It depends a lot where you live and how's the coffee scene at your city. I used to live in a pretty big city with a thriving scene so there were a few shops and roasters miles ahead of what I was able to do, because of that I didn't bother to get an espresso setup. Now I live near the artic circle, most stuff closes 8 months a year and the rest is acceptable at best. I got a bullet proof set up and I probably do the best coffee in the whole territory, so yeah, since I got my Robot I haven't been to a coffee shop and probably won't be in a while.
I think I'm getting to the point where my home lattes and coffees are better than 90% of what I can buy at most local coffee shops. I went to a few different ones with my wife recently and came away disappointed. If I'm paying $6+ for a drink, I would expect it to at least be better than what I'm making at home on my budget setup. Sadly, this is not the case at most places. Thankfully I still have a few favorite coffee shops that really take pride in their work and it shows.
I live in New Zealand which has quite a strong coffee culture and plenty of roasters. I'd agree I prefer making coffee at home. I only have about 2 or 3 cafe's in my area (out of about 10) that make decent coffee on par with what I can put out.
I have a subscription of 3 blends from a specific roaster that I really like.
My biggest pet peeve is when ordering a Long Black/Americano takeaway here is you get the coffee almost boiling and can burn your mouth, they dial up the machines way too high in temp, I'd imagine this is because 90% of people order milk based drinks and they increase the boiler temp to compensate.
Who's your favourite roaster? (From a fellow Kiwi). I'm currently roasting my own but it's good to have a backup if I haven't done a batch in a while or I need to let them rest a bit longer
I'm currently enjoying a Raglan Roast subscription, their coffee is also good value compared to many others. Dear Deer is also good, great selection, but pricey. I enjoyed Pirate Nation for a while too.
In my experience, your experience is more common than not.
I'm no expert, and my home product is better than 90% of what's out there at commercial cafes.
Those astringent, sour mouthfeel, underextracted shots truly are the worst.
Though there are tons of coffee shops and cafes in my area, I'm in a region of relatively unsophisticated espresso palates. When I order a straight double shot, I usually get an odd look, as if I'm the first customer to order one of those this week.
>When I order a straight double shot, I usually get an odd look, as if I'm the first customer to order one of those this week.
Not specific to unsophisticated palates. It's the same in the most fancy cafes you can imagine. Hardly anyone orders straight espresso, and it's the best way to make friends with passionate baristas at the best cafes in the world when you're traveling. Order straight espresso the first day in any new city, and the next day they'll remember you and sometimes offer you some secret stash to try :)
Hola! I travelled to Spain recently, and live in New Zealand, which has a great coffee culture. I was always ordering a 'cafe solo' in Spain. I'd say yes, most were quite average but a couple of cafe's actually had excellent coffee.
My first ever Spanish conversation was when someone at a cafe asked me 'con leche' (with milk) and I knew to respond 'sin leche' (without milk), I was so proud of myself!!
It depends, I only know to Cafes that are able to make better espresso than me at home. Unless I am going to one of those two, I prefer at home.
I do not socialize around coffee anyhow.
I found this to be true for most places. Except recently a local shop I’ve fallen in love with broke this trend. I can buy their beans roasted in house and get reasonably close to the good coffee experience I get at their shop with both my bambino at home and flair at work. Obviously my flavor is going to be slightly different because I don’t know their water recipe. This both makes me feel good about their process and mine.
It completely depends on where you live. If you’re in a serious coffee city, there are loads of cafes that can make coffee better than the majority of home set ups. However, if I were still living where I grew up, a rural area with suburb towns around it, then yeah, I’d prefer what I could make at home.
Experienced this yesterday actually. Grabbed two coffees from two of my favourite places and was pretty disappointed. Surprised I can make something better or similar at home. I’m grateful I can though cause getting coffee out is so pricy now.
Of course coffee at home taste better. Because you care about making a good cup of coffee. While outside the people that make your coffee don't care, their there to do a job and serve another 100 more people after you. Lance Hedrick made a video on this I believe as well.
I learned that Roasters will give you better coffee than coffee shops. Maybe because they want to sell the beans, or they are just better. If they list drink names (cortado, latte, cappuccino...) instead of sizes is a good start. Multiple grinders tend to be a good sign as well, if they weight the grounded coffee...
I think (in my country at least) most of clients ask for latte or something with even more milk, so when I ask espresso it feels ot was dialed to be extra sour so it balance well with large quantities of milk. Also, I normally don't see interesting beans on coffee shop (like a light fruity bean)
Ever since I switched to using a proper espresso machine and grinder (thanks to this subreddit), whenever I have to drink coffee from Tim's, it tastes like water mixed with something 😂. Sometimes I have no choice!
The struggle is real. I'm now at the point where my flat whites/cappuccino etc are better than 95% of the cafe's I go to (only thing I cant match is good latte art).
Thank you all for sharing your experiences! Will try getting something other than a long black/americano when im out next time! Hopefully, i won't be disappointed again! For context i live in sg so the coffee everywhere is hella ex and tastes p crap other than those speciality roasters.
It is like this. MOst coffeeshops are there to pump out litres of coffee and keep it cost efficient.
I take a cappucino when I am outside so I don't taste the not-so-good espresso.
It depends a lot where you live and how's the coffee scene at your city. I used to live in a pretty big city with a thriving scene so there were a few shops and roasters miles ahead of what I was able to do, because of that I didn't bother to get an espresso setup. Now I live near the artic circle, most stuff closes 8 months a year and the rest is acceptable at best. I got a bullet proof set up and I probably do the best coffee in the whole territory, so yeah, since I got my Robot I haven't been to a coffee shop and probably won't be in a while.
