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Main
Date: 26 Oct 2006 12:18:54
From:
Subject: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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A Coffee Crisis
Anonymous
I began going to Caribou Coffee, a small local company of Minneapolis
Minnesota, in the early 1990's, so this is a story that affects me, a
loyal Caribou Customer. I recently received an Email from one of my
close investor friends in Seattle, that Caribou Coffee was increasing
their prices by 5 cents on some of their most popular drinks. My friend
figured this would have a large impact on me due to the raw amount of
coffee I consume at the 'Bou'.
Later that afternoon, I followed this Email up by doing a Google
search for any disclosure of this price increase. As I feared, I did
find a couple sources that said Caribou was increasing their beverage
prices to offset increasing operational costs. I don't know why I
cared so much about this, considering that it was only 5 cents per cup
of coffee. It did, although, make my next discovery about a Caribou
Policy, that much more appalling.
I was in line about a week later at the location that is closest to my
office down town. I usually don't listen to what the person in front
of me orders, but this particular order was a little weird. The man in
front of me ordered a small regular Mocha Blend, but then asked the
woman on the register to place it in a large cup. She smiled, and
proceeded
to pour the coffee into a large cup and hand it to the customer. I
approached the register and ordered my standard mid-day drink. While I
was waiting for my creamy latte I watched that same woman walk over to
stirring counter and pour creamer all the way to the top of the cup,
add 5 sugars, stir and then leave.
My first thought that popped into my head was "cost of
operations". After seeing this I went over to the cashier and asked
to talk to a manager. A man walked over and asked how he could help me.
I told him about the Email, the "cost of operations" and the event
that just occurred in front of me. I told him, that I am no expert on
business operations, but I did have good eye sight and that a man just
walked out his door with large coffee, about half a dollar's worth of
creamer and only paid for a small drip brew coffee.
He told me that what that customer had done, is something a large
percentage of customer's do. He said that, like me, this is something
that he disagreed with, but Caribou Coffee had made it very clear that
"customers come first", that he is required by the company to meet
the expectations of every single one of those customers and that he
would not do anything to compromise any customer's patronage.
Caribou Coffee is a company that I am proud to be a patron of. They
have some of the best coffee ethics in the world, in regards to how
they treat their coffee growers and which growers they do business
with. They are both socially and environmentally conscience, both
ideals that keep me coming to Caribou. In my opinion, they have the
best tasting coffee you can get for a decent price so I have taken
every single price increase in the past 10 years with a smile, knowing
that it is helping some Guatemala community build a clinic or put a
neighborhood Barista through school. I do not believe I should take a 5
cent increase in my cup of coffee so that the person in front of me, in
line, can get a 20 cent discount on their coffee drink by manipulating
their order.
I've talked to a lot of Caribou employees, as I do business all over
the twin cities where Caribou is based. They all tell me a similar
story and I've taken the liberty to write them down. I could not
believe the massive discounts Caribou was allowing people to get, just
by changing the way they ordered. Like I said before, I'm not
entirely familiar with the retail beverage industry but this has to
have some amount of an impact on their bottom line. I took some simple
math to make an estimate. (Yes, I did this all over 5 cents)
Caribou Coffee Product
One large 20 oz cup of coffee: $1.75
I'll just assume that Caribou (Based off of their posted SEC
standings) that they maintain a 70% gin this product.
So this product cost caribou about $0.50 with a profit of $1.25
Now for a customer adjusted product....
One small 12oz coffee in a large cup: $1.45
Add creamer ~$0.25 - $0.75
Cost of product: $0.50 (Base) + $0.25 (Creamer) = $0.75 with a profit
of $0.70
This is a 56% loss in profit for this product and a 20% decrease in
sales income.
Even if these changes caused a 20% decrease in sales income and 5%
increase in cost of operations on 10% of their beverages, it would
still amount to 2.5% of total sales. When you talk 2.5% of a half
billion dollars, that is a lot of money ~12mil. If this were my
business, I would be worried.
My point of writing this altogether is that this whole situation seems
to me to be customer service blackmail; if you don't give me my drink
the way I want it, at the price I'm trying to get it at, then you are
just bad at customer service. The people behind the business are either
not aware of this problem, or do not want to upset customers. The
unfortunate truth is that by allowing one section of customers to order
one way and allowing another to order their drinks another way means
that half the customer that come in are not receiving the same level of
privilege that those people who are "in the know" or are part of
"the special drink club". As my younger cousin would say, "they are
just a bunch of suckas".
