Well here we are, a Wednesday, and again a blob of latte. However bad it may appear the taste more than covers the looks! Which I have come to find is a quarter of the battle. For those that are curious, I finally figured out the proper method to make the frothed milk taste delicious. For a spell I found that the milk always tasted a little spoiled. I recently found out that the taste of milk is based on the final temperature it reaches before cutting off the steam and pulling out the wand. The exact temperatures, according to numerous sources, especially one source being Scott Rao, is between 150 - 160 degrees F. Before I would pull the wand out around 120-130 leaving it a little cold to the lips and pretty foul to the taste buds. In the spirit of defining what makes a good coffee shop, I have decided to continue with that question for today as well. Some of the comments mentioned are as follows; a good friend, a good tasting drink (for my mom, it was a mocha), a comfortable atmosphere (in Java's case that would be an organic feel), and a somewhat laid back staff. So, if these are it what takes to produce the right coffee shop experience then what would be some specifics for those answers. For example, what defines an 'organic' atmosphere, is it a certain type of music, wall colors, a distinct style of furniture, etc. For those that already posted thanks for your input, for those that haven't weighed in, here is your chance again.
I don't think there is a definite "organic" feel that can be formulaically repeated. Probably the most important "key" to the atmosphere is friendliness and invitation by the employees. The more customers feel this is "their" coffee shop because of friendliness, the more they will frequent it.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I was given a discount at my favorite coffee shop today for no other reason than I had been in a lot lately. That takes work to notice details like that, and people love it.
My $0.02.