Monday, August 25, 2008

Sanctity of the bean

"Espresso is a polyphasic colloidal solution prepared with 30 to 40 milliliters of water at a temperature of 90 to 96 degrees C in 25 to 30 seconds."
The following is a true story of a recent interaction I had at Plush Fish. Names have been changed to protect the ignorant.

Me: Strong latte, please.

Checkout chump: Small, medium or large?

Me: No, I said I want a strong latte.

Cc: Sure, but small, medium or large?

Me: Well, a strong latte has two shots of espresso and an equivalent amount of hot milk, so you tell me what size that is.

Cc: Um, so you want a small?

Me: Yep.

Cc: Um, sugar with that?

Me: (silence and slight smirking direct gaze)

Cc: Won't be a minute.

Now, I know it isn't this guy's fault that the cafe has decided to introduce sizes to increase their margins by offering more milk, but I'm here to do my bit. ;-) And by the way, Starbucks just pulled out of over 60 stores here in Oz 'cause we just don't like 'em. Power to the believers in the purity of the bean! :-D