On Wed, Jan 19, 2005 at 12:12:34AM +0000, Cotty wrote: > On 18/1/05, Daniel J. Matyola, discombobulated, unleashed: > > >Cotty wrote: > >>When i'm working out of the Gloucester (pr. Gloss'tur) office, I > >>sometimes pop into the Starbucks with colleagues. Being a tea drinker, > >>for a change I have a coffee. Last time i was there i ordered the largets > >>one they do (what was it a grande??) and boy - all that caffeine - I > >>literally bounced down the street afterwards. I looked like a druggy a > >>couple of hours late!! > >> > >>Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. > > > >Boring. > > May the sewers of Rangoon back up into your latte.
Aah. You've identified the mystery Starbucks ingredient. Seriously, though: Starbucks isn't terrible. They over-roast their beans in an attempt to disguise the mediocre quality, but there are many places that use far worse quality materials. My complaint is that they've fairly successfully "educated" the American public that bitterness is a sign of quality, so even many of the places that start of with better beans roast the coffee more than necessary (or even acceptable). For an example of what can be done, even with fairly cheap ingredients, try Trader Joe's Sumatran Lintong; it's a light roast, and sells for around $6:50 for a 1lb tin. Of late I've taken to blending this about 50 - 50 with my favourite choice (Ethiopian Harrar) because the local coffee roasting company has shut down, and the only two places I've found that sell Harrar both over-roast it. Two scoops of each in a French press is what we use (and my wife is doing precisely that, as I sit here and type this).
