Strictly Miscellaneous
- Thread starter JaumeJ
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Reading all these messages now... everything sounds so meticulous and delicious! Good luck!!! 
on the surface baking looks like just a few ingredients mixed in different proportions for a huge variety of results...but...it just isn't.
Gonna try to get a pic when I am done. I am going to try for a chocolate fade in the base whipped cream frosting. The rosettes wont have the fade...but I think that it might look ok if I did do it...but I really want the fresh cherries on the top to stand out on the rosettes.
still thinking about chocolate shavings and haven't come to a conclusion yet. Probably have to wait to see it finished and make an audible call at that time.
-
1
- Show all
That's part of the answer.
Starbucks owns coffee plantations, harvesters, washing stations, warehousing and roasters.
They have $1.20-$2/lb in the coffee that they sell for $12-16/lb. More than that in profits when they sell it by the cup.
The vinyl bags cost as well as the R/M on the equipment.
Green coffee of the specialty classification sells for up to $4-6/lb....Starbucks uses a more institutional grade bean in most instances even when single sourced. These are machine harvested...not by Juan Valdez picking one cherry at a time.
Then washing and drying and sorting is done by computer controlled equipment and then roasted to remove any sourness and leave nothing but bitterness behind.
(Yes its burnt and no special notes are left...on purpose to keep it standardized)
Then today it's a fully automatic machine that leaves no room for artistry for the barista.
A good espresso shot it perfectly dosed, compressed to exacting standards, then the hot water is at a specific pressure and volume through the "puck" for a specific time creating a very exacting volume of espresso.
It requires time and practice for a barista to become competent at this to create a quality espresso based drink.
Starbucks has replaced baristas with glorified button pushers. And standardized their coffee into monotonous crap.
About half of your independent coffee shops will make a better coffee than any Starbucks ever thought about today.
Including chains known as Kaldi's or Bongo Java. Good coffee requires a craftsman. Pure and simple. Kaldi's understands this and they have semi-automatic machines. Miles better than volumetric or fully automatic machines that Starbucks uses.
Starbucks owns coffee plantations, harvesters, washing stations, warehousing and roasters.
They have $1.20-$2/lb in the coffee that they sell for $12-16/lb. More than that in profits when they sell it by the cup.
The vinyl bags cost as well as the R/M on the equipment.
Green coffee of the specialty classification sells for up to $4-6/lb....Starbucks uses a more institutional grade bean in most instances even when single sourced. These are machine harvested...not by Juan Valdez picking one cherry at a time.
Then washing and drying and sorting is done by computer controlled equipment and then roasted to remove any sourness and leave nothing but bitterness behind.
(Yes its burnt and no special notes are left...on purpose to keep it standardized)
Then today it's a fully automatic machine that leaves no room for artistry for the barista.
A good espresso shot it perfectly dosed, compressed to exacting standards, then the hot water is at a specific pressure and volume through the "puck" for a specific time creating a very exacting volume of espresso.
It requires time and practice for a barista to become competent at this to create a quality espresso based drink.
Starbucks has replaced baristas with glorified button pushers. And standardized their coffee into monotonous crap.
About half of your independent coffee shops will make a better coffee than any Starbucks ever thought about today.
Including chains known as Kaldi's or Bongo Java. Good coffee requires a craftsman. Pure and simple. Kaldi's understands this and they have semi-automatic machines. Miles better than volumetric or fully automatic machines that Starbucks uses.
-
1
-
1
- Show all
No wonder I have never cared for them...
It only appears to be a fast food job. It isn't.
Pulling coffee shots pays over 60k/yr.
Wrapping burgers at McDonald's pays 15k/yr.
That heart or seahorse or tulip in the foam the barista draws...that tells you in a minute if they know what they are doing or not.
-
1
- Show all
Now a good barista in a decent neighborhood....they will make around $30/hr. Easy peasy all day long.
It only appears to be a fast food job. It isn't.
Pulling coffee shots pays over 60k/yr.
Wrapping burgers at McDonald's pays 15k/yr.
That heart or seahorse or tulip in the foam the barista draws...that tells you in a minute if they know what they are doing or not.
It only appears to be a fast food job. It isn't.
Pulling coffee shots pays over 60k/yr.
Wrapping burgers at McDonald's pays 15k/yr.
That heart or seahorse or tulip in the foam the barista draws...that tells you in a minute if they know what they are doing or not.
That was my next question.
I know everyone complains about the price of Starbucks...
So I was wondering how much places with actual real coffee that's correctly prepared costs in comparison?
What would the average price be for an ordinary (but yet extraordinary) Cup O' Joe at these places? (Like in TN and not NY.)
