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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on February 2, 2010 at 10:41am

I hear that. I'm amazed at how different the coffee culture is out here on the west coast than it was in the mid-west. Not once since being here (about a month) have I had to describe to a customer that a cappuccino is not a sugar loaded beverage from a self-serve machine at the gas station. This is (frightfully) progress for me. :0)

-bry

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on February 2, 2010 at 11:43am

Right on Bry,
"The West is the Best" Jim Morrison

Kimmy I'm on the same education page with you. Seems like the real art in our business is to know when to spend precious time educating and when to pour and go on to the next customer. Those of us with genuine passion for the bean will take every opportunity to talk coffee and enlighten those who are ready for it.
"When the student is ready the master will appear......." old proverb
JoeR
--
Ambassador for Specialty Coffee and palate reform.

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Permalink Reply by Fraser Jamieson on February 2, 2010 at 12:04pm

I'm really not snotty or snobby at all. Far from it. I'm also not interested in selling bad drinks. If quality didn't mattter to me I would be running a Tim Horton's location and laughing all the way to the bank. I'm not.

As for cooking: Well, if you ask for your burger rare, you'll get told no. Where I dine, if you ask for your steak burnt, you'll also be told no. Sorry, but the mad man in the kitchen with a big knife is as passionate about his cooking as I am about coffee. If you want chocolate sauce on your steak you'll be ushered out the door.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Fadorsen on February 2, 2010 at 12:50pm

Eating raw hamburger can kill you drinking extra milk in your coffee won't. I am just pointing out not all people have the same likes and dislikes. What is good to you may suck to someone else. Chocolate sauce on steak is just silly but if you have chocolate sauce and someone wants it why not or we can all just move to china and the goverment can tells us how we like our coffee

Fraser Jamieson said:

I'm really not snotty or snobby at all. Far from it. I'm also not interested in selling bad drinks. If quality didn't mattter to me I would be running a Tim Horton's location and laughing all the way to the bank. I'm not.

As for cooking: Well, if you ask for your burger rare, you'll get told no. Where I dine, if you ask for your steak burnt, you'll also be told no. Sorry, but the mad man in the kitchen with a big knife is as passionate about his cooking as I am about coffee. If you want chocolate sauce on your steak you'll be ushered out the door.

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on February 2, 2010 at 6:13pm

I can agree with the OP's comments. For our operation we make pretty much all drinks according to authentic recipes/ratios. We only offer 12 and 16 oz cups. Any more than that becomes confusing and takes up shelf space to keep sorted.

I do really get tired of those customers that say "yeah where I normally go they do this caramel macchiato, or this frappe thing".... "can u do something like that?" I simply tell them "yeah I think I can figure it out"... Also get annoyed by the usual "tall, skinny, blah blah blah". I've learned to deal with it and decipher most of the Charbux lingo. I know they've done good things for the industry, but they have instilled certain things into their customer's minds that can't be erased most of the time and it doesn't sit well with some like myself.

I really appreciate the person that asks for a dry cappuccino or a "true" macchiato... that's where effort and hard work shines because the drink isn't masked with alot of sugar or syrups... Later!

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Permalink Reply by Mike McGinness on February 2, 2010 at 6:42pm

I did have a medium (med being 12oz our shop) cappuccino ordered today (over at Paradise for Bry's benefit). Made it and called out "thick foamed medium latte". She came up and said I ordered a medium sized cappuccino. It's at that point I explained a traditional cappuccino is a specific size not small, medium or large etc, but I'm happy to make her a latte sized beverage with cappuccino style thicker foam. So there's still edumacating to do here in the shadows of Portland too!

Bryan Wray said:

I hear that. I'm amazed at how different the coffee culture is out here on the west coast than it was in the mid-west. Not once since being here (about a month) have I had to describe to a customer that a cappuccino is not a sugar loaded beverage from a self-serve machine at the gas station. This is (frightfully) progress for me. :0)

-bry

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Perrine on February 3, 2010 at 7:58am

There's a steak house here in Pearland, TX. Voted best in texas.
They mention on their menu that they will cook any steak well done, but they clarify that's it's not recommended.

I wish I could put something like that on my menu.
Xtra Hot, No-foam is available - just not recommended.

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Permalink Reply by Fraser Jamieson on February 3, 2010 at 1:07pm

Well, don't laugh...I was in there when someone asked for it. The answer was no.

However, blended with the right spices, and used in moderation, it's actually...interesting. Not unlike coco chilli if you know what I mean.

My point was: The chef sets standards but welcomes you to make suggestions...within reason.



Ricky Sutton said:

Has no one here ever seen "Chocolat"? I would TOTALLY eat chocolate on a steak!!!

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