Thread: Coffee in the News

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fo...e393d2811e2b7f

AUSSIES have been outed for their “ridiculous” morning coffee orders. Things are getting so bad that we’re embarrassing our mates.


IF YOU’VE ever found yourself queuing for an excessive amount of time for your morning coffee, there’s a growing group of Aussies you can thank for that — and we’re not talking about baristas.Before Australia exploded onto the coffee scene and became one of the world’s leading countries for top-quality java, ordering a cup of joe was simple.


But now when an Aussie orders a coffee, they’re faced with hundreds of possibilities and options including different types of milk, temperatures, syrups, level of caffeine and amount of foam.

As one Facebook commenter put it: “If your coffee order has more than two words, you don’t actually like coffee. You like the idea of it, and want to drink something sweet, so should stick to hot chocolate.”

I don't quite agree with the two word limit, but the sentiment is right.

Aussie's are getting stranger all the time when it comes to coffee.

Originally Posted by level3ninja

I don't quite agree with the two word limit, but the sentiment is right.

Yeh, my 'small flat white' would put me in danger. I guess I could hyphenate it.

Tehehe! Hmmm.. double espresso, strong latte, long black... yep I'm in the clear! XD

Originally Posted by Barry O'Speedwagon

Yeh, my 'small flat white' would put me in danger. I guess I could hyphenate it.

There was a time where I'd have thought "surely you don't need to state the size" but I've been to a cafe recently which for some strange reason not only inverted flat white/cappucino but, adding insult to injury, made sure to state the sizes underneath. As if to start a new movement. Naturally I did not read the menu until after ordering, so I had to slowly sip a giant bowl of coffee-flavoured milk whilst my meeting guest finished his "cappucino" (more like a piccolo latte if I must be picky) in 30 seconds.

Originally Posted by apicius

There was a time where I'd have thought "surely you don't need to state the size" but I've been to a cafe recently which for some strange reason not only inverted flat white/cappucino but, adding insult to injury, made sure to state the sizes underneath. As if to start a new movement. Naturally I did not read the menu until after ordering, so I had to slowly sip a giant bowl of coffee-flavoured milk whilst my meeting guest finished his "cappucino" (more like a piccolo latte if I must be picky) in 30 seconds.

Traditionally a cappuccino is smaller than a latte or flat white, but it was weaker as it was always a single shot. Since many cafes have moved to a double shot as a standard and that double shot can be anywhere between 16g and 22g that old rule book has been thrown out the window. Overall I think it’s a good thing that customers have more choice as long as those choices are clear and things don’t get unnecessarily complicated.

Coffee study measures caffeine content to see what packs the most punch

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fo...f9c2accce0271f

NEED a quick caffeine hit?


A new study has figured out which coffee will pack the most punch for your pick me up.


The Australian research investigated five popular types of coffee brewing methods and found that espresso contains the highest concentration of caffeine.


Researchers measured the caffeine content of espresso, stovetop espresso, pour over or filter brew, cold brew and French press or plunger.

These must be the same people who recently determined that ice cream is delicious.

Originally Posted by level3ninja

These must be the same people who recently determined that ice cream is delicious.

Puts hand up to be part of test group...

Originally Posted by Rockford

Coffee study measures caffeine content to see what packs the most punch

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fo...f9c2accce0271f

Hehe... I thought it was pretty obvious it had the highest concentration ;D. But that's different from highest caffeine content so not sure what they're measuring exactly (always thought plunger and pour over had highest caffeine levels overall)

Melbourne cafes are now selling goblets of coffee for $150 and we have social media to blame

JUST when we thought Melbourne couldn’t get any more “hipster”, a string of cafes have proven us wrong by selling goblets of coffee for a whopping $150.

MELBOURNE has reached a whole new level of hipster, with some cafes selling coffee for as much as $150 for a single cup of caffeinated gold.
“Coffee is operating the same way as whisky, wine and craft beer,” consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier told the Herald Sun.
“There are a large number of people who know the category very well, who are looking for new experiences and are prepared to pay for them,” Ferrier said.
Aside from peoples’ genuine appreciation of coffee, we also have a generation of social media monsters to thank for an increase in all things aesthetically pleasing and pricey.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/drink/melbourne-cafes-are-now-selling-goblets-of-coffee-for-150-and-we-have-social-media-to-blame/news-story/b71d459a0469b1b42576f9e8851dc1b2

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

Ha, this (repeated) cartoon is very apt, just change $100 to $150.

I agree it's ludicrous, but I can't see social media taking direct blame. Yes social media is the means by which people show off to other people but it's the internal need to show off to other people or feel superior etc that is to blame. This internal need is as old as humans. Sure social media exacerbates it a bit but the underlying human condition is what social media is magnifying, without the underlying condition social media would have been a complete flop before it began. Sounds to me like an article targeted at boomers

FWIW I have next to no interest in social media outside of CS.

....... wowza......... that is extreme haha...

I mean, in the $16 a cup thread I was like: ah yeah for sure I'd give that a go! But $150...

