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Resturant coffee.. Should this be better than is??

JFJF
edited January 1970 in Have your say
I have carried a small beef about my local community for some time, and wonder if I am alone here..

I live in Haberfield, and spent some years living in Leichhardt. Now, Leichhardt and Haberfield purportedly represents Italy's finest food, coffee, gelato etc for NSW. For many years, my wife and I have enjoyed a great meal only to leave dissapointed thanks to a sub standard coffee.

Its got to the point where I now ask what coffee they use, and do they grind fresh - and on occasion, the answer to the what coffee to you use questions is "Latte, Capacino, Long black". I have been known to then answer "I'll have a tea thanks"

When I walk down Norton street or Ramsay road, its amazing when no high quality brands of coffee are used. Is it simply resturants saving 50c per cup? Why MOST of these long tradition resturants use Molinari, Primo and Piazza Dioro. There is the rare Lavazza or belaroma here and there and that is sadly (for the most part the best I can expect).

I often wonder what the impact would be if any of these always busy resturants tried providing a quality brew and quality barista (and I apologise if I offend the very few in this area who are to the contrary)? What is a Single origin, Tobys or Campos was used? I know I would drink more coffee with dinner.

As a long time local, I now drink my morning coffee inside Leichhardts shopping center and from Haberfield from a very small shop with good coffee with only 5 or 6 small tables.. When possible, I hit Sydney and Surry Hills and other areas for the obvious good brews.

As a regular coffee adict - and I alone having such dissapointment in my local cafes and resturants?
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Comments