So I invite all that are reading this short rant to join the club. I
can not guarantee that this exploit will exist for ever (I actually
hope it will change either in part or in whole because of this letter),
but if one person is "in the know" then everyone deserves to be. I
hope the impact of this letter might help me avoid paying an extra 5
cents for my latte, by getting that 5 cents back from the people who
think they are too good to pay the same price for a cup of coffee as
me.
Below I've posted a list of drink exploitation I observed this month
while visiting Caribou Coffee shops in the Minneapolis area. Feel free
to distribute this letter to everyone you know. Please keep the letter
in its entirety.
Small Cocoa = Kids Cocoa at regular temperature *save $0.80
Large coffee w/ room for cream = Small coffee in a large cup *save
$0.20
Mocha with only one shot = Hot chocolate with a shot of espresso *save
$0.20
Large latte with 4 shots of espresso = Large cappuccino, poured like a
latte *save 0.60
Small latte = Small espresso, steamed milk added request at pickup
*save $1.20
Large Caramel latte = Large caramel high-rise w/o whipped cream *save
$0.15
Vanilla Cooler w/o whip = Coffee Cooler with mix-in vanilla *save
$0.35
Large iced cold press = Medium iced cold press, in a large cup, iced
all the way to the top. *save 0.25
The iced beverages were the only drinks I heard changed more often than
the drip brew coffee. I've only been writing these down as I hear
them for the past few weeks, but I asked a couple of the barista's
about it and here is what seems to be the formula and how to exploit
it.
They all started with a drink called the iced espresso.
1) Choose the amount of espresso.
Small is 3 shots, Medium is 4 shots, Large is 5 shots.
2) Order it in the cup you want
Small is 16oz,Medium is 20oz,Large is 24oz
3) Add your flavors
Caramel, Chocolate, Vanilla, White chocolate, etc.
4) Ask them for room for milk
5) By ordering the ingredient separate, you can "make your own
mocha"
*This saves anywhere from $0.20 - $3.25
I don't order my drink this way. At least now I do it by choice and
out of respect for the people who are kind enough to take my order and
make it for me (It is not an easy one). Some of the nicest people
I've met have been the ones on the other side of the counter at
Caribou Coffee.
Enjoy,
Anonymous Coffee Person
Print, share, and have fun.
|
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Date: 02 Nov 2006 09:34:23
From: John S.
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
|
CoffeeAnony@gmail.com wrote:
> A Coffee Crisis
> Anonymous
>
> I began going to Caribou Coffee, a small local company of Minneapolis
> Minnesota, in the early 1990's, so this is a story that affects me, a
> loyal Caribou Customer. I recently received an Email from one of my
> close investor friends in Seattle, that Caribou Coffee was increasing
> their prices by 5 cents on some of their most popular drinks. My friend
> figured this would have a large impact on me due to the raw amount of
> coffee I consume at the 'Bou'.
> Later that afternoon, I followed this Email up by doing a Google
> search for any disclosure of this price increase. As I feared, I did
> find a couple sources that said Caribou was increasing their beverage
> prices to offset increasing operational costs. I don't know why I
> cared so much about this, considering that it was only 5 cents per cup
> of coffee. It did, although, make my next discovery about a Caribou
> Policy, that much more appalling.
> I was in line about a week later at the location that is closest to my
> office down town. I usually don't listen to what the person in front
> of me orders, but this particular order was a little weird. The man in
> front of me ordered a small regular Mocha Blend, but then asked the
> woman on the register to place it in a large cup. She smiled, and
> proceeded
> to pour the coffee into a large cup and hand it to the customer. I
> approached the register and ordered my standard mid-day drink. While I
> was waiting for my creamy latte I watched that same woman walk over to
> stirring counter and pour creamer all the way to the top of the cup,
> add 5 sugars, stir and then leave.
> My first thought that popped into my head was "cost of
> operations". After seeing this I went over to the cashier and asked
> to talk to a manager. A man walked over and asked how he could help me.
> I told him about the Email, the "cost of operations" and the event
> that just occurred in front of me. I told him, that I am no expert on
> business operations, but I did have good eye sight and that a man just
> walked out his door with large coffee, about half a dollar's worth of
> creamer and only paid for a small drip brew coffee.
> He told me that what that customer had done, is something a large
> percentage of customer's do. He said that, like me, this is something
> that he disagreed with, but Caribou Coffee had made it very clear that
> "customers come first", that he is required by the company to meet
> the expectations of every single one of those customers and that he
> would not do anything to compromise any customer's patronage.
