Is poor-tasting coffee the status-quo for coffee shops?

[Belboz99]

Hey all,

Long story short I'm back from a long hiatus on coffee drinking. I had been drinking coffee from age 16 to 21, then stopped cold turkey for about 9 years. So, basically it's been a while since I've toured the local coffee shops and cafes.

I resumed coffee drinking early this year, at first by purchasing whole beans and grinding them just before brewing in a drip-style coffee pot. But then I realized that I could achieve a better cup by using a manual brew method, regulating the temperature and flow of the water myself.

More recently I've started buying bulk green coffee beans online, and roasting them myself. Currently, I'm just using a large cast-iron skillet and lid, it works, but it's a real work out to shake that pan! I only roast up to 1/2lb of green beans at a time, which usually lasts just under 2 weeks.

Every now and then however I'm out and about, and need a quick caffeine fix. There's a local chain of coffee shops in town that I picked one up at, and was horrified at how bad it tasted. It seemed as though it had been sitting in that caraffe all day long, but more importantly, it seemed like it had also never been a good cup to start with.

I chalked it up to them having a slow day, and of course this is Rockford we're talking about, not exactly known for it's coffee shops.

The other day I happened to be in Evanston, a rather well off suburb just north of Chicago proper, along the lakeshore. The city is known for it's small shops and botique stores. I stopped in a cafe that was rather busy with college kids (University town), the place was more than full (people sitting outside as well), and I ordered a medium cup of coffee, black.

I was mortified at how bitter and overall poor tasting their coffee was! How could this be???

How could a cafe in that sort of town get away with selling that swill and still remain a popular place to get coffee?


I'm starting to think that the average American just has no idea what coffee is supposed to taste like!!!

The average Joe's solution to bitter coffee is to simply reduce the beans, which only draws out more tannins, making it more bitter. People in general just have no idea how to control the flavor of their coffee, and worse, I feel most people simply assume that coffee is supposed to be too bitter to drink black without being some sort of "macho man".

My wife makes a MUCH better cup of coffee than this cafe, after simply showing her the few key steps in the process, and brewing it manually with a 2-cup filter.



I'm just wondering if this is typical, or if what I've seen is more of an anomaly.

If it's typical, then I think I just might be motivated to starting my own coffee shop.

If I were to start my own coffee shop, I'd differentiate my coffee with the competitors by roasting beans within 1 week of use, and grinding the beans just before brewing, and only brewing for the customer, not for the carafe.

What percentage of coffee shops actually roast their own beans? Grind beans just before brewing? And are there any that brew for the customer, and not for the carafe?

Peace,
Dan O.

 

[shadow745]

Honestly based on what I've seen, very few shops actually care what they serve. Common mentality is "it's better than anything else they're likely to find around here, so it's good enough" and I've heard this mentioned at a few places. Just being better than the next place isn't good enough. The goals should be many... give the customer what THEY want/expect in the cup, maximize the flavor of a particular coffee as well as maximizing the potential of the equipment onhand.

Of course cost comes into play and shops will cut back on amount of coffee used, use older beans to eliminate waste if at all possible, etc.

Grinding should always be done right before brewing and never in advance. Brewing per customer and not carafe is being done with pourovers, vacuum and press pot.

 

[ElDiablo]

I'm interested to know which coffee shop this was, I live near Evanston.

 

[Belboz99]

I'm interested to know which coffee shop this was, I live near Evanston.

The place was Fraiche Bakery and Cafe on Noyes St, just East of the Purple Line.

The reviews on Yelp shed a bit of light:
Some say the coffee is "good", most don't say "excellent", but there's also a number that say the coffee is bad, or bitter.

Here's one review:

"The ONE thing is that their coffee is SO BITTER. I am a coffee fiend and I've tried just about every kind of coffee from various cafes and coffee shops. The coffee here, hot OR iced, always makes me want to cringe. Even two packs of Splenda and lots and lots of creamer can't save this coffee. I always buy a cup just to give them another chance, but unfortunately they always disappoint me! I would love to have some GOOD coffee to complement their amazing pastries"

Two reviews says that their worst problem is inconsistency, here's the most recent of those:

"I have lived in the area since 2007, when this place was "Kim's Kitchen". After the new owners took over and renovated - Fraiche was one of my FAVORITE spots to eat. But in the past month or so, they have been VERY inconsistent.

