Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brady on May 15, 2009 at 12:25pm

Jesse -D-> said:

I can respect that. Maybe you should start using 1 part half and half and 2 parts 2% for you caps. They should be creamy, although I agree that the difference (unless tasted side by side) is negligible.

I've thought about that. Part of the problem is remembering to dig out the jug of whole from the back of the fridge when a capp order comes in. The half-and-half might be just the ticket.

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Permalink Reply by teresa pilarz on May 15, 2009 at 2:15pm

Thanks for all the comments...very helpful.

Brandon's not too far off...there were a large number of foo foo fraps and iced drinks, and it's not even the heat of summer yet. However we all feel about that, blended drinks are in demand and indie shops are missing the boat if they're not offering their own versions. Espresso based drinks were still most popular though.

Brandon said:

I'd be afraid that if I staked out an SBUX i might not even see anyone order a coffee beverage! Everyone I see with a bux cup has tea or a smoothie frap whatever they do these days.

I like Mike's idea on the 1% milk instead of skim...might go in that direction.

Just to end on a positive note, we can all take heart that even in a tight economy, coffee shop potential is soaring. There were about 38 paying patrons in one hour at this sbux, which is in a smallish town. At $4 avg transaction x 15 hours/day x 7 days/wk x 52 weeks... well, you do the math. And I was there in the middle of the afternoon, non-peak time. Now the question in my mind is how to get people to come to appreciate high quality, slow food/drink, over fast food "good enough" stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Selina on May 15, 2009 at 3:33pm

We used to have whole (which is our standard "regular" because it just tastes better and foams better -- latte art purposes) and skim milk, and mix up some whole and skim if 2% was requested. We recently got rid of our skim, tho, and only do whole and 2% -- and now we can make our lattes look consistent because we can texturize 2% better than we could skim. No complaints so far, and now all our lattes/caps/macchiatos can have latte art.

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Permalink Reply by Trevor on May 16, 2009 at 12:45pm

Well about 15% of our business is skim. And I'll tell you what, our skim steams bettter and taste better than about any skim milk I've ever experienced. We get our milk from a small family owned local dairy and its just great milk. With that being said. Find some great milk and you'll feel good about even using skim.

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Permalink Reply by Creme'cles Greek God o' Coffee on May 16, 2009 at 3:28pm

By default I offer whole milk, but NF is not a problem. and if you steam it right you can make it taste like whole anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Troy on May 17, 2009 at 6:02am

Whats the average fat % of whole milk in the US?, in NZ the fat content of the milk used in most cases is around 3.3%, don't know of a single place that offers whole milk. Our skim by the way steams well but with most brands I've used doesn't really compliment our espresso and lacks the sweetness of regular milk.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on May 17, 2009 at 6:40am

Troy said:

Whats the average fat % of whole milk in the US?, in NZ the fat content of the milk used in most cases is around 3.3%, don't know of a single place that offers whole milk. Our skim by the way steams well but with most brands I've used doesn't really compliment our espresso and lacks the sweetness of regular milk.

US "Whole" milk is about 3.3% fat.

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Permalink Reply by Jesse Darwin on May 17, 2009 at 9:12am

out of the 20 shops in my small town of about 40,000 souls. only the best place doesnt stock it. hm? i find it makes bigger foam. tasts like shit. but if someones gonna go to strbux over your shop just cause you dont stock skim, i would start stocking skim

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Permalink Reply by Troy on May 17, 2009 at 2:50pm

Interesting, seems we use pretty similar %'s but we don't really refer to our 3.3% milk as whole milk.
We have full cream milk as well, not sure on the fat content but its possibly similar to your half and half.
When I lived in Vancouver CA, I had a few regulars wanting breve lattes made with the half & half, something that doesn't really exist in New Zealand to my knowledge.
I've put up this interesting link from NZ dairy company if anybodys interested in milk process in basic steps.
http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/fonterracom/fonterra.com/Ou...

Brady said:

Troy said:

Whats the average fat % of whole milk in the US?, in NZ the fat content of the milk used in most cases is around 3.3%, don't know of a single place that offers whole milk. Our skim by the way steams well but with most brands I've used doesn't really compliment our espresso and lacks the sweetness of regular milk.

US "Whole" milk is about 3.3% fat.

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Permalink Reply by chuck celentano on May 19, 2009 at 7:33am

We serve Whole, Skim, Lactaid and Soy Milk. I BTW we do not charge extra for Lactaide or Soy Milk. I have found that if you ask, lots of folks will go for the skim. I always ask "Whole or Skim"? Of course there is alway the goof that will order skim with whipped cream on top.

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Permalink Reply by BoogeyClat on May 19, 2009 at 1:35pm

Whats a "vanilla latte"??? 16 oz?? I'm being sacastic, but honestly at our shop we use NO syrups at all. We do make mochas but we make the chocolate syrup from a secret recipe (its all natural). After I get to know some of the customers I try and ween them off large espresso drinks. Just yesterday I asked a man that comes in all the time and orders a 12oz latte, "do you enjoy the taste of the espresso?" He said yes, so I offered him an 8oz latte and he was impressed and said he will order them from now on. We shall see...

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