Coffee Snobbery

posted by Brian Houston (dag) 1 decade 4 years 8 months 3 weeks ago • 967 views
I really like what a recent Ted Talk had to say about snobbery- and it made me think of my own run-in with it yesterday.

On my way to work I usually get off my bus in central Brisbane, get a coffee and walk the 15 minutes into Fortitude Valley. My brew of choice is a Starbucks Grande filter coffee with just a splash of milk. I get my coffee at Starbucks because it's just about the only place in Brisbane where you can get filter coffee (except McDonalds). Espresso rules Australia- I don't mind it, but I find all the milk of a latte or cappuccino too heavy. Brewed coffee suits me just right.

Anyway, I was feeling a bit peckish, so after getting my coffee, I stopped at this trendy little German bakery near Central Station called "Brot: Wicked European Bread" for a croissant to carry with me.

I put my Starbucks cup on the counter to get my money out and an older lady, who looked like an office worker in her 50s said - "Oh, Starbucks - don't let him set that there, it's the McDonalds of coffee".

The guy behind the counter replied "Yes, I call Starbucks 'The Crematorium'". They both had a good chuckle and I went away without saying anything witty, because I hadn't had my coffee yet.

But now I have the perfect reply to that old hag- I would say "I like women like you, the same way I like my coffee - cheap, bitter and operating in a predatory manner to destroy local coffee shops for greater corporate profits".

That would have showed her.

19 Comments

spoco2 says...

Ahh yes, Coffee Snobbery... Gee, if you think it's bad in Brisbane, come down to Melbourne for a while... We RULE in being coffee snobs.

I'm guilty of it to a certain degree, but not much really. I have a home espresso machine, had a course to learn how to make them properly, and LOVE those that I make (if I do say so myself... which I did).

BUT.

I also quite like McDonald's McCafe coffee too (Which, of course, was a MELBOURNE invention, only now rolling out to McDonalds around the world... we have espresso coffee places everywhere. It used to surprise and amuse me to find hardware stores, plant nurseries, hospitals, car yards etc. with espresso bars, but no longer, in fact, I kinda expect it now).

I really don't like Starbucks espresso coffee, but have been known to have it, and in the States it's actually in the higher end of chain places (sadly).

However I don't poor scorn on people who have it, each to their own I guess, and Starbucks does seem to actually do a fair few things right as an empire (pushing for Fair Trade coffee, having their old grounds there in the store for you to take free for your garden etc.).

And I get your preference to filter coffee, well, being an American it's understandable

It amazed me that in all the large stores there in the states there were a huge variety of drip filter coffee machines available to buy and I couldn't find ONE espresso machine. I did find a 'pod' coffee machine, but that's kinda not the same, and very wasteful.

Here in Australia you go into a department store and they'll have the same amount of floorspace given over to espresso machines with maybe a couple of filter machines tucked away at the back.

And yes, that would have been a fine comeback to the woman

videosiftbannedme says...

^The above exchange really made me lol, so naturally had to upvote both.

As for coffee snobbery, I suppose you'd really get that anywhere. People, for whatever reason, feel the incessant need to 1) let others know their opinion, and 2) make sure that the listener knows that their opinion is correct. Case in point....this post I just wrote.

But where as I can do so without the least bit of snobbery (well, now that I just wrote that, it does sound a bit snobbish), coffee-bitch can't. Ah well...what can you do? Here's to your cup o' Joe, Dag.

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