> Caribou Coffee is a company that I am proud to be a patron of. They
> have some of the best coffee ethics in the world, in regards to how
> they treat their coffee growers and which growers they do business
> with. They are both socially and environmentally conscience, both
> ideals that keep me coming to Caribou. In my opinion, they have the
> best tasting coffee you can get for a decent price so I have taken
> every single price increase in the past 10 years with a smile, knowing
> that it is helping some Guatemala community build a clinic or put a
> neighborhood Barista through school. I do not believe I should take a 5
> cent increase in my cup of coffee so that the person in front of me, in
> line, can get a 20 cent discount on their coffee drink by manipulating
> their order.
> I've talked to a lot of Caribou employees, as I do business all over
> the twin cities where Caribou is based. They all tell me a similar
> story and I've taken the liberty to write them down. I could not
> believe the massive discounts Caribou was allowing people to get, just
> by changing the way they ordered. Like I said before, I'm not
> entirely familiar with the retail beverage industry but this has to
> have some amount of an impact on their bottom line. I took some simple
> math to make an estimate. (Yes, I did this all over 5 cents)
> Caribou Coffee Product
> One large 20 oz cup of coffee: $1.75
> I'll just assume that Caribou (Based off of their posted SEC
> standings) that they maintain a 70% gin this product.
> So this product cost caribou about $0.50 with a profit of $1.25
> Now for a customer adjusted product....
> One small 12oz coffee in a large cup: $1.45
> Add creamer ~$0.25 - $0.75
> Cost of product: $0.50 (Base) + $0.25 (Creamer) = $0.75 with a profit
> of $0.70
> This is a 56% loss in profit for this product and a 20% decrease in
> sales income.
> Even if these changes caused a 20% decrease in sales income and 5%
> increase in cost of operations on 10% of their beverages, it would
> still amount to 2.5% of total sales. When you talk 2.5% of a half
> billion dollars, that is a lot of money ~12mil. If this were my
> business, I would be worried.
> My point of writing this altogether is that this whole situation seems
> to me to be customer service blackmail; if you don't give me my drink
> the way I want it, at the price I'm trying to get it at, then you are
> just bad at customer service. The people behind the business are either
> not aware of this problem, or do not want to upset customers. The
> unfortunate truth is that by allowing one section of customers to order
> one way and allowing another to order their drinks another way means
> that half the customer that come in are not receiving the same level of
> privilege that those people who are "in the know" or are part of
> "the special drink club". As my younger cousin would say, "they are
> just a bunch of suckas".
> So I invite all that are reading this short rant to join the club. I
> can not guarantee that this exploit will exist for ever (I actually
> hope it will change either in part or in whole because of this letter),
> but if one person is "in the know" then everyone deserves to be. I
> hope the impact of this letter might help me avoid paying an extra 5
> cents for my latte, by getting that 5 cents back from the people who
> think they are too good to pay the same price for a cup of coffee as
> me.
> Below I've posted a list of drink exploitation I observed this month
> while visiting Caribou Coffee shops in the Minneapolis area. Feel free
> to distribute this letter to everyone you know. Please keep the letter
> in its entirety.
> Small Cocoa = Kids Cocoa at regular temperature *save $0.80
> Large coffee w/ room for cream = Small coffee in a large cup *save
> $0.20
> Mocha with only one shot = Hot chocolate with a shot of espresso *save
> $0.20
> Large latte with 4 shots of espresso = Large cappuccino, poured like a
> latte *save 0.60
> Small latte = Small espresso, steamed milk added request at pickup
> *save $1.20
> Large Caramel latte = Large caramel high-rise w/o whipped cream *save
> $0.15
> Vanilla Cooler w/o whip = Coffee Cooler with mix-in vanilla *save
> $0.35
> Large iced cold press = Medium iced cold press, in a large cup, iced
> all the way to the top. *save 0.25
> The iced beverages were the only drinks I heard changed more often than
> the drip brew coffee. I've only been writing these down as I hear
> them for the past few weeks, but I asked a couple of the barista's
> about it and here is what seems to be the formula and how to exploit
> it.
> They all started with a drink called the iced espresso.
> 1) Choose the amount of espresso.
> Small is 3 shots, Medium is 4 shots, Large is 5 shots.
> 2) Order it in the cup you want
> Small is 16oz,Medium is 20oz,Large is 24oz
> 3) Add your flavors
> Caramel, Chocolate, Vanilla, White chocolate, etc.
> 4) Ask them for room for milk
> 5) By ordering the ingredient separate, you can "make your own
> mocha"
> *This saves anywhere from $0.20 - $3.25
>
> I don't order my drink this way. At least now I do it by choice and
> out of respect for the people who are kind enough to take my order and
> make it for me (It is not an easy one). Some of the nicest people
> I've met have been the ones on the other side of the counter at
> Caribou Coffee.
>
> Enjoy,
> Anonymous Coffee Person
>
> Print, share, and have fun.
