Bad Coffee 4

[KENAT]

OK, a bit of a stretch for a serious "Obstacle Getting My Work Done Forum" but what is with the bad coffee? I'm here late trying to get stuff done and the coffee aint helping.

The coffee itself is supposedly a fairly reputable brand, Peets.

However, whenever I get a cup it tastes awful. 5 little containers of half & half and it's barely paletable. I had about the best cup I've had in months today, I got through almost half of it before I couldn't take the taste anymore.

Only good thing about the coffee is it's free.

I'll admit I'm not much of a Coffee drinker, much prefer hot tea with cow juice being a Brit originally (I know a lot of Brits like coffee & it's a stereotype but work with me here). In fact I'd be drinking tea but my milk went off. However, I've heard other mutterings about the issue.

So anyone else have this problem, anyone fixed it?

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[btrueblood]

You're lisping, Steve.

 

[Qshake]

As a young engineer with a job in QAQC of aggregates I was sent to many limestone quarries to 'shake' rock. Anyone who's been around a limestone quarry knows that in addtion to rock, the only other primary product is Dust! Note I didn't call dust a by-product since I'm not convinced that the stone aggregate wasn't a by-product of the dust mind you.

Anyhoo. The coffee in such places always had a film of dust on the top. Most of the hardened employees simply skimmed the dust off with their fingers and gulped to their hearts content. I never could figure out which was worse, dusted coffee or chewing on the grounds.

Either way, I have long decided that any free coffee in am office environment far removed from the 'dust factory' is just fine with me.

Just a perspective.

Q

Regards,
Qshake

Eng-Tips Forums:Real Solutions for Real Problems Really Quick.

 

[mizzjoey]

I'm just bummed about the coffee machine in my new office today & remembered this thread.

So, I'm new at this place and doesn't know much about how things work. I used to have a good cup of coffee + cocoa (own, made-up brew) in my old workplace to wake me up in the morning. Yesterday I saw a coffee machine near the reception... very happy to see some decent coffee beans and used it to brew some for myself.

Today I was told by my co-workers that the coffee machine is strictly for boss & guests, because, you know, it's a really expensive machine & the beans are imported etc... not for the likes of us drones who doesn't know how to drink good coffee. Funny, because I just came back from their overseas facilities for induction training where everyone gets to drink whatever coffee there is regardless of rank.

Well, well... I'm sleepy, trying to understand the piping documentations for which I have zero experience, it's cold & I got rained on my bike on the way to work, and I'm really hankering for a hot cup of bitter dark roast columbian with cocoa flecks, topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder...

tasteless drone,
jo

 

[GregLocock]

Ah well. When I started work at LandRover there were 7 grades of on-site catering, from Hourly Canteen, through Junior Staff, right up to the Director's Dining Room.



Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[jmw]

The advantage of working from home is total control over the coffee quality.
The downside is a (the) significant other convinced that:
[ul][li]coffee is bad for you[/li]
[li]you drink too much of it[/li]
[li]tea would be better because tea has no caffeine (wrong, more but how to explain this to someone who selectively accepts only supporting facts)[/li]
[li]working from home means you can do housework, go shopping, do odd jobs, listen to the latest gossip etc.[/li][/ul]
All of which gives me an even greater craving for coffee, good coffee.

Qshake raises a very good point.
I can recall some very bad cups of coffee that tasted remarkably good in the circumstances and some good coffees that didn't.
My Grandfather told me that out of the trenches on patrol (in The Great War) one night they camped by an old farmhouse.
A dark night and no lights allowed they conducted their camp chores by touch. They enjoyed a very good brew up and made onion soup which all enjoyed, except that the next morning the tea pot was found to be full of dead tadpoles and the onions (shallots?) proved to be tulip bulbs.

Many years in an office environment inured me to machine coffee. Later on I discovered the joys of self-brewed coffee till the H&S people banned kettles but some of the best coffee (even though actually pretty awefull in other circs) was that delivered up in a seaming cup in the freezing cold of a siberian refinery or pon board a fuel barge in bad weather.

Mizzjoey, I'm sure that coffee tasted all the better for being illegally drunk!

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[casseopeia]

mizzjoey,

Get yourself a French press (Bodum's on sale right now at Cost Plus World Market for $29.95).

Find a decent coffee roastery in your area and buy a small quantity just for yourself. I've got one within walking distance to my office. Have them course grind the beans so you don't clog the filter on your press.

I'm assuming you can find some way to boil water in that place. Just make sure you make a batch where the boss and his henchmen can smell it. Offer NONE to them, telling them that it's for your use only since the machine is not available to you.

And if you really want to go all out, bring in a decent thin ceramic mug or better yet, a proper bone china cup and saucer.



"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[KENAT]

At my last employer in the UK it was similar. There was a coffee pot (several actually) with pretty good coffee etc. However it was only for the Directors and meetings with external parties. The rest of us had to make instant or tea with 'boiling' water from the wall mounted contraption.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[jmw]

Cass,
Give Mizzjoey a chance!
She's only just joined the company and you are already starting her out on the guerilla warfare route back out of the door!

