Starbucks Coffee 75% off retail

[ensoluna]

Well...that's not really fair to say. We all started some where. I learned to be a barista on the job...as I did roasting. I know a few baristas that work or have worked for Starbucks. Almost all of them learned elsewhere. They went to starbucks for the benefits. So I wouldn't say that all of them are bad...that would be a sight to see..seeing how many employees they have!

yes, you have a good point. I made a "general statement without thinking". Sorry. I am certain that quite a few should be good. I guess most of people learn new positions on the job. (actually I did few times also ha ha ha.. when I was young). However, if anyone knows any starbucks in Los Angeles area that serves great latte, please let me know. I would like to check it out personally because honestly speaking, i have not had a good latte from starbucks (in this country) yet. However, it is a shame though.... Average american people are so used to drinking Starbucks coffee / latte that they truly believe that Starbucks represents the greatest American coffee culture.

 

[Surfer]

Speaking of Starbucks, i really do think that they all have really bad baristas. I will tell you why. One of my partner also works for OLAM (Outspan Guatemala S.A.) he works as cupping director who says "yes" or "no" to all the green coffees going to huge companies in USA. All Starbucks and Coffee Tea Leaves green coffee coming out of Guatemala must get his Nose & Mouth approval before it gets loaded into container. Last time, when we did cupping together (honestly speaking, I know "zero" compare to him and he is the "god" in Guatemala coffee industry), he showed me the starbucks coffee and told me that they are all pretty good coffees with high standards (from 75 to 80 points more or less). Knowing that fact, and knowing how bad their coffees are specially in this country (believe it or not, Starbucks coffee are way way way better in overseas than USA. By the way, there is a McDonalds in Antigua, Guatemala. In McDonalds, there is McCafe that sells all sort of coffee like starbucks. Antigua McCafe is as good or even better than any great specialty coffee shop in Los Angeles. NO STARBUCKS IN ANTIGUA THOUGH...), i truly believe that people who work in Starbucks does not know anything about coffee. For shits and giggles, I have been asking starbucks baristas where they had learned the skills. all 100% told me that they learned it on the job, used to be cashier, used to be stock boy, used to work at Stater Brothers.. (just two month ago !!!!) WoW. No wonder. Come to think of it, maybe I should post this in the forums. it could be an interesting subject. what do you think?

Ummmm Starbucks doesn't have "Baristas", not in a long time like 10+ years. Their "Baristas" are 90% teens pushing a button on a superauto. Years and years ago they actually had LaMarzocco machines and Mazzer grinders and actually had to know how to dial in beans (even if the beans were still bad and charred like always though they have significantly gotten worse in recent years), dose and tamp, steam milk etc.

Starbucks does not have high point scoring coffee, doesn't even matter if they pick the best top quality beans (which they don't), they roast very poorly and burn/char almost everything. Look at their Jamaican Blue, yeh it's a "high scoring" coffee in general, not theirs though.... same estate beans and it's completely awful swill vs a real roaster using same beans from same estate. And yet they still have the balls to charge the same high retail price as real roasters/shops using JBM.... except just like their other beans their selling stale beans sitting in a bag roasted poorly.

 

[ensoluna]

Ummmm Starbucks doesn't have "Baristas", not in a long time like 10+ years. Their "Baristas" are 90% teens pushing a button on a superauto. Years and years ago they actually had LaMarzocco machines and Mazzer grinders and actually had to know how to dial in beans (even if the beans were still bad and charred like always though they have significantly gotten worse in recent years), dose and tamp, steam milk etc.

Starbucks does not have high point scoring coffee, doesn't even matter if they pick the best top quality beans (which they don't), they roast very poorly and burn/char almost everything. Look at their Jamaican Blue, yeh it's a "high scoring" coffee in general, not theirs though.... same estate beans and it's completely awful swill vs a real roaster using same beans from same estate. And yet they still have the balls to charge the same high retail price as real roasters/shops using JBM.... except just like their other beans their selling stale beans sitting in a bag roasted poorly.

great point, surfer. you can have million dollar green coffee per pound, but if you have a shitty roaster, everything will become crap. Every coffee bean has different density depends on altitude, soil, region, how much rainfall it gets...etc. So you got to know the characteristics of beans to roast properly. Also, even it is SOC (single origin coffee from one farm), if the farm does not sort out the beans per size and density, when it gets to roaster, it might cause big problems. few defective smaller and broken beans will burn (while other 90% will roast properly) and mess up entire batch.

Going back to Starbucks..... I wonder who really is in charge of roasting.... or do they have a one humongous "automatic" machine that you just push a button to roast coffee? just like the barista machine they have at retail shops? if anyone knows about this, please let me know. there got to be several people in this forum working for Starbucks, right?

 

[Surfer]

great point, surfer. you can have million dollar green coffee per pound, but if you have a shitty roaster, everything will become crap. Every coffee bean has different density depends on altitude, soil, region, how much rainfall it gets...etc. So you got to know the characteristics of beans to roast properly. Also, even it is SOC (single origin coffee from one farm), if the farm does not sort out the beans per size and density, when it gets to roaster, it might cause big problems. few defective smaller and broken beans will burn (while other 90% will roast properly) and mess up entire batch.

Going back to Starbucks..... I wonder who really is in charge of roasting.... or do they have a one humongous "automatic" machine that you just push a button to roast coffee? just like the barista machine they have at retail shops? if anyone knows about this, please let me know. there got to be several people in this forum working for Starbucks, right?

They have massive roasting facilities just like any other commercial roaster. They basically throw everything in, roast it to char level, and be done. They don't monitor or look to roast correctly for the origin. This do this for "consistency".... so all their stores still have the same "consistently" bad cigarette flavor coffee and why they also replaced all their machines with superautos in the stores to avoid training how to use correctly and avoid "inconsistency" since not everyone known how to dial in or steam milk etc the same. Thats when quality really nose dived when they went to superautos.

 

[ensoluna]

Well... that is why we got to get "specialty great coffee shop" going everywhere in this country and get the Starbucks out of here. Even my kids love those Crapuccinos from Starbucks!!!! How can they call "coffee related drinks"?
PS : you see, P.Ross, something good is coming out of Bunkhousedirect 75% via instant coffee threads..... (i know you are reading this too.)