-
1
-
1
- Show all
A regular drip cup of coffee is just $3.75.
Cupaccino or a Latte is obviously going to cost a lot more up to $7 not including taxes or tip....all depending on what you get in your coffee.
But this also isn't exactly folgers or maxwell house coffee either.
I'm one of those that doesn't order a $5/cup of espresso based coffees and then covers up the taste with a bunch of flavored syrups either. I like coffee....not the cup or the look of carrying a cup.
Nitro cold brew is nice...no sugar or milk needed. It tastes rich like it has cream but absolutely nothing in it but coffee. These are inexpensive as well....usually around the same as a cup of drip. And it's COLD. Good coffee is just fine cold. No bad flavors.
We use Starbucks as a price fixer. We will charge the same prices as Starbucks and have lower margins but can still operate successfully.
However, there's a gamble....not all independent coffee shops are all that good at roasting. I've run into 3 different popular roasters that can't roast well. Or they do something dumb with their beans afterwards.
Beans need a day to breathe after roasting....then they need to be nitrogen flushed and sealed off from all oxygen to last a long time.
Some don't flush the beans with nitrogen but do seal them. Some don't even heat seal the bags....even though they buy the bags made to do so....
Because it's got about two weeks before the beans are degrading.
But also the trick is to find someone who is meticulous in every aspect of pulling the shot and not asleep at the wheel. Which happens a lot too. Lots of schmucks operating coffee shops that get away with selling junk coffee. They waste really good coffee by pulling bad shots and then cover up the mistakes by flavored syrups. It's drinkable....but it's not the prize winning coffee that outshines Starbucks by a mile.
Training a barista and letting them get the experience takes time. A good bit of it. Two months minimum. Two years and they got it consistent. And there has to be an atmosphere of trying to reach excellence the whole time.
A difficult task to accomplish in today's disposable job marketplace.
Cupaccino or a Latte is obviously going to cost a lot more up to $7 not including taxes or tip....all depending on what you get in your coffee.
But this also isn't exactly folgers or maxwell house coffee either.
I'm one of those that doesn't order a $5/cup of espresso based coffees and then covers up the taste with a bunch of flavored syrups either. I like coffee....not the cup or the look of carrying a cup.
Nitro cold brew is nice...no sugar or milk needed. It tastes rich like it has cream but absolutely nothing in it but coffee. These are inexpensive as well....usually around the same as a cup of drip. And it's COLD. Good coffee is just fine cold. No bad flavors.
We use Starbucks as a price fixer. We will charge the same prices as Starbucks and have lower margins but can still operate successfully.
However, there's a gamble....not all independent coffee shops are all that good at roasting. I've run into 3 different popular roasters that can't roast well. Or they do something dumb with their beans afterwards.
Beans need a day to breathe after roasting....then they need to be nitrogen flushed and sealed off from all oxygen to last a long time.
Some don't flush the beans with nitrogen but do seal them. Some don't even heat seal the bags....even though they buy the bags made to do so....
Because it's got about two weeks before the beans are degrading.
But also the trick is to find someone who is meticulous in every aspect of pulling the shot and not asleep at the wheel. Which happens a lot too. Lots of schmucks operating coffee shops that get away with selling junk coffee. They waste really good coffee by pulling bad shots and then cover up the mistakes by flavored syrups. It's drinkable....but it's not the prize winning coffee that outshines Starbucks by a mile.
Training a barista and letting them get the experience takes time. A good bit of it. Two months minimum. Two years and they got it consistent. And there has to be an atmosphere of trying to reach excellence the whole time.
A difficult task to accomplish in today's disposable job marketplace.
-
1
-
1
- Show all
Well it is very similar...and it tastes like coffee. But it's a very very good cup.
The first thing you need to know is do you like the sourness or the bitterness of coffee?
When we do coffee tastings...the very first thing we do is create a dialogue and understanding of the difference.
We give them bitter burnt rubber tasting coffee and then coffee that's all sour.
Then we get to sampling blends. Because after 5 different coffees most palates are mostly shot.
The smell, the taste, and heat are all in motion.
Women are the super tasters. They tend to be the best at this every time.
So....ready for a coffee tasting?
The first thing you need to know is do you like the sourness or the bitterness of coffee?
When we do coffee tastings...the very first thing we do is create a dialogue and understanding of the difference.
We give them bitter burnt rubber tasting coffee and then coffee that's all sour.
Then we get to sampling blends. Because after 5 different coffees most palates are mostly shot.
The smell, the taste, and heat are all in motion.
Women are the super tasters. They tend to be the best at this every time.
So....ready for a coffee tasting?
-
1
-
1
- Show all
