Here in Seattle, we really take our coffee seriously.
Seattle baristas have been freaking out recently on some blogs, blaming some customers for cheating the system.
In one scenario, using Starbucks pricing in downtown Seattle, customers pay $2.05 before tax for three shots of espresso over ice. The same beverage with milk — also known as an iced latte with extra espresso — would cost $3.50 before tax.
People are ordering their drinks like this, and then heading over to the free condiment and topping up their drink with as much half and half as they can… Not just the ounce or two that regular drip coffee drinks might warrent. The baristas are up in arms, saying that doing this is unfair and calling these customers cheap. They refer to these drinks as “a poor man’s latte”.
I don’t do this, and probably wouldn’t. I dont think I’ve ever even used the condiment bar. That stuff just has empty calories. Plus who actually adds enough half and half to espresso that it would double in volume and make a latte??? That’s so nasty! That’s like eatting cereal with ice cream. (Although I’ve done that in the past, I don’t necessarily endorse doing so.) 
I just find it amusing that this is the only “big” news story to come out of Seattle in recent months. Seattlites being pissed about their coffee. Geeze.
September 15th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Simple solution: put the condiments behind the bar, and only give out middling amounts of half and half. :p
If Starbucks didn’t charge stupid amounts for their drinks, fewer people would try to “cheat the system”. *shrug*
September 15th, 2006 at 11:37 am
While I had not heard about the cheapster controversy, I was already pretty sure you Seattleites tooks your java pretty damn seriously. The one I’d seen was a link off Yahoo one day showing latte art. I couldn’t find the Yahoo link again, but I did find a link to some pretty cool latte art. Call them cafe dilettantes!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonx/sets/48921/
September 15th, 2006 at 11:58 am
MB – Your idea sounds like a pretty reasonable solution, but then without the self-service condiments, it wouldnt really “feel” like an authentic coffee house.
September 15th, 2006 at 11:59 am
Telgator – Those latte foam art thingies are very cool. I wonder if they could do a Lemur on one or something?
September 15th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
An “authentic” coffee house has the sugar in a glass-thing with a poury-thing, and the milk/cream in a little metal beaker-thing, and they use oversized ceramic mugs. Or these beautiful glass mugs for cappuccinos.
I know because there used to be one downtown. Until it was put out of business by a dastardly Starbucks that moved in 2 doors down.