Espresso. How much is that crazy cup-o-java anyway?

Ahhh Espresso.....my latest vice.

To be more precise, I have developed a small addiction for long pour, espresso machiato, triple shot from Starbucks. Yes, I know, another staunch Tim Horton's drinking, maple leaf carrying Canadian succumbs to the overpriced giant from South of the border. And indeed, that's exactly what has happened.

Up until a couple months ago, I hadn't even had a sip of Starbucks coffee. Not one drop. I had the thought in my head of holding out to the very end before I would pay for coffee by taking out a second mortgage.
I was a Tim Horton's fan all the way. Extra large, black. No frill. Just the basics in large quantities, and caffeine injected.
I would extol the virtues of a nice, solid cup of joe to anyone willing to listen. "Why pay so much for a Starbucks coffee when you can easily afford several cups of Tim's for the same amount?" I would say.
Tim's was the one for me, and nobody could tell me different.....


.....until I tried my first Starbucks coffee.

I don't really think I was hooked at after the first cup though. I had always been a XL black coffee drinker, so that's what I had when I went to Starbucks that first time.
The next day, my car pool buddy and me were back at Starbucks, but this time I wanted an espresso. The Machiato had a cool name, so I ordered that. YUM!
That's all I drank for a couple weeks, adding an extra shot here and there to spice it up, and to increase the caffeine intake from time to time.

Now I wouldn't call myself a coffee aficionado like another red-headed friend of mine, but I can appreciate a good cup. Starbucks coffee was, in my opinion, aa better cup than Tim's.

Then one day we stopped at a different Starbucks on the way to work, and of course I ordered the Espresso Machiato triple shot ($2.83 in my Canadian city). As I left the Starbucks, I took a sip, and immediately knew something was different. This was a really good espresso. Better than the ones I had been getting at the first Starbucks I went to.
From then on we came to this new location all the time. They simply knew how to make a better cup of coffee there.
I was eventually told of the long pour for espresso, where they run a second blast of water or steam through the espresso beans. You get double the amount of espresso, and for my taste, it cuts the bitterness down slightly. So I get a long pour, espresso machiato, triple shot, with 3 splenda mixed in.


So after that extremely long run-on story, I now have the reason I wanted to post today, my recent experience with trying to get an espresso at Tim Horton's.
I will preface this by saying Tim Horton's mostly sells coffee. Nothing fancy for most Tim's drinkers. Just joe, and that's all. So it's no surprise what happened to me a couple days ago.

Here is the dialog as it happened on Friday last week. Enjoy!


A fellow manager where I work, who is a Tim Horton's fan, wanted to go for coffee at around 10 AM (his ulterior motive was to get there in time to get a breakfast sandwich). So we go to Tim Horton's.
It's pretty busy there, but we make our way through the line, and eventually get to the counter.
I look up at the manu on the wall behind the cashier, and see they do indeed have espresso. Small was $1.19, large was $1.59, and extra shots were $0.40. Super, I would be all set I thought.
Looking at the cashier (Margaretta was the name on her tag) I say "I'll have a large espresso, with two extra shots please."
Without hesitation, she blurts out "Oh, we only have one size of espresso."
I look at her, then up to the menu behind her, and say "Oh, cuz it says right there that you guys have a small and a large espresso."
She responds with "Oh, well the large is actually the 'double espresso', not large."
I take a moment to inhale the information, and try ordering again, "Ok, I'll have a double espresso with two extra shots please."
She responds now with "Sorry, we don't sell extra shots."
I blink.
Turn my attention once again to the menu behind her, and point as I say "But it says right there on your menu that extra shots are forty cents."
She then says "Oh, I see, ok. Well, let me see here, right. Ooookay, so that'll be $3.59."
I look of bewinderment runs across my face, and I tell her "Um, I don't think that's right. It looks like you just punched in two double espressos."
She responds "Yes, double espresso, and double espresso. Four shots right?"
I say "No, I wanted a double espresso with two extra shots. So, what you should have punched in was $1.59, plus forty cents plus forty cents.....correct?"
Looking a little flustered, and trying to analyze the keys on the cash register.....unsuccessfully....she throws her hands up in front of her face, and backs away from the cash register, and says "I don't know, I can't do it, I don't know how to punch this in."
She proceeds to call over her supervisor who, after several attempts, gets the order punched in correctly.
A sigh of relief escapes my mouth, and I happen to catch a glimpse of the 15 or so people standing in line behind me. I was thinking all the people in line behind me were well aware of what I had ordered, and I was sure each and every one of them were giving their own instructions in their heads to the cashier.
Eventually, after a few minutes of waiting, my espresso arrives. My guess is they needed to plug in the espresso machine before making my drink, and that's what took so long.
So I try the espresso......awful!

I suppose there isn't really any punch line or moral here. But personally, I am more impressed now than ever, that Starbucks can make a killer cup of coffee.

Pay for a better shirt, and you can tell the difference. Pay for a better cup of coffee, and you can tell the difference also.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend paying the extra, to get the extra you are looking for.

End of story.

Laterz
AH