Does anyone know why the extreme price tag? What coffee? That's even high for a kilo of roasted beans, but a single cup...

Originally Posted by level3ninja

I agree it's ludicrous, but I can't see social media taking direct blame. Yes social media is the means by which people show off to other people but it's the internal need to show off to other people or feel superior etc that is to blame. This internal need is as old as humans. Sure social media exacerbates it a bit but the underlying human condition is what social media is magnifying, without the underlying condition social media would have been a complete flop before it began. Sounds to me like an article targeted at boomers

FWIW I have next to no interest in social media outside of CS.

That is a very astute observation, well said .

I've only just gotten back onto social media, still don't use it much, but I like it for the communal feel and support. Serves a nice connecting purpose. And also to keep in the loop with certain areas of interest and pages I like. Don't use it or buy into any of the other nonsense (looking for 'likes', propping myself up etc)

I'm not suggesting the media are responsible for the actions of the retailers, the retailers themselves are the people employing psychology enabling them to take advantage of feeble minded consumers, they must roll around on the floor laughing whenever someone parts with $150 for a wine glass 2/3rds full of coffee.

If a few gullible punters are prepared to pay, why not!

Originally Posted by level3ninja

Sure social media exacerbates it a bit but the underlying human condition is what social media is magnifying, without the underlying condition social media would have been a complete flop before it began.

I'd suggest that rather than exacerbate it a bit, it demands it and preys on the human need to be included and acknowledged. I've no doubt that the development of the various social media platforms was largely guided by company Psychologists and the like, manipulating people's behaviour to keep them addicted to their social media sites, thereby reaping mega dollars due to this addiction. I've watched someone I have known for 30 years go from being a confident, decisive individual to a person living by a script dictated by what is perceived to be acceptable by online drones. Yes there is a lot of good that can come out of it if used responsibly but in a lot of cases its like putting a loaded gun into the hands of a child.

Originally Posted by simonsk8r

....... wowza......... that is extreme haha...

I mean, in the $16 a cup thread I was like: ah yeah for sure I'd give that a go! But $150...

Does anyone know why the extreme price tag? What coffee? That's even high for a kilo of roasted beans, but a single cup...

The coffee comes from José Alfredo’s #227 limited batch, which sells for around $7000.

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2017/10/...c-innervation/

i went to a cupping of ninety plus coffees at admiral cheng-ho. it was a free event, and the vast majority of coffees on the table were in the hundreds of USD per kilo green pre-shipment. i will remember that cupping forever. some of those coffees may as well have been perfume for the aroma and taste. all i really have to say on this matter is damnant quod non intelligunt.

Originally Posted by woodhouse

i went to a cupping of ninety plus coffees at admiral cheng-ho. it was a free event, and the vast majority of coffees on the table were in the hundreds of USD per kilo green pre-shipment. i will remember that cupping forever. some of those coffees may as well have been perfume for the aroma and taste. all i really have to say on this matter is damnant quod non intelligunt.

Yep, there is some incredible stuff out there, and having tasted some top tier ones too it's really a whole other level...

If I had the money I'd definitely every now and then go for it.

Wary about these sort of news items and how much truth is behind them but the claims here are concerning

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/...13-p509gj.html

...researchers and roasters say a perfect storm of economic and environmental challenges could prove fatal to the coffee industry within decades unless critical work is done to improve the climate resilience of coffee plants, and ensure the profitability of coffee farming.

Coffee is at greater risk from climate change than many other crops because of its lack of diversity. Only 52 varieties exist - compared to wine with more than 1000, or watermelon with 675, or even avocado at 129. With fewer plant varieties, there are fewer conditions in which it can be grown successfully.

Interesting that the claims in this article echo a mention in Sprudge Coffee's recently released book "The New Rules of Coffee", when discussing the main species of coffee, that "Arabica is fussy, prone to disease, difficult to manage, dangerously overplanted as a monocrop......"

As an aside, one of the rules is "The flat white does not exist". Controversial!

Originally Posted by Otago

As an aside, one of the rules is "The flat white does not exist"

What do they say a flat white is? The bottom half of a latte combined with the bottom half of another latte, with the top 3mm of a third latte on top?

Originally Posted by level3ninja

What do they say a flat white is? The bottom half of a latte combined with the bottom half of another latte, with the top 3mm of a third latte on top?

Hahahaha...

All this takes me back to the days of my youth ('60-70s) when "The Cafe" was defined by your local Greek Cafe with all the booths down one side and stools at the counter.
If you were aware that there was any sort of coffee other than 'Instant' you could order a Cappuccino which the owner would make using a big hot shiny steel machine behind the counter.
Most young people ordered an 'Ice-Cream Sunday' of one sort or another that came in about a dozen different flavours, and of course there were Malted Milks and Milkshakes.
So I guess coffee and fancy milk-based drinks have always co-existed, it's just that the emphasis has changed a bit.
I wish I could remember when I had my first espresso-style coffee - must have been in my late 20s or early 30s.