I have been visiting restaurants and coffee shops testing out the coffee just to see how good it is or isn’t. I can tell you that there is surprisingly delicious coffee at unusual spots, pizza joints (locally owned not chains), a few bars that actually do serve coffee and not just “ethyl” to sober up their customers and a local gas station that always has a pot ready for their customers to enjoy. These were pleasant encounters.
I was equally dismayed to find that many breakfast chains, dine in restaurants and fast food have some of the poorest quality coffee I have consumed, and let me tell you I have had some nasty coffee in my life. Last night I was at a national breakfast specialty chain restaurant that advertises its coffee. Well, let me tell you that what I got was car polish or worse. I asked for a cup of coffee from a fresh brewed pot after the first cup of swill and received one that was equally as bad and I did see that it was from a fresh pot. I was totally dismayed. I have drunk many a pot of coffee from this chain but I think I will be sticking with ice water from now on. I don’t know who their new coffee supplier is but they need to go back to the old one post haste. I did let my unpleasant coffee experience be known to the manager but I think she thought I was just a crank. Too bad because I have been a good customer there since the 70s. I don’t know when I will be back.
I avoided Starbucks in my coffee quest because so many people review Starbucks and because quite frankly, they have contributed to the demise of so many local coffee shops that I try to avoid them as much as possible although I do have to have a Mocha Latte on occasion. Yum! I admit it I am an addict!
I did go to a local bakery that has a pleasant coffee bar in it. I had Cafe Au Lait to my hearts content. This was nicely paired with a dark chocolate torte for an experience that was truly amazing.
I suggest that wherever you go for a meal or a snack that you try the coffee Wendy’s may pleasantly surprise you as may the local grocery store. You may feel disappointed at a chain coffee specialty shop but you may be well rewarded at the place were you get your oil changed. Just watch out for coffee that tastes like it would take the rust off of a bumper and complain if you get it. You will be doing us all a favor.
Ciao!
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Photo by benchilada.
{ 4 comments }
Ardee i can tell you straight out that the coffee at the
local jiffyquicky lube places around here ranks on
the lower rungs on how good is it [?] coffee ratings.
and… they leave their pots heating forever.
so….i’m not trying their brews. dismayed is a good
word for the way it tastes.
also, on this topic, i have become a coffee snob
over the years and have found that coffee i take
with me or make on the job is the only final solution
to coffee surprises.
in our IT center, drinks aren’t allowed directly inside
the server rooms but i placed a Keurig mini just
outside the access portal and it has been a hit
with overstressed computer types. i leave a few
various K-cups there and some bottled water
and let them brew their own. the sign reads
NO COFFEE PAST THIS POINT! and it’s worked
pretty well.
i always ask the dining establishments i go to if they
have any special coffee and the most frequent
choices are espresso and cappuccino.
some quite high end restaurants don’t make
as much of an effort to vary their offerings as
the MCD down the road.
Howard, I can understand taking steps to avoid bad coffee. It also sounds like you have created a good solution at work. How nice! That is great for you and other employees at your office.
I find myself trying coffee at different restaurants in an effort to find good coffee at unexpected places. Last night at a local “tamale truck” I noticed a coffee pot. I ordered a cup and was pleasantly surprised. They use coffee from a local company that roasts their own coffee so it was nice to find a good cuppa joe in an unexpected environment.
I am not a coffee snob, yet and I am brave. What can I say!
Ciao!
Yeah, there is some absolutely horrible coffee around the fast-food type places.
Even in cafe’s and coffee shops, I think that it’d be less than 50% of the time I get a decent coffee. Usually the staff making the coffee don’t know or don’t care about coffee…
I think the best places to get the best coffee is on those unexpected spots. I always heard people talking about Starbucks and other places. However, the best place where I have tested the best coffee was in a small taco stand near a bus station.
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