dcbc

Fresh couldn't agree more although I would like to add to the above... First establish what sort of coffee you will be drinking. There are machines for espresso and others for milk, what you are buying has limits therefore make sure your needs fall within those limits otherwise you will be one very disappointed customer. people get carried away with gizmos the most important gizmo required for excellent coffee is a grinder!!!!!!!!!

FreshCoffee2

OOps you are quite right Dcbc, too many people forget that when you get into the realms of "high end" espresso making (pump driven and capable of producing a crema and not burning the coffee when used correctly), you are wasting your time if you do not add a reasonable coffee grinder. Fresh Coffee.

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