Comments on: Coffee Quandary

By: Kieran

Kieran — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:25:04 +0000

Wow! That shows some lack of understanding! It’s funny – our refridgeration guy is bringing in some automatic coffee machines from Italy. He’s having all sorts of grief because the machines dont do scalding – they serve a cappuccino the temperature you’d get it in Italy, and his customers are furious.

By: bridget

bridget — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:53:36 +0000

I think i’d love your coffee! I lived in Spain for three years and loved my ‘cafe con leche’ …..the temp perfect to enjoy immediately. I’ve had arguments in places in Cork when i’ve asked that they not heat the milk too much. I was recently in Cork Airport and really gasping for a coffee…..so went to starbucks and asked for a latte with the milk just warm….they refused saying they had to boil it and that it was for health and safety reasons! In another cafe in Cork they told me it wasn’t possible to warm the milk that you absolutely had to boil it to make it frothy. So i said i don’t want a lot of froth and she had the nerve to tell me that it wouldn’t be a latte without froth and that i couldn’t enjoy it without froth! Another girl in a cafe told me she had to make it very hot as the machine wouldn’t let her do it any other way! I’ve given up.Ii now have my own gaggia classic expresso machine and no longer waste my money on burnt bitter coffee that you have to wait 10 or 15 mins to drink so that you don’t scald your mouth…. Keep up the good work!

By: Kirke Wilson

Kirke Wilson — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:39:01 +0000

We have this problem in our restaurant, some customers prefer their latte so hot that it ruins the coffee/milk. We also have discussed this and so far have not found a sulotion. We work with machines where seperate adjustment of tempratures is also not possible. I will keep reading this forum. Hope some one will come with the a bright idea.
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By: Kieran

Kieran — Wed, 09 May 2007 11:42:28 +0000

That’s an excellent point, David! Unfortunately on our machines the temperature and pressure are the same, and if we raise the pressure it really ruins the coffee. However, there are machines where the two are individually adjustable…

By: David

David — Tue, 08 May 2007 03:52:32 +0000

Is it possible to specify the temperature of your boiler, when making the espresso? If you could raise the temperature there, then you may not need to worry about the milk being “cool” so much. That would also tend to give you a greater separation between the milk and the espresso, allowing for a more stratified presentation if you serve in clear glasses.

By: Helen

Helen — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 02:03:59 +0000

American restaurants that specialize in steak or salmon dishes usually specify on the menus that they “cannot be held responsible for the quality” if you specify a doneness beyond medium, or even that they won’t serve it that way at all. It seemed pretentious at first, but pretty soon “everyone” now understands that connoisseurs of quality know how it should be done. . . . (I personally continue to ask for my salmon medium well — gauche or not, that’s how I like it — but I’ve been warned!) Maybe you can convince other like-minded coffee shops to join you in an educational cooperative? If people begin to see themselves as superiour for liking it a la Continent, it will probably catch on!

By: Kieran

Kieran — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 12:13:49 +0000

Thanks, Mona. We always do heat the cups… And that’s an interesting one, Nicholas. Thanks!

By: Nicholas G.P. Moses

Nicholas G.P. Moses — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:26:09 +0000

One idea might be to have two versions on the menu: call your standard the “Continental latte” and the hot version the “Islander latte” or something along those lines. This would prompt more people to ask what the difference is, giving you the opportunity to enlighten them.