Joel W. wrote:
> I never go to Starbucks in Iowa City since there are so many
> alternatives. But I don't dislike Starbucks and enjoy as much of it
> as I wish when I travel and find it reliable.
Yes, it is consistent. I remember what Charlie Daniels (yes, that one)
shared with me years ago. He said that even though Pizza Hut is far
from the best pizza in town, at least it is a known quantity. (This
was even after his brawl where his band busted up a 'Hut). A known
quantity is important when you spend half your life on the road.
> They tend to burn their beans a little. I don't think there's
> anything wrong with that if you like the taste, which drifts toward a
> French roast. I have always liked the very dark coffees, but I
> suspect they conceal some inferiority in the beans.
A darker roast is definitely a little trick to help a lesser quality
bean. Take coffee beans from Peru, for example. I'm a sucker for a
Peruvian coffee beans. When roasted to just before the oils come out,
the quality of the bean is extremely important. Unfortunately,
probably less than 10% of the beans are good enough for that. I have
had them and know just how wonderous this coffee can be. But, if you
take the roast farther along and get the oils coming out (french
roast, espresso roast, etc), the good beans aren't much better than
the lesser beans and probably only identifiable in an A-B comparison.
The best part of Peruvian coffee is that it doesn't change flavor or
bitterness as it gets cold.
> Picked
> up a Costa Rican about ten days ago and over the weekend we had guests
> who ended up drinking 4 pots of the stuff. And this was at night
> among what is usually a decaf crowd. It was worth it! Sleep is
> over-rated.
Costa Rican is also quite wonderful. I like it for drip-style coffee,
but for steam-pump coffee, it takes on a different character.
I've had Cuban coffee a few times recently and they are really
stepping up the quality of their premium export beans. The stuff can
be difficult to get and the good stuff seems to only make an
appearance every couple of years.
Our custom roaster here in Grinnell shut down his store this past year
and our desire to continue living here has ended. Wherever we end up
moving to, the presence of a top notch coffee shop is pretty much a
requirement.
AG (have resume, will travel) Schnozz
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|