I’ve long held that Guinness is a bog standard commercial beer taste, a thin mouthfeel and not much going on. It tastes more like Heineberg or their ilk with your eyes closed than it doesn’t. But the head, the head is a fantastic thing. There are some bitters in the UK that use the nitrogen also.
Funnily enough the crema on an espresso is also the best part for me. So I will be trying this out for sure.
[I should say I no longer drink most beers as I am a late diagnosed coeliac, so I haven’t tasted real beer in 3 years or so]
[quote=“robertmckenna, post:21, topic:78925”]
the crema on an espresso is also the best part for me
[/quote]
The crema is bitter and some cafes will remove it before serving to make the shot as naturally sweet as possible. I was skeptical until I had a shot served that way.
Just thinking about it I get what you are saying, I still love the sensation of the crema with a sip of coffee though!.
Edit
And in Italy you can buy an espresso which is basically crema and no liquid coffee (but then espresso has more robusta in it than a normal nice coffee and wouldn’t be the sweetest coffee going anyway. And Italians don’t seem to look down on people taking sugar in espressos. Their contempt and hatred is reserved for those taking capuccinos after dinner)
Coffee soda has been sold in Italy for decades. I don’t care for it, as it is usually too sweet for my taste, but it is nothing new.
Starbucks actually uses pretty good quality beans, they just tend to overroast them. While the bean/roasting combination produces espresso that is kind of harsh, it does punch through the milk pretty well, and - after all - Starbucks is primarily a latteria.
Cold brewing tends to mute the more extreme flavors of any given bean. I’ve cold-brewed Starbucks beans, and while it maintains some of the distinctive Starbucks taste it isn’t striking.
That’s odd. The few times I’ve had no choice but Starbucks, and chose to get a late or cap, I’ve ordered quads because it’s the only way it even tastes like coffee.
But you need to age it at higher temperature, or take your time. But maybe that was included in your idea.
Only the cup with lit, I never ever understood. Yes for transportation, Noop, a big noop for drinking through.
That’s more a function of their using too much milk in their drinks than of the coffee being too mild.
By the way, if you order an espresso macchiato at Starbucks (not a latte macchiato, which is what they’ll serve you if you just ask for a “macchiato”) you often get a very nice drink, a little less milky than a Spanish cortado but far milkier than a an Italian caffè macchiato.
Oddly, the main complaint I usually hear about Starbucks is that their coffee is too strong and intensely flavored; the new blonde roasts are milder for people who think the regular coffee is too bitter and roasty.
They do have a distinctive taste profile (not as distinctive as, say, Lavazza), and of course any given person might or might not like a given taste profile. I’m not a big fan of it myself, though I prefer it to the excessive citrus you sometimes get in “3rd wave” coffee shops.
I have a commercial espresso setup in my kitchen (had to rewire and replumb to accommodate it), and do a lot of experimenting, and getting as much flavor out of beans whose taste I prefer as out of Starbucks is not easy. Usually I have to move to a 16 gram portafilter (as many indie coffee shops do) instead of the standard 14 gram pf.
If you usually order “short” then give the espresso macchiato a try; it is much shorter than a short.
I’ve got around 20 different shops to choose from in town that aren’t Starbucks. I usually only hit Starbucks if I’m stuck in an airport, but I’ll give that a go next time I travel.
Yeah, when we lived in Portland it was easy enough to find a shop one liked within walking distance. Honolulu however was a coffee wasteland when we moved here, so I splurged for the heavy equipment (flown in from Europe, hence the kitchen rewiring ). Now we have decent coffee shops nearby (as well as a Starbucks), but it is cheaper and easier to just stay home.