They have yummy food - but they seem to be trouble keeping items in stock. I never used to have trouble getting a scone after 10:30AM. Now they're out of every flavor every time I stop by! I've also noticed that the scones are much smaller than they used to be - but are still the same price.

They also seem to have hired some new staff that act as if they wish you weren't there - I thanked someone for handing me my to-go order and they replied with an apathetic "uh huh". They've also been closing early on some days, and rolled their eyes at me when I pointed it out.

It feels like they're under new management or the owner is out of town or something. But, something is definitely up - and I won't be going back for a long time."

 

[claytonbellmor]

Welcome back to the coffee world! We've missed you.

Do you ever hand brew your coffee? Unfortunately, I've found that adding cream to hand brewed coffee masks all the flavor notes. But I'd definitely recommend trying it, because if you get good beans, and measure out all the water and grinds and time it correctly, it can be an amazing experience.

 

[JoelForthe]

BelBoz99,

Couldn't agree more. In fact I was just talking about this with a friend yesterday. It seems every coffee chain (Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Seattle's Best (also owned by Starbucks), and even Pete's Coffee, have all but begun to ignore the quality of their coffee. The time lag between the time the beans were roasted, and the time they are brewed is getting to be greater and greater.

I gave up on these chains about 3 years ago and began ordering green beans and roasting them at home myself. I've never looked back, and the quality is far better. You haven't tasted a more flavorful and rich cup then coffee which has been brewed 24 hours after roasting.

I've been looking for a convenient and cheap way to buy green beans on the web. Let me know if you know of any. -Thanks

 

[JoelForthe]

BelBoz99,

In my search for green bean delivery, I came across a green coffee beans delivery website called RoastFresh at RoastFresh | Life's too short to drink bad coffee. - Green Coffee Beans Delivery. There's an interesting blog post on this very subject called: "Why does my $4 cup of coffee taste like garbage?" worth your time in reading. I'm going to sign up for the reservation, and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[Belboz99]

BelBoz99,

Couldn't agree more. In fact I was just talking about this with a friend yesterday. It seems every coffee chain (Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Seattle's Best (also owned by Starbucks), and even Pete's Coffee, have all but begun to ignore the quality of their coffee. The time lag between the time the beans were roasted, and the time they are brewed is getting to be greater and greater.

I gave up on these chains about 3 years ago and began ordering green beans and roasting them at home myself. I've never looked back, and the quality is far better. You haven't tasted a more flavorful and rich cup then coffee which has been brewed 24 hours after roasting.

I once had a college professor (community college) that ran a coffee shop, and he talked at length on occasion about how Starbucks had a bad habit of burning their beans, etc.

I've long known that the major brands in Coffee are just about a junk as the major fast-food restaurants, and that to have any hope of a quality cup, you need to go somewhere that's at a minimum, locally owned.

What I've been seeing throws all that out the window though, as both of these coffee shops were locally owned. The one in Rockford was a local chain, with ~5 locations, the one in Evanston isn't a chain AFAIK, and is locally owned.

I've been looking for a convenient and cheap way to buy green beans on the web. Let me know if you know of any. -Thanks

I get my beans from Gen-X Cofee: genxcoffee dot com (not sure if I've attained linking priv's yet).

They're a different sort of animal, because there's no brand, no label. They send you a sealed clear bag (similar to a zip-lock), with the green beans you ordered, and the only label is a standard plain-white self-adhesive label that they've printed the place of origin and the weight of the beans on.

They offer numerous varieties to choose from, both in green and roasted, including fair-trade, etc.

Also, most of their coffees list not just the place or origin, but also the characteristics of the region, climate, soil, etc, as well as a small introduction to the growers (co-op, etc), as well as how the coffee is dried (wet or dry process), the grade it was given, and the year of the harvest.

The cherry on top is that shipping is a flat $5.00 rate within the USA. I ordered 3lbs of Ethiopian Harrar Longberry, was around $16 for the beans, and $5 S&H.