Must be a very slow day at work. Or you and your investor friends have
an ulterior motive for launching such a long winded tirade about
Caribou.
I'm going to guess that Caribou has a pretty good handle on how many
packets of coffee additives they go through per coffee sale and I'm
going to guess that on average that number is well below one per
customer. Caribou is not a whole lot different than the local
restaurant that has managed to stay in business by pricing their cups
of Farmer Brothers coffee to include the cost of sugar and cream.
|
| |
Date: 02 Nov 2006 08:03:22
From: arnie@avradionet.com
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
|
CoffeeAnony@gmail.com wrote:
> A Coffee Crisis
> Anonymous
>
> I began going to Caribou Coffee, a small local company of Minneapolis
> Minnesota, in the early 1990's, so this is a story that affects me, a
> loyal Caribou Customer. I recently received an Email from one of my
> close investor friends in Seattle, that Caribou Coffee was increasing
> their prices by 5 cents on some of their most popular drinks. My friend
> figured this would have a large impact on me due to the raw amount of
> coffee I consume at the 'Bou'.
> Later that afternoon, I followed this Email up by doing a Google
> search for any disclosure of this price increase. As I feared, I did
> find a couple sources that said Caribou was increasing their beverage
> prices to offset increasing operational costs. I don't know why I
> cared so much about this, considering that it was only 5 cents per cup
> of coffee. It did, although, make my next discovery about a Caribou
> Policy, that much more appalling.
> I was in line about a week later at the location that is closest to my
> office down town. I usually don't listen to what the person in front
> of me orders, but this particular order was a little weird. The man in
> front of me ordered a small regular Mocha Blend, but then asked the
> woman on the register to place it in a large cup. She smiled, and
> proceeded
> to pour the coffee into a large cup and hand it to the customer. I
> approached the register and ordered my standard mid-day drink. While I
> was waiting for my creamy latte I watched that same woman walk over to
> stirring counter and pour creamer all the way to the top of the cup,
> add 5 sugars, stir and then leave.
> My first thought that popped into my head was "cost of
> operations". After seeing this I went over to the cashier and asked
> to talk to a manager. A man walked over and asked how he could help me.
> I told him about the Email, the "cost of operations" and the event
> that just occurred in front of me. I told him, that I am no expert on
> business operations, but I did have good eye sight and that a man just
> walked out his door with large coffee, about half a dollar's worth of
> creamer and only paid for a small drip brew coffee.
> He told me that what that customer had done, is something a large
> percentage of customer's do. He said that, like me, this is something
> that he disagreed with, but Caribou Coffee had made it very clear that
> "customers come first", that he is required by the company to meet
> the expectations of every single one of those customers and that he
> would not do anything to compromise any customer's patronage.
> Caribou Coffee is a company that I am proud to be a patron of. They
> have some of the best coffee ethics in the world, in regards to how
> they treat their coffee growers and which growers they do business
> with. They are both socially and environmentally conscience, both
> ideals that keep me coming to Caribou. In my opinion, they have the
> best tasting coffee you can get for a decent price so I have taken
> every single price increase in the past 10 years with a smile, knowing
> that it is helping some Guatemala community build a clinic or put a
> neighborhood Barista through school. I do not believe I should take a 5
> cent increase in my cup of coffee so that the person in front of me, in
> line, can get a 20 cent discount on their coffee drink by manipulating
> their order.
> I've talked to a lot of Caribou employees, as I do business all over
> the twin cities where Caribou is based. They all tell me a similar
> story and I've taken the liberty to write them down. I could not
> believe the massive discounts Caribou was allowing people to get, just
> by changing the way they ordered. Like I said before, I'm not
> entirely familiar with the retail beverage industry but this has to
> have some amount of an impact on their bottom line. I took some simple
> math to make an estimate. (Yes, I did this all over 5 cents)
> Caribou Coffee Product
> One large 20 oz cup of coffee: $1.75
> I'll just assume that Caribou (Based off of their posted SEC
> standings) that they maintain a 70% gin this product.
> So this product cost caribou about $0.50 with a profit of $1.25
> Now for a customer adjusted product....
> One small 12oz coffee in a large cup: $1.45
> Add creamer ~$0.25 - $0.75
> Cost of product: $0.50 (Base) + $0.25 (Creamer) = $0.75 with a profit
> of $0.70
> This is a 56% loss in profit for this product and a 20% decrease in
> sales income.
> Even if these changes caused a 20% decrease in sales income and 5%
> increase in cost of operations on 10% of their beverages, it would
> still amount to 2.5% of total sales. When you talk 2.5% of a half
> billion dollars, that is a lot of money ~12mil. If this were my
> business, I would be worried.
