Chain Latte/Anecdotal/Subjective/Three samples

Out and about on a couple of rainy cool days.

Sampled three different purveyors.

Peet's---clearly and obviously the best. Full, rich, foamy/creamy head with just the right amount of assertive coffee-ness in the milk coffee mix, sort of caramelly, almost mocha-like, full roasted by no hint of being burned or over-roasted or bitter. The aroma, flavor and textuer were all spot on. Took the longest time to make, but that's because the barista was taking her time to do it just right. Couldn't realistically expect a better latte in a chain store.

Starbuck's---noticeable roast---normally not a problem for me, as I'm used to it and I like a full blown (some say burnt) roast---but not nearly the same textural richness to the mix, and more acrid and bitter and slightly oily notes coming out (than the Peet's, I mean). It's a decent cup of coffee---well, milk with a little bit of espresso, really---but the Peet's beats it hands down.

Tully's---okay, okay, okay, I know. But I had to try it as I was there, it was a coffee bar, and I figured I should do a comparison. Tully sucks! Excuse me, did I say that? What I meant to say was TULLY SUCKS!!!! Weak, thin milk, poorly steamed and frothed and almost nonexistent coffee flavor. This was an absolutely atrocious latte. I wasn't watching, but it has to be one of those totally machine-made obscenities. Ukh, ukh, uhk. The only thing worse I've had in memory was a John Conti "latte" back in Louisville one unfortunate day. That is still the worst...but Tully's was pretty close.

So I went back for another Peet's.

All I drink is Peet's coffee now. I think it is the best.

Out and about on a couple of rainy cool days.

Sampled three different purveyors.

Peet's---clearly and obviously the best. Full, rich, foamy/creamy head with just the right amount of assertive coffee-ness in the milk coffee mix, sort of caramelly, almost mocha-like, full roasted by no hint of being burned or over-roasted or bitter. The aroma, flavor and textuer were all spot on. Took the longest time to make, but that's because the barista was taking her time to do it just right. Couldn't realistically expect a better latte in a chain store.

Starbuck's---noticeable roast---normally not a problem for me, as I'm used to it and I like a full blown (some say burnt) roast---but not nearly the same textural richness to the mix, and more acrid and bitter and slightly oily notes coming out (than the Peet's, I mean). It's a decent cup of coffee---well, milk with a little bit of espresso, really---but the Peet's beats it hands down.

Tully's---okay, okay, okay, I know. But I had to try it as I was there, it was a coffee bar, and I figured I should do a comparison. Tully sucks! Excuse me, did I say that? What I meant to say was TULLY SUCKS!!!! Weak, thin milk, poorly steamed and frothed and almost nonexistent coffee flavor. This was an absolutely atrocious latte. I wasn't watching, but it has to be one of those totally machine-made obscenities. Ukh, ukh, uhk. The only thing worse I've had in memory was a John Conti "latte" back in Louisville one unfortunate day. That is still the worst...but Tully's was pretty close.

So I went back for another Peet's.

Interesting notes. I have a feeling I'd share similar tastes. The Peet's sounds great! Especially if it is mocha-like, as you mentioned. I do love mochas! Good espresso based ones that is...

I typically enjoy Starbucks too actually. Like you, I actually enjoy their "burnt" profile for the most part. But I don't necessarily view the "burnt" nature as a negative either.

I can't say I've ever heard of Tully's but, based on your notes, I guess that's a good thing! Your weak and thin milk comments was enough right there to convince me on the spot. I definitely prefer the thick, full milk (cream) styles!

Jeff

There's a difference between roasted and burnt.

There's a difference between roasted and burnt.

Have trouble discerning sometimes myself. I like 'em both. I like most burnt things.

Including Chef on Fire?

All I drink is Peet's coffee now. I think it is the best.

So do I, though I am an admitted partisan in these matters. FWIW, if you care about such things, Peet's now has a gold-certified LEED roasting facility, making it one of the very few environmentally friendly coffee roasters.

Mark Lipton

I would put both Peet's and Starbuck's in the "reliable" category for lattes. Always good, rarely excellent. I haven't seen a huge difference in them, but that may have much to do with the particular shops I patronize.

All I drink is Peet's coffee now. I think it is the best.

So do I, though I am an admitted partisan in these matters. FWIW, if you care about such things, Peet's now has a gold-certified LEED roasting facility, making it one of the very few environmentally friendly coffee roasters.

Mark Lipton

Okay, now I like them even better.

You forgot to review the McDonald's latte.

You forgot to review the McDonald's latte.

Don't do that, Walt.

Did it once; don't need to do it again.

