Whilst out at lunch today I decided that I needed a quick 'pick-me-up' (a non-alcoholic 'pick-me-up' I hastened to add). As I was on my way up Fargate I thought I'd dash into Costa (not my normal espresso establishment) and grab a quick double ristretto. What's a ristretto I hear you ask? Well, the finer points of a ristretto are always the subject of fierce debate amongst coffee cognoscenti.
The 'ristretto' is a shot of espresso in its purest form. It's very short, very strong and very intense. Anyhow, back to the story - I ordered a ristretto because it's my way of specifying that I want a short shot - not an overpulled long, dull shot. Costa unlike their giant competitor Starbucks actually list a ristretto on their menu seperately to an espresso so I assumed the barista had been trained in the subtle differences.
The barista who served me was a fiery Italian lady who politely took my order (after finishing off her conversation with a colleague?!) and rung up a single ristretto on her computerised till. I noticed her error and proceeded to inform her that I wanted a double ristretto. She instantly informed that a double ristretto was exactly the same as a double espresso.
I was somewhat dumbstruck for a second that a barista, an Italian barista at that, would make such a claim. I proceeded to explain that a ristretto was different because it was ground finer, brewed under higher pressure, tamped a little firmer and pulled much shorter than it's flabby sibling the espresso.
The Italian barista replied, "You're wrong - I'm Italian and I know they are the same." To which I replied, "I'm afraid not - a ristretto is different and if you wish to display the two items seperately on a menu you should know the difference between them".
She again said, "I'm Italian - it's the same". To which I replied, "You may be Italian but you clearly don't know much about espresso if you think the two are identical. The fact that you are Italian serves only to reinforce the point that you should know the difference." At this point she became fiery (perhaps a characteristic of her Italian heritage) and said, "I'm not going to argue with you - you can have what you like." She then slammed the beverage down on the counter.
I left feeling extremely narked not only by the Italian barista's terribly poor customer service but also the fact that one of espresso's greatest treasures was being sold, labelled and prepared incorrectly.
Anybody else had dealings with this establishment?
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I like wines that cut through my palate. Some wines spread outwards. They fool you. Those are modern wines. You taste them, and three minutes later, you say: "Not bad, but there's no depth." When I taste a wine, I like it to cut through my palate.
As far as instant coffee goes I think "Alta Rica" is by far the best.
IMHO of course.
Nomme
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People come and go, And forget to close the door,
And leave their stains and cigerette butts trampled on the floor, And when they do....
Lol I work in a coffee shop (not Costa, I might add) but our range of coffee is much smaller than Costas... We've recently got a proper machine, one where you actually brew the coffee yourself, instead of just pressing a button... I am staggered by the number of coffee experts that try and tell me how to do my job!!! lol! So many people are so very passionate about their coffee, its unelievable! lol! - I might add that they tend to be very specific and drone on about how they want their drink when I'm serving alone, with about 20 people waiting in a queue...
Originally posted by caprice To me, its just a drink... but hey lol
Not only is it just a drink, it tastes horrible. Truly horrible! But if people want to sit around discussing books they've never read while getting their caffeine fix in the form of a bitter, vile hot liquid, who am I to argue?
The triumph of the coffee shop is a victory for marketing over product, and it's one of the more puzzling aspects of modern life.
Originally posted by Greenback Not only is it just a drink, it tastes horrible. Truly horrible! But if people want to sit around discussing books they've never read while getting their caffeine fix in the form of a bitter, vile hot liquid, who am I to argue?
The triumph of the coffee shop is a victory for marketing over product, and it's one of the more puzzling aspects of modern life.
Greenback,
Quite clearly that's an opinion about coffee and, in particular, espresso. I like many other people worldwide enjoy coffee / espresso (perhaps even Ristretto) for it's taste. Your comment about "discussing books they've never read" is clearly a comment in reference to the fact that you feel having coffee or espresso is somehow pretentious.
Please could you explain to me (if you can) what your groundings for this are? If you wish to discuss the puzzling aspects of modern life you need only look at gyms, supermarkets and out of town shopping malls - all of which, I might add are highly popular.
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I like wines that cut through my palate. Some wines spread outwards. They fool you. Those are modern wines. You taste them, and three minutes later, you say: "Not bad, but there's no depth." When I taste a wine, I like it to cut through my palate.
I'll admit that last post was me being a bit mischievous, Jon
I drink coffee myself, but I'm just not really into the mystification of it. It's just a caffeine hit. Seems to me the purchasing of a grandé latté frappuchino (or whatever) has nothing to do with buying a tasty drink and everything to do with keeping up with the Joneses. But each to their own.
You're right about gyms though, especially gyms in out-of-town shopping malls containing their own coffee shops.
Hate to get technical on you Greenback but coffee shops are hardly a creation of modern society....they have been around in one form or other for nearly a thousand years......tastes like McStarbucks use beans preserved from this time.
Totally with you on the whole frappa-choca-mocha-skinny-toffee-chino thing....totally pointless!
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the most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is all comprehensible
If your coffee is bitter - its bad coffee. As for ristretto esspresso io no lo conosco.
If you're REAL coffee fan you should not be going to starbucks or costa. You really shouldn't be going there and expecting real authentic italian coffee because they are chains and aren't they both american.
If you want a real coffee - go to an authentic italian coffee shop. the best one by far is Remo's in Broomhill. I take all my Italian friends there and they rate it - which is tough for an italian to do in britain!! Else - go to italy or make it at home if you can do any better.
Just because this lady was italian does not mean she should know the ins and outs of caffe. Do you know how to fry the perfect chip and make the perfect batter for a North sea Cod? That my friend is a stereotype and its what leads to racism.
Originally posted by JonJParr I left feeling extremely narked not only by the Italian barista's terribly poor customer service but also the fact that one of espresso's greatest treasures was being sold, labelled and prepared incorrectly.
Anybody else had dealings with this establishment?
I will be going in Monday morning as someone who does not know their coffee as well as you do.
I shall ask them what the difference between the two is, and report back on their response....
(Feel free to do the same people; we could flashmob Costa Coffee with our requests for knowledge)!