Beat that!

Peace,
Dan O.

 

[Culinaria]

When I'm in Evanston I usually hit up Kaffein.

In all honesty, I think most places just don't care...but I'm sure the privately-owned spots are better than the chain spots like Starbucks.

I agree though that it's easier to do it yourself and make it better than when you buy it in most American cafes. I tend to put a little Splenda in my coffee, but at home and even sometimes in a good cafe I find I don't need to. It comes perfect "as is".

All we can do is tell of the good spots. For me Iguana Cafe on Halsted is a great spot. Illusion Cafe in DesPlaines is decent as well (they brew Illy), but they don't have all the amenities my girlfriend likes, such as soy milk.

 

[Belboz99]

When I'm in Evanston I usually hit up Kaffein.

In all honesty, I think most places just don't care...but I'm sure the privately-owned spots are better than the chain spots like Starbucks.

I agree though that it's easier to do it yourself and make it better than when you buy it in most American cafes. I tend to put a little Splenda in my coffee, but at home and even sometimes in a good cafe I find I don't need to. It comes perfect "as is".

All we can do is tell of the good spots. For me Iguana Cafe on Halsted is a great spot. Illusion Cafe in DesPlaines is decent as well (they brew Illy), but they don't have all the amenities my girlfriend likes, such as soy milk.

Thanks Culinaria,

It's good to know there's a few places in Evanston to get a decent cup. What I got that day was barely drinkable. In fact I ended up snitching some almond milk from my 1yr old's sippie cup to be able to drink it (we're both lactose intolerant ).

We're hoping to move there in a few weeks depending on whether or not my wife lands a job there. She's currently the top candidate for the job, just waiting for them to finish the remaining interviews and make their final decision.

Peace,
Dan O.

 

[JesseP]

Taste is what makes them unique i GUESS
Coffee shops are generally known by there tastes and presentation.




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[JacobDunhill]

You are unfortunately right, its well known that the quality of coffee sold in local shops has gradually been decreasing over the last two decades. Me and my wife are heavy coffee drinkers, but we have completely stopped going to our local coffee shop, and started to order all our coffee off high end coffee companies such as Sea Island Coffee, which has some of the most exotic and highest quality in the world. I strongly suggest you try it, we have been drinking Sea Island for years now, and it has definetly not dissapointed. I hope i have helped.

Jacob D.

 

[Coffeeexpert]

The specialty coffee industry is being squeezed right now by high green coffee prices and market saturation. Over the last decade everyone and their brother opened their own specialty coffee business, trying to cash in on the coffee craze. These people were not in it for the love of coffee- most coffee shop's quality reflects this. Hopefully, some of these companies will drop out as their margins shrink. Specialty coffee is also being squeezed and it's image muddied by companies labeling themselves as specialty coffee but selling commodity coffee ie. charbucks and the green giant. It's time we create a new category of specialty coffee.

 

[JJohnson0731]

I am not sure myself. Honestly there are not too many privately owned coffee shops in my town. There are 3 Dunkin Donuts and a Starbucks though. I am not a big fan of Starbucks and the taste of their coffee. I do like Dunkin Donuts, but I have found that drinking coffee at home can be just as great if not better. I order monthly supplies of BSkinny Thermogenic Fat Burning Coffee online and I have really been loving the stuff. I feel like it has a much better taste than many coffee shops and is organic which I always find is a plus with foods and drinks. I just feel like the price of coffee at a lot of these shops are way too high for the quality and taste that they provide and I think it is a real shame. If you feel like you want to try opening a coffee shop then I think by all means you should go ahead and try it. Maybe you can change the image of coffee shops that have been going downhill.

 

[ToyDogCoffee]

I have discovered several things in the last couple years. First, half the coffee shops, the "baristas" can't do a decent pull if their life depended on it. Training is weak for most coffee shops so no consistency. When it comes to bitter drip coffee, it is a function of the beans and the way they are roasted. Remember they are brewing several liters that may last for an hour or even two. Some roasts, when they sit, attain a bitterness. That is why I have become very picky about my coffee. Our daily favorite can sit in a simple cuisinart drip coffee maker for several hours and not become bitter.