Toque Recommendations

[lxskllr]

I don't understand the Starbucks hate. I always enjoy my coffee from them. Is it the best? Not really; but I like it well enough :^)

[Roo]

In my opinion their coffee is over roasted with a distinctive burnt quality, and their espresso is just plain week and watery when compared with the stuff I normally get from my favorite shops near work. I actually worked there for a Summer in college, and toward the end of my time there is when they substituted their talented and knowlegeable baristas for $20,000 machines that churn out mundane and bland uniformity everytime. That's what most people love about it, no matter where they go they can get that exact same, watery yet somehow gritty, flavor-deprived garbage and feel right at home Their dominance is a slap in the face to good coffee IMO, and Sheila is right, in my city you can literally see 4 or 5 of them from a single vantage point, so that no one has to walk more than a block and a half to get an 800 calorie coffee drink. And like I mentioned before, every day people walk past the best coffee shop downtown, not even realizing it's there, to stand in line with the rest of rubes getting their patented uniformity and paying an extra buck for it. Being so dependable for that same flavor, they rope people into their little well-calculated comfort zone and make people wary of ever branching out to some of the superior, non-corporate options on the block. I think it's a shame. I will admit though, when traveling in China, Starbucks has on more than one occasion come to the rescue. And worldwide, there is no better, cleaner, or more private place outside your home or hotel to drop a nice deuce while out and about So there's that.

[sagedil]

I am a ludite, I ONLY drink coffee. have been going to cafes for 25 yewars, and have maybe had fewer than 10 expressos, lattes, and such in my life. I just love good coffee, African preferably.

I have been addicted to coffee, I predate Starbucks. In the early years of my marriage, my wife and I would spend 3 hours looking for even decent coffee when we were traveling. was a huge issue. Starbucks just made that easier, although we eventually settled on bringing it with us when we bough an entirely plastic coffee maker so it could fly or drive with no issues.

But I will always be grateful that Starbucks brought at least minimally acceptable coffee to just about everywhere. Seriously, if you were a coffee fiend in the old days, you would realize what a big deal that was. And honestly, I think it as helped local places. Once it introduced a bunch more folks to what at least etter than Folgers could be, folks started to learn there was a difference. eventually, many of them come to find even better that that plain old, boreing Starbucks.


So as much as I do kinda dislike them, I have always had a bit of grattitude for them existing as well.

[lxskllr]

Ah, I never get specialty coffee from them. It's always just a plain cup of black coffee. Taking that into account, I think they're better than convenience stores, and fast food joints. It's a little pricey, but I get it every so often.

[sagedil]

Exactly my point, it is even better than a "little" better. But it can't come even close the coffee I drink every day, am drinking now in fact at Third Place, or Helios.

Trust me, I get to an airport for a 6:30 AM flight, I am very happy to see Starbucks. Ii think at that moment that the world really is a little better with Starbucks being here.

[Roo]

I can agree with those points for sure. Decent coffee where there is otherwise none is a good thing. I too am happy to see a Starbucks when I really need some coffee and better options don't exist. I guess my hatred comes from working in the historical district of the nations biggest coffee town and seeing Starbucks converge on and directly compete with smaller, more pleasant shops serving kick-ass coffee and attracting all of the tourists away from the wonderful flavors and variety that we have here. That, and I get used to what I think is really damn good coffee from my favorite vendors around town, and when I am forced to get coffee at the Bucks, it is literally disgusting in comparison. So I'm mad at their loyal following for not realizing what they are missing. It's like eating at Chili's restaurant 3 times a week for a Mexican fix and never trying the taco truck in the lot next door that makes the most authentic Mexican food in town for $4 a plate. Or like driving past Pike Place Market for Red Lobster where the salmon is imported from Chile. Haha, ok, took that one a bit far. I'll save my Red Lobster and Chilis rants for another thread, one that's not about nasal snuff

[sheilalynn]

Ah, I never get specialty coffee from them. It's always just a plain cup of black coffee. Taking that into account, I think they're better than convenience stores, and fast food joints. It's a little pricey, but I get it every so often.

The "pricey" thing doesn't apply to their brewed coffee...it's actually a nickle cheaper than that Dunkin swill, and it's a couple ounces larger than Dunkin too (Venti/large size).

I don't think it's weak tasting, but then again I get espresso based drinks (americanos/lattes) so that might be why. One of my uncles does agree with the burnt taste though...he says if he gets it at the store, it tastes burnt. But if he makes it at home, it's the best stuff. Everyone tells me my americano is way too strong but that's how I like it I guess :wink: To me, Dunkin is the watery stuff with no flavor, especially the iced.

[sagedil]

Roo, I don't want tourists in my local cafe, I want local people only. It really is my other home. Why would I want tourists traipsing through my home??So Starbucks lures that type away, so what. Locals will keep a good local place going, they don't need the tourist money.

[Toque Snuff]

Seeing as we're talking coffee, has anyone tried Kopi Luwak yet?

I love coffee and I'm constantly trying different styles and brands in an attempt to find a strong coffee flavour without a bitter end. It really is the bitter end when you try Kopi Luwak, in more ways than one. The bad bit is that the coffee cherry is eaten by the Civet Cat (an Indonesian racoon like animal) and the Coffee seed undigested literally comes out the bitter end. The good bit, if you can get the image out of your head and the coffee to your lips, is this is the finest coffee you’ve ever tasted in your life.

Snuff is quite popular in Indonesia and I am thinking of doing a swap, Snuff for Kopi Luwak. This would mean I could offer 25g tasters (enough for two good mugs) of Kopi Luwak for around £4.99/$7.69 a lot less than the $50.00 a cup headlines in the press.

What do you guys think, is it worth a go?

[Monkey]

It sounds like a good deal Roderick, but I'm not willing to drink that coffee again. Once is enough. Delicious, but way too much thinking went on when I drank it.

Mike

PS $50 a cup is a s**tty deal.

[Toque Snuff]

Thanks Monkey, I couldn't agree more. I think it was Starbucks how had it listed at $50 per cup. An Australian coffee shop was selling "7" cups a week at $50 a cup. Makes our price of $4.00 a cup appear like we'd be giving it away. LOL!

[Roo]

OK my small shipment is ready to go out to Mongolia... I have little 10 gram tins of: Wilsons of Sharrow SS (per Whalen's suggestion to me in another thread), McChrystals Smokers Blend, FUBAR Grunt (because I just discovered it's good stuff and his son-in-law, my best friend, is in Afghanistan), Toque SP, and... that's it!

No blueberry (I should have), no BS, just straight tobacco snuff. Thank you all for your recommendations. He is in the hospital in Ulaan Baatar now with Brucellosis, a disease very common to Mongolians and you'll understand why if you google it, but this will treat him right when he gets out.