> My point of writing this altogether is that this whole situation seems
> to me to be customer service blackmail; if you don't give me my drink
> the way I want it, at the price I'm trying to get it at, then you are
> just bad at customer service. The people behind the business are either
> not aware of this problem, or do not want to upset customers. The
> unfortunate truth is that by allowing one section of customers to order
> one way and allowing another to order their drinks another way means
> that half the customer that come in are not receiving the same level of
> privilege that those people who are "in the know" or are part of
> "the special drink club". As my younger cousin would say, "they are
> just a bunch of suckas".
> So I invite all that are reading this short rant to join the club. I
> can not guarantee that this exploit will exist for ever (I actually
> hope it will change either in part or in whole because of this letter),
> but if one person is "in the know" then everyone deserves to be. I
> hope the impact of this letter might help me avoid paying an extra 5
> cents for my latte, by getting that 5 cents back from the people who
> think they are too good to pay the same price for a cup of coffee as
> me.
> Below I've posted a list of drink exploitation I observed this month
> while visiting Caribou Coffee shops in the Minneapolis area. Feel free
> to distribute this letter to everyone you know. Please keep the letter
> in its entirety.
> Small Cocoa = Kids Cocoa at regular temperature *save $0.80
> Large coffee w/ room for cream = Small coffee in a large cup *save
> $0.20
> Mocha with only one shot = Hot chocolate with a shot of espresso *save
> $0.20
> Large latte with 4 shots of espresso = Large cappuccino, poured like a
> latte *save 0.60
> Small latte = Small espresso, steamed milk added request at pickup
> *save $1.20
> Large Caramel latte = Large caramel high-rise w/o whipped cream *save
> $0.15
> Vanilla Cooler w/o whip = Coffee Cooler with mix-in vanilla *save
> $0.35
> Large iced cold press = Medium iced cold press, in a large cup, iced
> all the way to the top. *save 0.25
> The iced beverages were the only drinks I heard changed more often than
> the drip brew coffee. I've only been writing these down as I hear
> them for the past few weeks, but I asked a couple of the barista's
> about it and here is what seems to be the formula and how to exploit
> it.
> They all started with a drink called the iced espresso.
> 1) Choose the amount of espresso.
> Small is 3 shots, Medium is 4 shots, Large is 5 shots.
> 2) Order it in the cup you want
> Small is 16oz,Medium is 20oz,Large is 24oz
> 3) Add your flavors
> Caramel, Chocolate, Vanilla, White chocolate, etc.
> 4) Ask them for room for milk
> 5) By ordering the ingredient separate, you can "make your own
> mocha"
> *This saves anywhere from $0.20 - $3.25
>
> I don't order my drink this way. At least now I do it by choice and
> out of respect for the people who are kind enough to take my order and
> make it for me (It is not an easy one). Some of the nicest people
> I've met have been the ones on the other side of the counter at
> Caribou Coffee.
>
> Enjoy,
> Anonymous Coffee Person
>
> Print, share, and have fun.
Dear Anonymous Coffee Person,
So, you are a bit concerned about the nickel bump in price, so you go
to the store and are a bit more concerned about the "schnorer" (a
Yiddish word, loosely translated meaning "cheap", bordering on "taking
advantage"), then you spend 10 minutes complaining to a manager, giving
him advise on how to run a successful establishment, then you go home,
or to work, and spend the next hour (or two?) writing out a business
plan (?) for this successful chain, so that maybe they won't have to
raise their coffee price by 5 cents a cup. Get a F***ing life man.
Use some of that time volunteering at a charity.
Ted
|
| |
Date: 30 Oct 2006 10:14:40
From:
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
|
CoffeeAnony@gmail.com wrote:
> A Coffee Crisis
> Anonymous
> <SNIP>
> Enjoy,
> Anonymous Coffee Person
>
> Print, share, and have fun.
These attributions make me suspicious... looks like chain-letterese to
me. I also heard the Postal Service was gonna start charging me 2
cents per email.
In any case, the practice described was *recommended* to me by a
Caribou employee. I faithfully ordered a "large coffee, with lots of
room, I mean more room than you consider reasonable" for years.
Finally one "barista" (why must we use that term?) just said : "Look,
just order a medium in a large cup." It's easier in the long run, and
you get the amount of coffee you want without having to worry about
everyone's individual interpretation of "room." I hate pouring coffee
in the trash regardless of whether it upsets the employees or not, I
just dont want to do it. I would happily pay a nickel extra for the cup
upgrade.
