Nowhere to hide - pour over brewing

Systemic

Read, way back, if you want to see how good a coffee shop barista is - get him or her to make a pour over - V60 - Chemex. Visiting Brew Lab years ago was a revelation - the coffee was sensational with all the tasting notes evident. Brew Lab became my benchmark when out and about and, sadly, seldom matched.

Crafting a good pour over isn’t rocket science but does require skill, patience and consistency often lacking in many if not most 3rd wave coffee shops. Why is this - what do you think?

LMSC

I never had a good pour over so far from any of the coffee shops.

Most of the folks working in the coffee shops may not have had an opportunity to develop their skills either through a formal training or through practice.

They would have been taught how to pull a shot from their set up.

Recently, I went to a coffee roaster also running a coffee shop in London. They had shown me the roasted beans stored in the IKEA 10 KG plastic containers in a very well lit store room. A lot of their bagged coffee beans were 1 month to 2 months old. A few of them were 1 - 2 weeks. The good part was they had a roast date. The coffee shop was reasonably crowded. I didn’t have a chance to speak freely.

They made an espresso, which was not only sour but left an unpleasant bitter after taste.

They asked how the coffee was, I told what I had thought and they were very polite and apologetic. They offered a refund of the coffee or make another one. I politely declined as I didn’t want them to lose however small the money may be.

There we go:

In a nutshell, a lack of skill and/or awareness!

DavecUK

LMSC In a nutshell, a lack of skill and/or awareness!

I suspect for a lot of coffeeshops the big moneymaker is the food. You can never really tell if a “Barista” is someone who works part-time, wears the outfit, but has minima training, or is skilled and experienced?

LMSC

DavecUK Absolutely.

We avoid stepping into coffee shops. It’s very rare that we go to coffee shops these days even after a long day out. We are exceptions; otherwise people seldom grab just coffee.

My wife, who doesn’t mind anything and has been drinking what I make at home, thinks the coffee from the shop is s***; she can instantly recognise I have changed the beans and the associated changes in tastes and aroma.

Ernie1 These guys thrive on commodity beans. Margin and quick service are the main factors. They deal with floating population and are aware the public do not have the knowledge and the skills to differentiate the good from bad. For the public, the coffee shops are the benchmark. This is also true in our case in the early part of the journey.

Ernie1

Good pourover?! Frankly I’d settle for a good espresso/flat white at most local shops. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’ve not had a single ‘good’ flat white at any of the independent places in my local area. Always under extracted or such a bad ratio it’s a effectively a cup of hot milk. The best coffee I can get nearby is from a coffee stall in a hair salon of all places.

One place that have done an amazing pourover is New Ground in Oxford. I remember being impressed with the attention to detail as the barista used warm water to rinse the filter and carafe, weighed everything precisely and timed it. When I lived in London I was always really impressed with Ozone, their attention to detail with all of their methods was first rate. This was about 10 years ago though so no idea if it’s still the case. I guess at the roastery they’d be keen to showcase the coffee as best they can.

There’s a small chain in the Netherlands called Coffee Company who really take their time over their preparation, I always make sure to visit a few times if I’m in the country.

Perhaps I was just raised to make sure I was proud of anything I put my name to but It really baffles me when you walk into a place with no queue, £20k of coffee gear on the counter, well-selected beans and the owner/founder serves a cup of garbage for £3.

Sorry for the rant, it’s just not really that hard to make a decent coffee as we all know.

Systemic

Ernie1 Perhaps I was just raised to make sure I was proud of anything I put my name to but It really baffles me when you walk into a place with no queue, £20k of coffee gear on the counter, well-selected beans and the owner/founder serves a cup of garbage for £3.

Went to coffee shop boasting a Black Eagle with a big name in the coffee world here in the UK as one of the co-owners. Beans used were from Hasbean - two S.O.'s on offer as espresso with the usual 3rd wave tasting notes on the blackboard. The coffee was so bad, I took it back and complained and was told it wasn’t their fault - it was the beans. Later learned that said big name had bailed from the business arrangement leaving the shop in the hands of clowns - all the gear - no idea.

Ernie1

LMSC

Great points! I think that’s exactly it.

I’ve occasionally been half-tempted to open a small coffee shop if only for the satisfaction of serving a quality product. I ran some quick arithmetic in my head and I think as has been pointed out, the money most certainly isn’t made in the coffee.

I remember a guy I chatted to in a shop in the Southwest who made a fantastic cup of coffee said “It’s a great business, as long as you don’t expect to make any money”.

hornbyben

Since getting into this hobby i nearly always find coffee out a disappointment compared with what I can make at home.

Overly bitter coffee and scorched milk seem standard in most coffee shops

Ernie1

All the gear no idea indeed!