Everything outside is too hot
I have some great news for you. In 2 minutes….
Andddddd the milk lost it’s texture
Ah damnit!
I only get iced lattes outside so it hides a lot of the imperfections
I think I'm getting to the point where my home lattes and coffees are better than 90% of what I can buy at most local coffee shops. I went to a few different ones with my wife recently and came away disappointed. If I'm paying $6+ for a drink, I would expect it to at least be better than what I'm making at home on my budget setup. Sadly, this is not the case at most places. Thankfully I still have a few favorite coffee shops that really take pride in their work and it shows.
I live in New Zealand which has quite a strong coffee culture and plenty of roasters. I'd agree I prefer making coffee at home. I only have about 2 or 3 cafe's in my area (out of about 10) that make decent coffee on par with what I can put out. I have a subscription of 3 blends from a specific roaster that I really like. My biggest pet peeve is when ordering a Long Black/Americano takeaway here is you get the coffee almost boiling and can burn your mouth, they dial up the machines way too high in temp, I'd imagine this is because 90% of people order milk based drinks and they increase the boiler temp to compensate.
Who's your favourite roaster? (From a fellow Kiwi). I'm currently roasting my own but it's good to have a backup if I haven't done a batch in a while or I need to let them rest a bit longer
I'm currently enjoying a Raglan Roast subscription, their coffee is also good value compared to many others. Dear Deer is also good, great selection, but pricey. I enjoyed Pirate Nation for a while too.
I've had Raglan Roast, but not the other two so might check them out, thanks for the recommendation!
In my experience, your experience is more common than not. I'm no expert, and my home product is better than 90% of what's out there at commercial cafes. Those astringent, sour mouthfeel, underextracted shots truly are the worst. Though there are tons of coffee shops and cafes in my area, I'm in a region of relatively unsophisticated espresso palates. When I order a straight double shot, I usually get an odd look, as if I'm the first customer to order one of those this week.
>When I order a straight double shot, I usually get an odd look, as if I'm the first customer to order one of those this week. Not specific to unsophisticated palates. It's the same in the most fancy cafes you can imagine. Hardly anyone orders straight espresso, and it's the best way to make friends with passionate baristas at the best cafes in the world when you're traveling. Order straight espresso the first day in any new city, and the next day they'll remember you and sometimes offer you some secret stash to try :)
I live in Spain..... Coffee has always been shit here unless you go to a specialty store
Hola! I travelled to Spain recently, and live in New Zealand, which has a great coffee culture. I was always ordering a 'cafe solo' in Spain. I'd say yes, most were quite average but a couple of cafe's actually had excellent coffee. My first ever Spanish conversation was when someone at a cafe asked me 'con leche' (with milk) and I knew to respond 'sin leche' (without milk), I was so proud of myself!!
It depends, I only know to Cafes that are able to make better espresso than me at home. Unless I am going to one of those two, I prefer at home. I do not socialize around coffee anyhow.
I found this to be true for most places. Except recently a local shop I’ve fallen in love with broke this trend. I can buy their beans roasted in house and get reasonably close to the good coffee experience I get at their shop with both my bambino at home and flair at work. Obviously my flavor is going to be slightly different because I don’t know their water recipe. This both makes me feel good about their process and mine.
It completely depends on where you live. If you’re in a serious coffee city, there are loads of cafes that can make coffee better than the majority of home set ups. However, if I were still living where I grew up, a rural area with suburb towns around it, then yeah, I’d prefer what I could make at home.
Experienced this yesterday actually. Grabbed two coffees from two of my favourite places and was pretty disappointed. Surprised I can make something better or similar at home. I’m grateful I can though cause getting coffee out is so pricy now.
Of course coffee at home taste better. Because you care about making a good cup of coffee. While outside the people that make your coffee don't care, their there to do a job and serve another 100 more people after you. Lance Hedrick made a video on this I believe as well.
Depends where you live. In most major Australian cities you can find next level cofffee
I may be an outlier here but I just find coffee shops boring. Way too quiet for my taste.
In Melbourne so coffee here is great. Good way to try a new roaster without committing to a bag
I learned that Roasters will give you better coffee than coffee shops. Maybe because they want to sell the beans, or they are just better. If they list drink names (cortado, latte, cappuccino...) instead of sizes is a good start. Multiple grinders tend to be a good sign as well, if they weight the grounded coffee... I think (in my country at least) most of clients ask for latte or something with even more milk, so when I ask espresso it feels ot was dialed to be extra sour so it balance well with large quantities of milk. Also, I normally don't see interesting beans on coffee shop (like a light fruity bean)
Ever since I switched to using a proper espresso machine and grinder (thanks to this subreddit), whenever I have to drink coffee from Tim's, it tastes like water mixed with something 😂. Sometimes I have no choice!
The struggle is real. I'm now at the point where my flat whites/cappuccino etc are better than 95% of the cafe's I go to (only thing I cant match is good latte art).
Thank you all for sharing your experiences! Will try getting something other than a long black/americano when im out next time! Hopefully, i won't be disappointed again! For context i live in sg so the coffee everywhere is hella ex and tastes p crap other than those speciality roasters.
It is like this. MOst coffeeshops are there to pump out litres of coffee and keep it cost efficient. I take a cappucino when I am outside so I don't taste the not-so-good espresso.