Mind you, I am okay with the McDonald's regular coffee, their new "bold" style. It has some flavor, isn't too bitter, is usually freshly made, and serves the purpose when on the road. Don't do it any other time.

Feel the same way about Dunkin' Donut coffee. It's okay if there's nothing else, and I'm a sucker for donuts (one of the all time great food groups), and what's a donut without a cuppa?

[Robin Garr]

John Conti "latte" back in Louisville one unfortunate day.

Why in the world did you expect a decent espresso drink from an unimpressive supplier of institutional coffee? Weren't Heine's and Java Brewing and Highland Coffee etc., ad infinitum, around yet when you lived here, Hoke?

John Conti "latte" back in Louisville one unfortunate day.

Why in the world did you expect a decent espresso drink from an unimpressive supplier of institutional coffee? Weren't Heine's and Java Brewing and Highland Coffee etc., ad infinitum, around yet when you lived here, Hoke?

I was new to Louisville. Went to a Mall with wife and daughter. Saw this place called "John Conti Coffee" and said, "Hey, I'll treat you guys to lattes if you'd like."

Okay, Okay, I should have twigged when they averted their eyes and shied away from me and quickly nodded "No, No. We'll wait." (They had been to the Mall before.)

How was I to know, never having been there before and assuming John Conti was some local artisanal coffee maker????

Took one sip of the "latte". Then, not believing what I had just sipped, took another. Then I dumped the damn thing into the first available trash container.

Later found out that the curiously bad---no, make that thin, weak, dull, bland, insipid---coffee furnished at work was....John Conti. Which explained why everyone either brought their own hot cup or had their own little single cup brewer. Well, everyone that actually liked coffee, anyway.

And yes, I was a habitue of Heine Brothers, which was very good coffee. Also Pasta Pasta (wasn't that the name of it? Or Pastaworks?) and the St. Matthews Fish Market two days a week, and that great little indie grocery over by the cemetery and Cherokee Park, which at that time was the one and only place where you could get broccoli rabe.

But I'll be the first one to admit that Louisville has moved up into the present in a big way, and is now quite a mecca for good food and quality ingredients.

[Robin Garr]

How was I to know, never having been there before and assuming John Conti was some local artisanal coffee maker????

Fair enough, Hoke. I just had to ask.

In fact Conti is an old-line Louisville family firm and has marketed coffee since the days when everyone had Folger's in their cup, and it's not really surprising that the old Louisville family firm that employed you would have given them its business for office coffee.

But like a lot of other old, conservative firms, I guess Conti hasn't seen any real reason to add that fancy-pants gormay stuff to a business that's served them well for generations.

At the time of which we speak, Robin, there were essentially three choices for latte in L'ville accessible to me. There was Conti, Gloria Jean's Coffee, and Heine Brothers. Heine was definitely the superior one---and the only one worth consuming. Conti was downright horrible---in the Steinian sense, there was no espresso there---and Gloria Jean's wasn't much above scrunch-your-face-and-drink-it palatable in the worst kind of pinch.

(Mind you, I had just moved there from Seattle---Starbucks, SBC, Torrefazione, etc.---so I was on Desolation Row where coffee was concerned. I remember how terribly excited we were when the Barnes & Noble put in their Starbucks coffee stand in the bookstore. Think they got their pre-packaged grind from Cincinnati or somesuch. But it was a lifeline when I couldn't get to Heine and just wanted a cup of coffee that actually tasted good.

And fyi, later that entity of which we spoke ditched the John Conti Coffee and started using some one else. And now they have an espresso machine and coffee bar in their chunnel shop under Dixie Highway!

Now, of course, it is all significantly different.

My work has a Keurig machine. One or two of their roasts/blends is passable. At least the cup is always freshly drawn....

My work has a Keurig machine. One or two of their roasts/blends is passable. At least the cup is always freshly drawn....

Jeff, I've been in a couple of offices where they had Keurig set-ups.

As you say, a couple of the offerings are passable, but anything other than a straight coffee is abysmal.

I don't know who goes for those so-called "lattes"...at least, not more than once, anyway---for they are truly execrable. I even tried a "hot chocolate" once; awful chalky mess it was.

For a brief while I had one of the other machines...forget the name...where you put in a little lozenge package, clamp it down and it imitates an espresso pull. Not the same, of course, as the filter/coffee packet isn't fresh, the water's not nearly hot enough, and the steam pressure is pitiful. But I found if I put two packets together and crammed them into the slot I could get the verisimilitude of an americano. Then we got a cafe downstairs with a full-on Gaggia, and all my worries were over.

As you say, a couple of the offerings are passable, but anything other than a straight coffee is abysmal.

I make it at the espresso setting in order to get Americano, too.