Friday, June 06, 2003


is new york iced coffee a rip off?

would you be stunned to discover some people think so?

iced coffee is being watered down by dishonest baristas and people are not getting what they paid for; on average, a new york iced coffee costs 70 cents more than a hot coffee but contains 60 to 200 mls (2 to 10 oz.) less actual coffee, charges a coffeehop owner here in gotham.

to combat this in his own shop, joe rinaldi of bklyn's caffe capri in billburg (serious roaster john gant's own beatnik review here) counteracts the diluting effect of ice by making cubes from strong coffee to use in all iced coffee and espresso drinks.

those doing the math think iced coffee should cost US$0.21 cents less than hot, not more, as is the usual custom here in nyc.

that ice cube thing's a helpful hint for those of us who make our iced coffee at home. . . .i tell ya, mark my words, while all the marketing surveys show that the massive coffee growth will be people ordering to-go drinks over the counter, i think that will be soon be followed by a surge in people returning to making their own coffee at home.

this is the same thing we saw with the recent food revolution, both on the west coast and here. for a decade, people flocked out to eat; then once they had built up some expectations, they began to cook at home. . . .

first you eat at mario's -- then you wanna buy the wild fennel pollen for your own table! i predict the same will prove true with coffee.

posted by fortune | 4:07 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments