Drinks ordered:
"Tall" Latte
"Tall" Masked Rider
*Portafilters left in group-head: yes
*Grind per shot: no
*Distribution technique: poor
*Used tamper properly: yes
*Shot pour time: poor
*Milk frothing technique: poor
** (out of six)
The "Tall" latte was 16oz. in a to-go cup. Be careful to look before ordering. No traditional cups in sight.
The espresso was bitter and under-extracted. DayBreak's over-roasted low-quality coffee is used. The foam on the latte was minimal, but not dry. The coffee was stale.
Nuova Simonelli Mac series espresso machine. Nuova Simonelli primary grinder, Mazzer secondary (assumed to be decaf) grinder.
Drink: Latte
Technical score:2 out of 6
Overall Score: 3 out of 10
The "Masked Rider" is a frozen blended drink made with ice, icecream, coffee, and syrups.
The coffee was extremely weak. Coffee type and brew method is undetermined. Espresso is suspected.
The beverage was overly sugary resulting in a sickly feeling after consumption. The coffee in the concoction did little to offset the overly sweet flavor of the icecream. Blend consistency was good. Presentation was average.
Drink: Masked Rider
Technical score: NA
Overall Score: 1.5 out of 10
Tea:
Loose leaf tea is stocked, but freshness is unknown. Brewing process is with tea invusion bags.
No french press, no tea "infuser", no tea pot.
9 comments:
J&B sucks ass. After having been regular customers for nearly 10 years, they totally insulted us last time when they TOLD US WE HAD TO LEAVE.... Reason? Because OTHER CUSTOMERS WANTED TO SIT DOWN!!! Later days, dudes!
I can't believe they asked you to leave!
That said, even though J&B may not have the best coffee specialty drinks, I really enjoy going there. I live in the neighborhood and love going there and often stay for several hours to study, read, or write.
I generally just get the regular cup of coffee or the flavor of the day, and I enjoy their coffee quite a bit.
They do have regular mugs, you just have to ask for them.
I love J&B and with 2 bad reviews for them I just thought I'd say that, in my opinion, the laid back atmosphere and good music as well as writing/studying(espcially if you can snag a big table close to an outlet!)/reading/ long conversations environment makes up for other deficiencies.
Mr./Mrs./Ms. Anonymous,
I can appreciate that you enjoy the atmosphere of J&B. It is a nice place with potential.
I will say, however, that the purpose of this blog is not to report on how cozy the atmosphere or how much you like the people. The only purpose of this blog is to review the quality of the products being served. It seems that in Lubbock, people open a coffee retail establishment on the faith that people will drink swill if only they are given a comfortable place in which to do it.
It's a disrespect to every single customer who walks into the door of these establishments. Specialty Coffee compared to ordinary coffee is like night and day. You would not go to McDonald's expecting a hand-crafted specialty burger, or a top grade steak. You would go to Cagle, because it's what they specialize in.
Too many of these establishments promise or advertise top sirloin and serve frozen pre-formed patties, figuratively speaking.
It does not take much effort to learn to do things properly, but it does take effort. You would not open a mechanic shop without learning how to repair cars correctly, or without going to an automotive school, yet so many people are opening specialty coffee houses without doing a lick of research about how to properly prepare the products they intend to sell for consumption.
It just doesn't add up.
I apologize for the rant, but I feel the need to display the priorities in the reviews expressed on this blog. I hope more Lubbock Coffee consumers see this and start demanding more from their shops. You're paying a lot for a product that isn't worth it. You should be getting your money's worth.
As a member of the beloved community and consumers at J&B Coffee Co. I found this review rather brash and almost unfair. I know a lot has changed since you dropped in. I would appreciate it if you dropped by again and tasted the brews once more. The drinks, machines, and brews have been adjusted since the time of this review. I'm kinda curious how it would measure up now!
I live in the J&B neighborhood and like the atmosphere, but the coffee is never great and sometimes not even good.
At that was my opinion before yesterday when they gave me the flavored coffee ("german chocolate") instead of the requested house coffee. Then they discovered they had two pots of flavored and no regular coffee. Then they brewed up some more regular coffee, but must have done it in the same machine as the flavored coffee because it still tasted like coconut and chocolate.
I still like the atmosphere, but where in town do they actually care about the coffee?
That place is way over priced and always full of a hippies that hang around all day. If J&B's wanted to get better business from respectable customers they would stop allowing all of these vagrants to use it as their 'hang out'.
Vagrants?
Who the hell died and made you God-of-the-Universe? J&B is a public place and anyone who is going to patronize their establishment is welcome to be there. Maybe their target consumers are the "artsy" types.
Get out and see the world and don't be so judgemental...you should appreciate diversity.
I actually enjoy their coffee...it suits my personal taste, as well as the tastes of more than a few people I've spoken with.
"but where in town to do they actually care about the coffee?"
- at Sugar Brown's Coffee, that's where.
I live in the neighborhood and visit J&B about once a week. The place is kind of a dump, but is nice to have as an option.
The big problem I have with the coffee is that it is bitter while being weak. Starbucks can be bitter but is certainly strong. J&B offers both flavored and regular brewed coffee - the only thing I can smell or taste when I go there is the flavored. I HATE THAT!
The hired help there is generally friendly but really poorly trained. I have had some very long waits while they chatted to one another or with friends who were customers.
I am glad J&B is where it is - I just wish they were 20% better.
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