Wasn't there some story about this sort of thing at Starbucks recently?
|
| |
Date: 29 Oct 2006 19:17:40
From: funkspiel
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
|
Darfur is a crisis. Just make your own damn coffee.
|
| |
Date: 27 Oct 2006 14:52:34
From: Tim Blue
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
|
I will say that I have often times considered ordering a medium coffee
in a large cup at Starbucks but won't because I think I would be
cheating them.
The main reason I want to do this has nothing to do with the price. I
just want what I want and that means leaving me enough room for cream.
I use a lot of cream and I can not tell you how many times I say "With
room" only to get it filled to the rim anyway.
If the person pulling the coffee would only listen to my order I would
not even have to consider ordering a medium in a large cup.
What I end up doing is dumping a lot of coffee in the garbage which
many other coffee shops do not want you doing.
Now I make an americano every morning with my Intelligentsia beans and
my Lazocco and put it in a thermos to bring to work.
Now I can have exactly what I want and no one gets upset.
~Tim
CoffeeAnony@gmail.com wrote:
> A Coffee Crisis
> Anonymous
>
> I began going to Caribou Coffee, a small local company of Minneapolis
> Minnesota, in the early 1990's, so this is a story that affects me, a
> loyal Caribou Customer. I recently received an Email from one of my
> close investor friends in Seattle, that Caribou Coffee was increasing
> their prices by 5 cents on some of their most popular drinks. My friend
> figured this would have a large impact on me due to the raw amount of
<Snip >
|
| | |
Date: 30 Oct 2006 21:21:01
From: Gary D
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
|
Are you serious?
While your at it, why don't you go complain to McDonalds about the
handfull of ketchup packets they give you when you ask for just one!
|
| | |
Date: 29 Oct 2006 12:45:48
From: Jerry G
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
|
Any tips on cleaning your thermos? I'd like to find a dishwasher-safe
thermos.
I have a Bialetti Moka pot that makes "9 cups", and I'd like to take that
pot to work in a thermos. The swill made in my building is undrinkable.
Drinking that "near-espresso" all at once in a mugfull is too much caffeine
even for me!
--
Jerry G
Michigan
(to email me, delete "removeThis" from email address)
|
| | | |
Date: 29 Oct 2006 14:54:22
From: Marshall
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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On Sun, 29 Oct 2006 12:45:48 GMT, Jerry G
<jerryg464@removeThis.hotmail.com > wrote:
>Any tips on cleaning your thermos? I'd like to find a dishwasher-safe
>thermos.
>
>I have a Bialetti Moka pot that makes "9 cups", and I'd like to take that
>pot to work in a thermos. The swill made in my building is undrinkable.
>
>Drinking that "near-espresso" all at once in a mugfull is too much caffeine
>even for me!
The coffee particles suspend in the liquid will continue to extract in
your thermos, and you won't like the stuff they are extracting. Anyone
who takes a thermos to work has experienced how much the flavor
deteriorates after two or three hours, no matter how long the coffee
stays hot. Moka pot coffee has much more suspended solids than drip
does. So, I would expect it to go south very quickly in a thermos.
shall
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Date: 29 Oct 2006 12:59:34
From: DougW
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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shall wrote:
> Jerry G wrote:
>
>> Any tips on cleaning your thermos? I'd like to find a
>> dishwasher-safe thermos.
>>
>> I have a Bialetti Moka pot that makes "9 cups", and I'd like to take
>> that pot to work in a thermos. The swill made in my building is
>> undrinkable.
>>
>> Drinking that "near-espresso" all at once in a mugfull is too much
>> caffeine even for me!
>
> The coffee particles suspend in the liquid will continue to extract in
> your thermos, and you won't like the stuff they are extracting. Anyone
> who takes a thermos to work has experienced how much the flavor
> deteriorates after two or three hours, no matter how long the coffee
> stays hot. Moka pot coffee has much more suspended solids than drip
> does. So, I would expect it to go south very quickly in a thermos.
similar experience with my press pot. I thought it would be good to
transfer the coffee into a thermos to keep it warm(er) than just sitting
in the press. Well, it did keep it warm, but the taste went off after
about an hour.
For small cups o joe in the office I use either a single press pot style
mug from *$
Similar to this http://www.beveragefactory.com/coffee/french/thermal.shtml
or the Thai drip thingamabob. With the drip coffee I stick a mug warmer
under the cup so it doesn't go cold. Thai drip takes a long time to brew
a cup.
And like you, coffee at work is about as close to coffee as lukewarm,
stagnant, murky brown water can get.
--
DougW
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Date: 30 Oct 2006 03:20:14
From: Jerry G
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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"DougW" <post.replies@invalid.address > wrote in
news:vQ61h.209$Jt3.54@newsfe16.lga:
> shall wrote:
>> Jerry G wrote:
>>
>>> Any tips on cleaning your thermos? I'd like to find a
>>> dishwasher-safe thermos.
