Brian: Beware that the roasts that are typically used for espresso and derivatives is very different from that in Europe, and I'd say from what I had in Sidney (although, probably to a lesser extent). After trips to France or Italy, for some 2-4 weeks, I couldn't drink esperesso back in the US.
Once, I asked the owner of the coffee cart that had nice coffee (compared to what you have in the US) about that difference. She told me that a bunch of people had asked her (it was on UCSD campus, so there were many people from Europe or who had travelled to Europe). They tried to look for a supplier of a "european-style roast", but it would have been prohibitively expensive for them to use that coffee, so they never did. Bipin: Tastes are different, so I wouldn't try to convince you of anything different; I am just sharing my point of view. In my opinion, the ubiquitous Starbucks (in the US) provides mostly consistent average-to-mediocre quality of coffee and a bunch of sugary coffee-drinks. None of those drinks stand close to the quality of their European counter-parts found in Italy (and, at least for espresso, - in France). Typically, local, "moms-and-paps" coffee shops would provide better coffee (with a caveat of possible broader distribution of quality). I do not patronize Starbucks, unless it's a matter of survival (e.g. need a pastry in lieu of breakfast at a scientific conference, and there is nothing else at the convention center). One reason is the quality of coffee, but a more significant reason is their predatory practices. One example, I observed myself in San Diego downtown around 2005-2008. There was a very popular family-owned, coffee shop "Cafe Bassam" with a nice atmosphere http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-bassam-san-diego . I've seen 3 Starbucks that were set up within 0-3 blocks from that one, one being just across the street. It was pleasant to see that nearest Starbucks being rather empty on weekend nights, while Bassam was crowded. Then, Bassam was forced away to move out. (They still exist, but now in uptown.) The story I heard, albeit second hand was that when it was time for Bassam to renew the lease, Starbucks made an offer that was factor of "X" higher than what was the going rate (I don't know what that "X" was, but somebody said it was between 2 and 3.). Bassam couldn't afford that and had to find a new place. As far as I know Starbuck never even moved in that place. I moved from San Diego right around that time, so I don't know what is there now. Actually, Google Maps street view shows not Startbucks there (corner of 4th and Market, 401 Market St, San Diego, CA 92101-6932) Igor Sun Apr 21 14:04:11 EDT 2013 Bipin Gupta wrote: Hello David, my wife and me had a "Hell of a Coffee time in our (3) week trip to Europe. By "Hell" we mean satan's hell. We were served luke warm coffee every where. We would tell the girls we wanted our coffee "piping hot". I don't think they understood "piping hot" at all - what a shame. So we would hunt around for "Starbucks", the American chain. Oh my what a relief. They understood "hot coffee", at last. And a "Small" cup at Starbucks was equal to a "Large" cup in most European coffee joints. And TEA in Europe is plain s***. I bet you will have lots of fun with coffee in the US, with coffee shops located every 25 meters on the streets. And you don't have to find good coffee; good coffee will find you. Regards. Bipin - from that far away enchanting land. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