I suppose we can only add, to those seeking advise on applying for new jobs, to be sure to discuss coffee as part of their Ts & Cs.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[casseopeia]

OK. Mizzjoey, still go and get the French press and fancy beans.

And when the big boss comments, tell him in your sweetest voice possible (think Marilyn Monroe's Mr. president...) that Mable over there at the reception desk said you weren't allowed to drink the 'good' stuff from the machine near her desk, (bat eyelashes here) so you found some spare change under your sofa (sniff, sniff here) and got your self you own pitiful little pot, but you weren't sure what you'd do when your coffee beans run out. (sad face here and maybe even a little sideways glance at Mable)



meow, hiss, spit



"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[monkeydog]

Note to self -
If ever given the opportunity to meet Cassiopeia, speak softly, no sudden moves, and do not look straight into the eyes.

 

[Bribyk]

It can sometimes be lack of training. We had a guy that didn't drink coffee and, thus, didn't know how to make it and wasn't doing any quality control of his work. I caught him leaving the old coffee in the percolator (like half full) then topping it off with water and fresh grounds and then rebrewing. The stuff made your teeth hurt it was so strong.

 

[KENAT]

If he didn't drink it why was he making it?

Was he that altruistic?

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[Bribyk]

Bottom of the totem pole.

 

[mizzjoey]

ha ha ha! Thanks for making me laugh so early in the morning guys!

I realize many companies have a pecking order that extends towards, well, pecking time/allowance. Greg's comment reminded me of a situation in a previous company, also an automotive manufacturer.. Except that the ones who get the fancy dining room were HR, corporate comm & marketing execs at the beautiful front building (Of course, good coffee comes with it). Grease-covered engineers, technicians and line workers have our own grubby cafe where we get to dine in stylish styrofoam plates & cups, while we try to get over that sticky feeling when our safety boots are lifted off of the floor or when our elbows touch the plastic covered dining tables.

Yeah, I plan to bring my own press, beans, cocoa & whipped cream to work next week. Will keep them in my little corner & call the pot "Precioussssss..." each time someone walks by. Or maybe not yet...

jo

 

[jmw]

Mizzjoey,
Oh well, if you're gonna listen to Cass, buy coffee beans and the loudest grinder you can find and grind up batches at odd times during the day.

Be ready to go work for an Italian company (you'd best get your CV out there now; Cass will be the death of you via her proxy Mable).

I recall visiting our Agents in Milan and the best noises and aromas originated from the cappuccino machine which, being Italy, did the whole thing in style.
High strength heart fibrillating Cappuccino fixes were a feature of the day, along with long wine soaked lunches at the nearby restaurants, with pleasant conversation accompanied by lots of arm waving.

Inside of a couple of days I exceeded my whole life maximum dose or Caffeine.
And wine.
And white-knuckle Autostrada journeys driven by a caffeine and wine fuelled Italian in a 3 litre red rocket (Lancia?).


Ah! Milano, where some Romanian lady and her kid tried to steal my wallet. "Excuse me!" Said I pulling lose from her kid (who was hanging onto my arm) and protecting my wallet from her searching hand reaching out from under the map she was waving under my nose.
She wandered off looking for new victims while passing Italians smiled gently and murmured "Inglese" to themselves with a good natured shrug.
Damned good coffee.


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[ewh]

I'm with Cass on the press idea. Since we no longer have free coffee here, I went out and found a nice little four cup press at Tuesday Morning for only $6.00. The only problem I have now is finding my small grinder. I'm too cheap to go buy a new one when I know that I have a perfectly good one hiding at home.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - [small]Thomas Jefferson [/small]

 

[KENAT]

ewh, improvise with an electric pencil sharpener untill you find it. They make about the same noise so I'd guess they'd work;-).

You may want to clean it first though, if you're like me with colored pencils for marking up then I'm guessing grains of 'red' 'blue' designer 'green' or engineer 'brown' wont improve matters.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[jmw]

"cafetière!"
Where did "French Press" come from?

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[cksh]

I stopped drinking coffee about 10 years ago. It was because of this one job I had. The engineers drank it all day. And there was a huge coffee maker that was turned on all day just burning the coffee. The smell was so bad I was nauseous. Had only been there two weeks and was already thinking about quitting. Eventually I think I just got used to the smell. But I haven't touched the stuff since. I am more inclined to like a coffee if it smells great so anything that has been sitting for a while just doesn't cut it.

Our Engineers here put hot cocoa mix or tea bags in their coffee sometimes.

 

[ubrben]

Ok I have a two phase strategy.

Part 1 is the Saeco Superautomatica bean-to-cup device in my kitchen that brews me a nice double shot of espresso into a travel mug and top up with water for an Americano that's ready for when I arrive at the office. Incidentally this was a good send when I arrived last Friday to closed office due to a substation blowup and I was the only person freezing outside with a hot drink

Part 2 is the espresso machine brought in by a colleague. A nice tin of Illy ground is sat on my desk and brewing a proper espresso is a nice way of getting one over break-wise on the smokers - why should they have all the fun!

Ben