>>>
>>> I have a Bialetti Moka pot that makes "9 cups", and I'd like to take
>>> that pot to work in a thermos. The swill made in my building is
>>> undrinkable.
>>>
>>> Drinking that "near-espresso" all at once in a mugfull is too much
>>> caffeine even for me!
>>
>> The coffee particles suspend in the liquid will continue to extract
>> in your thermos, and you won't like the stuff they are extracting.
>> Anyone who takes a thermos to work has experienced how much the
>> flavor deteriorates after two or three hours, no matter how long the
>> coffee stays hot. Moka pot coffee has much more suspended solids than
>> drip does. So, I would expect it to go south very quickly in a
>> thermos.
>
> similar experience with my press pot. I thought it would be good to
> transfer the coffee into a thermos to keep it warm(er) than just
> sitting in the press. Well, it did keep it warm, but the taste went
> off after about an hour.
>
> For small cups o joe in the office I use either a single press pot
> style mug from *$
> Similar to this
> http://www.beveragefactory.com/coffee/french/thermal.shtml or the Thai
> drip thingamabob. With the drip coffee I stick a mug warmer under the
> cup so it doesn't go cold. Thai drip takes a long time to brew a cup.
>
> And like you, coffee at work is about as close to coffee as lukewarm,
> stagnant, murky brown water can get.
>
Thanks for the advice! I've been a bit worried about the flavor going
nasty after an hour or two, as mentioned. Looks like it'll be my
french-press, or maybe my single-cup drip gadget. Bummer is we don't
have any convenient kitchenette sink to clean out anything. A french
press would be a total hassle to use there, unfortunately.
--
Jerry G
Michigan
(to email me, delete "removeThis" from email address)
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Date: 01 Nov 2006 21:07:51
From: Steve Wall
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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In article <Xns986BE414C2662jerryg464hotmailcom@65.24.7.27 >, Jerry G
<jerryg464@removeThis.hotmail.com > wrote:
> "DougW" <post.replies@invalid.address> wrote in
> news:vQ61h.209$Jt3.54@newsfe16.lga:
>
> > shall wrote:
> >> Jerry G wrote:
> >>
> >>> Any tips on cleaning your thermos? I'd like to find a
> >>> dishwasher-safe thermos.
> >>>
> >>> I have a Bialetti Moka pot that makes "9 cups", and I'd like to take
> >>> that pot to work in a thermos. The swill made in my building is
> >>> undrinkable.
> >>>
> >>> Drinking that "near-espresso" all at once in a mugfull is too much
> >>> caffeine even for me!
> >>
> >> The coffee particles suspend in the liquid will continue to extract
> >> in your thermos, and you won't like the stuff they are extracting.
> >> Anyone who takes a thermos to work has experienced how much the
> >> flavor deteriorates after two or three hours, no matter how long the
> >> coffee stays hot. Moka pot coffee has much more suspended solids than
> >> drip does. So, I would expect it to go south very quickly in a
> >> thermos.
> >
> > similar experience with my press pot. I thought it would be good to
> > transfer the coffee into a thermos to keep it warm(er) than just
> > sitting in the press. Well, it did keep it warm, but the taste went
> > off after about an hour.
> >
> > For small cups o joe in the office I use either a single press pot
> > style mug from *$
> > Similar to this
> > http://www.beveragefactory.com/coffee/french/thermal.shtml or the Thai
> > drip thingamabob. With the drip coffee I stick a mug warmer under the
> > cup so it doesn't go cold. Thai drip takes a long time to brew a cup.
> >
> > And like you, coffee at work is about as close to coffee as lukewarm,
> > stagnant, murky brown water can get.
> >
>
> Thanks for the advice! I've been a bit worried about the flavor going
> nasty after an hour or two, as mentioned. Looks like it'll be my
> french-press, or maybe my single-cup drip gadget. Bummer is we don't
> have any convenient kitchenette sink to clean out anything. A french
> press would be a total hassle to use there, unfortunately.
I bring a thermos of french press coffee to work and it tastes fine to
me. At first I had the problem of over-extracted french press sludge
harming the coffee but I overcame it. The first thing I did was stop
pre-heating the thermos. I pour the coffee into a cold thermos. It
stays hot enough to drink but isn't in the brewing temperature range.
The second thing I do is handle the thermos gingerly. I keep it upright
throughout my ride to work and then set it down and let it rest for
an hour or so before drinking any. With this technique the first cup
out of the thermos tastes better to me than the cup I drink first
thing in the morning, because all the french press solids have
cleared out.