  • adminadmin
    Hi JF - yes, this is an important issue, and one that many coffee lovers have complained about over the years. In fact, Emily Oak has just written an article on this in our latest [Autumn] issue - if you get a chance to read it, would be interested in your comments. -A
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  • askthecoffeeguyaskthecoffeeguy
    I know that a major concern for many cafe owners is the after sales service. In case something goes wrong with the machine, there needs to be somebody on hand to service that equipment in a hurry, and the smaller, more boutique operators may not be in a position to provide this service (sub-contractors permitting) Also, as someone who has a coffee shop in a city location, I can tell you that qualified baristi are hard to find! I suppose that one thing that the cafe owners in this area could do, is seek to  gain more highly qualified experience themselves, behind the machines, through appropriate training outlets, and then pass on this level of knowledge, expertise, and quality control. to their staff. Try writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or addressing the local cafes personally, through an appropriate forum. Many communities have local business forums where industry comes together to exchange ideas, etc.. Perhaps you could find out if there is a local business think tank going on, and jump on board with a community directive to raise service standards generally, in order to be more competitive in the tourism market, or whatever - just thinking out loud here. I know that it is through constant feedback through my customers, through our own quality control initiatives, and through an increased focus on developing our own coffee skills and awareness, that we continue to refine our product. I'm sure that the process is much the same elsewhere. It would be interesting to get the local coffee community together and perhaps develop a steering committee to drive these issues. Let me know how you go. It only takes one person to create the initiative. Cheers, Pat
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  • JFJF
    Thanks for response Admin and Pat... I will certainly try to grab a copy of the Autumn mag for that article. Pat - forums and users groups would certainly be a good thing for the consumer. In my experience, the resturanteers in my area are so competitve, that they simply can not grasp the concept that "competition is good and essential to make your own business better". It is my personal view that many resturants perceive good coffee as simply spending money where they shouldnt. In otherwords, a good barista costs money. Good coffee will cost me me $ 10 or more per kilo. These day with decreasing margins of profit - I can understand where they are coming from on paper - however, clearly many resturants understimate the average australian coffee drinker. We as a nation are slow but surely demanding better and more consistent coffee. But then again, I guess there are more non coffee appreciators then us around  (yes, those who happily drink Star bucks every morning or worse - instant) who are happy to drink brown hot liquid after a good meal.. Cheers for the comments... JF
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  • askthecoffeeguyaskthecoffeeguy
    Hi JF, I hear what you are saying.  But when I used to manage Segafredo Zanetti Espresso in Hardware Lane, in Melbourne, where, at last count, there were around 20 cafes (correct me if I am wrong), we used to come together as part of a business precinct group, to discuss ways in which we could collectively and individually improve the precinct. Admittedly, quality control when it comes to coffee was never on the agenda, but if I thought it was an issue, I probably would've raised (easy enough I know to say in hindsight - although, I was asked to step in and manage the group, if that is any indication as to my level of commitment) Also, its all good and well to draw attention to the plight of local businesses, but unless someone is willing to step up to the plate, and take responsibility for addressing this concern, in a way that will at least get a favourable hearing from those concerned, I don't see how the situation is going to change. Speaking from personal experience, when I opened my coffee shop at Melbourne Uni, coffee quality was, umm... how shall we say, shite, and now all coffee outlets have had to pick up their game, to compete with the new kid on the block! So I guess what I am getting at is that if, as you have n doubt correctly recognised, there are some serious deficiencies in the local market, surely this also represents an opportunity waiting to happen for the right operator. I was recently in Echuca, on the Victorian border, where there is a relative plethora of cafes, and yet only one seemed to be doing a serious coffee trade - the one which took their coffee seriously!   Surely it is only a matter of time before someone capitalises on this opportunity. P
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  • JFJF
    Pat, out of interest - whats you take on my issue in respect to your equivalent of Norton Street- Lygon St? Do they have good quality, consistent coffee? I couldnt agree more with your last comment - Its only a matter of time before someone capitalises on the opportunity... Only wish I had financial and time means to have a crack as I truely believe there is some serious money to be made in my precint should a quality coffee house move into town. Cheers JF
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  • askthecoffeeguyaskthecoffeeguy
    I'm not personally familiar with Norton St, and as far as Lygon St goes, it wouldn't be my first preference as a coffee destination in Melbourne. Tiamo tends to be ok for coffee, depending upon who's on the machine. But then again I own a cafe right around the corner, so I seldom feel the need to stroll far, to satisfy my appetite for coffee. I would say that the European, on Spring Street, in the City, and its other associated affiliates, provide a far better benchmark for measuring Italian influenced coffee in Melbourne. And as far as costings go for good quality coffee, by the time you factor in the additional cost per cup, of a single origin or so-called 'premium' cup of coffee, yu are looking at about an additional 7c per cup (for a single shot of coffee), compared to your average house blend - this is hardly going to break the bank! If anything, Melbourne seems to be lagging behind the rest of the country as far as our coffee prices are concerned. There seems to be some sort of entrenched notion that as espresso coffee in Australia originated from here, we ought not to have to pay more for it! P
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  • JFJF
    Thanks Pat. I didnt realise premium brands only cost as little as 7c per cup.. That makes me really wonder why so many opt for the cheaper ones.. I guess its the FREE umbrellas, sidewalk barriers and machines etc... I will have to check out the "European" on Spring st next time in Melbourne - and of course a quick stop into Melbourne Uni for a shot.. Thanks again for all your comments - have learned a little already - only 2 days in the forum.,. :) Cheers JF
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  • nzroasternzroaster
    7c per cup? If you use a nice average like 100 cups/Kilo or 10gm a shot then it is far less. At least in my area you can get imported or bad local coffee for between 17 an 28.50 a Kilo depending on how many freebies you get. You can get quality local coffee for between 20 and 28 a kilo. Makes you wonder if it is any cheaper at all to use crap coffee. I have a customer who was using Lavazza, was getting no freebies, was only a small - med size cafe ( probably using the equivelant of a very busy restuarant). When they switched to my coffee they saved $40 a week in the coffee cost, but coffee sales increased by approx $600 a week. To put it in an easy way, if a kilo of coffee is $3 more. than you only have to sell an extra cup for every 100 to cover costs. If switching to a premium blend does not increase your business by 1% than you are doing all you can.
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  • JFJF
    Therefore, its a fair assumption that any cafe or resturant using "crap coffee" is ignorant... The fact your client increased sales by switching to better coffee - basically proves the point Ive been trying to make... Thanks all for comments..
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  • raste3raste3
    Hi, I get this problem a lot, the ignorance of owners. Lately I have had more cafes who are tendering out coffee contracts. Basically they want to see who can give them the better deal. I just finished talking with a guy who had spent weeks fitting out his caf
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  • nzroasternzroaster
    sad but true..........
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  • JFJF
    Do you guys think these cheap mainsteam wholesalers will offer the FREEBIES to cafes and resturants for many many years to come?? Ive often wondered if this concept would peta out and the smaller boutique roasters would get a better slice of the market... What do you think?
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  • nzroasternzroaster
    Well i know in my area the number of free on loan machine offers is decreasing already. So maybe it is on the decline.
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  • raste3raste3
    It will if the consumer/caf
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