Walking in, it's your standard typical Starbucks. Everything is cookie-cutter fabulous and exactly as it would be at some other location over 1K miles away.
The equipment is the ever-depressing Saeco Verisimo 440 Superautomatic.
The drip coffee is in the last ten minutes of however long the timer was set for.
Drink ordered:
Double Short Cappuccino (that's 8oz.)
The attendant begins by frothing the milk. I can hear the pitcher being raised and lowered, creating large bubbles rather than the desireably sweet silky microfroth found in high quality establishments.
Upon finish, the milk pitcher is tapped against the counter to break up the larger bubbles, and swirled to help incorporate the froth back into the milk mixture. Both are a good sign.
The espresso shot is pulled by pressing a button. the shot is a bit quick, and blonds very early on.
The milk is then poured into the cup by holding back the froth with a spoon, and then spooning on the froth once the cup is a little over half full.
This practice, for a cappuccino, is against quality standards in general, as well as Starbucks standards for drink preparation.
Still, the result is not the worst thing I have ever tasted in Lubbock.
The espresso is thin and weak, with a dominant roasty flavor lacking in complexity and origin flavors.
The froth, while not very good, is some of the best I've seen in Lubbock.
All in all, The cappuccino is drinkable, if not a little enjoyable.
It's not what I would consider to be high quality, but it's not necessarily bad. I would put this somewhere between mediocre to good.
Final score
6.8 out of 10
4 comments:
Thank you so much for coming to my store. Your comments are very helpful. From my training, that is how I also make the cappuccino. I will do some reasearch on that. As far as the espresso flavor, I am not sure that we have much control over that anymore, it is all done for us now. I will talk to my manager about that and see what helpful information he can give me. Was the weight of your drink correct? Our management stresses the weight and temp. of our drinks as much as freshness of the espresso. We also have all the ceramic cups and mugs, but we keep them under the counter for sanitary purposes. For time efficiency, we do not even ask 'for here or to go?' Many people do not even know that we have these. Anyway, I am excited that you came by and hope you will want to stop by again.
p.s. did you get your drink in a timely manner? we are given two minutes from the time you order to the time you get your drink in your hand. Was that requirement met??
Thank you again.
To be frank, I am aware that there are very few Starbucks locations with the La Marzocco Linea in use anymore. I am also aware of the limitations of the Verssimo, having used one myself.
You can easily improve the espresso by tightening the grind to achieve ~26 second doubles rather than the suggested 13-17 seconds. The problem is that this is against company standards, but the flavor is much improved.
Honestly, I hate worrying about weight for a cappuccino. Dense foam will weigh more than big bubbly foam, but will taste lightyears better. Yeah, it was lightweight, but it could've been heavier with a little less, but perfect, foam and I would have been much happier.
In the World Barista Competition, it's less about how much foam, but more about the quality of foam for the 4 single cappuccinos served to the judges. They don't weigh the drinks either.
Good to know that there are ceramic cups available. I wish I had known that sooner.
I would also like to share that it is quite easy to achieve excellent foam on the Verisimo machines. So easy, in fact, that I have a hard time understanding why I never see it in any drinks served.
It helps to lift the steam wand all the way up, and tilt the milk pitcher so the top is facing towards you, and the inside of the back wall is resting against the steam wand.
A big part of this is sound. You want to hear a very subtle "tchh tchh" sound. So subtle, it's like someone tearing newspaper at an excruciatingly slow rate.
I have never heard of, or seen, a competition barista controling volume of foam with a spoon. Yes, I know it's how Starbucks prefers it, but it actually takes MORE time than just learning to make the proper amount of foam, and free-pouring the entire contents of the pitcher into the espresso.
Unfortunately, being at Starbucks means that you are quality-locked. There is only so much you can do with what you have. I'm glad to know that there is someone here who DOES care so much besides myself.
Regards.
True, you are completely correct when you talk about different foam and the importance of weight. As far as steaming the milk, there are so many people that think their way is correct. I have had many different people train me the "correct" way. I will take into consideration what you have recommended here and see how well that works. Our machines steam much faster than what I used when I started at the B&N Cafe. All in all, I am still learning and greatly appreciate your help. I still have not achieved great steamed milk. For me, it is alot harder than I thought.
Email me directly.
LubbockCoffee@gmail.com
I'd love to talk more with you on this.
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