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Date: 30 Oct 2006 06:36:23
From: DougW
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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Jerry G wrote:
> Thanks for the advice! I've been a bit worried about the flavor going
> nasty after an hour or two, as mentioned. Looks like it'll be my
> french-press, or maybe my single-cup drip gadget. Bummer is we don't
> have any convenient kitchenette sink to clean out anything. A french
> press would be a total hassle to use there, unfortunately.
The single serving presses don't use that much coffee. I just take
mine into the bathroom, drain what's left, and tap the majority of
grounds into the trash can and rinse it in the sink.
--
DougW
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Date: 27 Oct 2006 13:49:51
From: Tim Blue
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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I will say that I have often times considered ordering a medium coffee
in a large cup at Starbucks but won't because I think I would be
cheating them.
The main reason I want to do this has nothing to do with the price. I
just want what I want and that means leaving me enough room for cream.
I use a lot of cream and I can not tell you how many times I say "With
room" only to get it filled to the rim anyway.
If the person pulling the coffee would only listen to my order I would
not even have to consider ordering a medium in a large cup.
What I end up doing is dumping a lot of coffee in the garbage which
many other coffee shops do not want you doing.
Now I make an americano every morning with my Intelligentsia beans and
my Lazocco and put it in a thermos to bring to work.
Now I can have exactly what I want and no one gets upset.
~Tim
CoffeeAnony@gmail.com wrote:
> A Coffee Crisis
> Anonymous
>
> I began going to Caribou Coffee, a small local company of Minneapolis
> Minnesota, in the early 1990's, so this is a story that affects me, a
> loyal Caribou Customer. I recently received an Email from one of my
> close investor friends in Seattle, that Caribou Coffee was increasing
> their prices by 5 cents on some of their most popular drinks. My friend
> figured this would have a large impact on me due to the raw amount of
<Snip >
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Date: 27 Oct 2006 17:43:15
From: pltrgyst
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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On 27 Oct 2006 13:49:51 -0700, "Tim Blue" <tim@timothyblue.com > wrote:
>I use a lot of cream and I can not tell you how many times I say "With
>room" only to get it filled to the rim anyway.
>
>If the person pulling the coffee would only listen to my order I would
>not even have to consider ordering a medium in a large cup.
>
>What I end up doing is dumping a lot of coffee in the garbage which
>many other coffee shops do not want you doing.
If they can't listen to your order and give you the level you want, then they
*must* deal with you dumoing coffee in their trash can. Period. Don't be a wuss.
-- Larry
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Date: 27 Oct 2006 05:20:30
From: Omniryx@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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Brother, if you can get yourself this agitated over a customer stealing
a bit of creamer....you need to get out more.
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 13:37:55
From:
Subject: Re: Caribou Coffee price increase and how to get around it
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CoffeeAnony@gmail.com wrote:
(much yackage snipped)
> I was in line about a week later at the location that is closest to my
> office down town. I usually don't listen to what the person in front
> of me orders, but this particular order was a little weird. The man in
> front of me ordered a small regular Mocha Blend, but then asked the
> woman on the register to place it in a large cup. She smiled, and
> proceeded
> to pour the coffee into a large cup and hand it to the customer. I
> approached the register and ordered my standard mid-day drink. While I
> was waiting for my creamy latte I watched that same woman walk over to
> stirring counter and pour creamer all the way to the top of the cup,
> add 5 sugars, stir and then leave.
> My first thought that popped into my head was "cost of
> operations". After seeing this I went over to the cashier and asked
> to talk to a manager. A man walked over and asked how he could help me.
> I told him about the Email, the "cost of operations" and the event
> that just occurred in front of me. I told him, that I am no expert on
> business operations, but I did have good eye sight and that a man just
> walked out his door with large coffee, about half a dollar's worth of
> creamer and only paid for a small drip brew coffee.
> He told me that what that customer had done, is something a large
> percentage of customer's do. He said that, like me, this is something
> that he disagreed with, but Caribou Coffee had made it very clear that
> "customers come first", that he is required by the company to meet
> the expectations of every single one of those customers and that he
> would not do anything to compromise any customer's patronage.
(ditto more yackage)
Aren't you glad that this customer got treated so nice that you and the
next 19 people get to pay an extra $.05 to buy him his $1.00 worth of
cream? This practice has been mentioned before and many shops won't
sell a drink ordered in an oversized cup for that reason.
I say forget 'em: you could char your own at home. The only problem
would be figuring out how to stink up an entire mall food court with
the smell of coffee ash by yourself. Perhaps someone else can pop in
with a suggestion to replace your 'Bou' experience.
Matthew
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