Milk Choices for Coffee

January 30, 2004- Milk Selection at the Coffee Shop

The dedicated staff of edhat.com keeps ending up at coffee shops. It could be because coffee shops are the modern day center of social interaction in a world of isolated existence. It could be that we like to drink coffee. But, the most likely reason is that we like the people who work at coffee shops. They all seem young, energetic, and optimistic. It is good to be around people like that.

Yesterday the dedicated staff went out to inspect the types of milk served by coffee shops in Santa Barbara. Whole milk, cream, half & half, low fat, nonfat, nondairy … what do they have in those silver canisters? And, are they empty? Are they full? The dedicated staff wanted to know. We also wanted to update our coffee price map and see if the prices had changed. The new kid in town, North Star Coffee, opened on State Street last month and instantly became the purveyor of the highest priced cappuccino in town. At $3.25 theirs is a whopping 55 cents higher than any other. We had to add them to the map!

We began our journey at Coffee Cat around noon. Twenty-seven coffee shops and 3 hours later we were moving very quickly (and a little irritable). It could have been all the coffee, but who knows?

Let us say here and now that MOST coffee shops offer 3 choices - half & half, whole milk, and nonfat. 54% had this offering, in fact. The most common variation on the theme was an additional offering of nondairy selections such as “creamer”, soy, and rice milk. Some places (Espresso Roma, Good Cup, and Loading Dock) did not offer nonfat milk because it doesn’t get used as much (and goes bad). Only Peet’s and Java Station offer low fat milk.

Half & Half was the most common milk we found. All shops had it but two. North Star and Pierre La Fond on lower State Street served pure cream, or at least that is what the bottle said. Some places, including many Starbucks had 2 containers of Half & Half on their table.

There is a difference between what the shops have and what they put out. At most coffee shops you can get any type of milk you desire either by being a regular and knowing where they keep the milk, or by asking the cheerful baristas behind the espresso machines.

Asking is not such a terrible thing considering how friendly the coffee servers are. Not only are they helpful, but also they are fun to talk to. The woman at the Good Cup was concerned about the effect of bad milk on her customers. The crew at each of the three Espresso Roma’s were quite engaged and claimed proudly that not only was their cappuccino the cheapest, but it was the best as well (something to do with organic). Peet’s expressed the opposite view. Their cappuccino might not have been the cheapest, but it was the best. The two young coffee enthusiasts at Vices & Spices spoke affectionately of their clientele, made up mostly of regulars. According to legend, the Vices & Spices staffers can recognize their regular’s car engine and start making their coffee drink before the customer gets in the door.

In the daily contest yesterday, the tiebreaker came in handy. Many contestants guessed Half & Half and low fat as the most and least prevalent. EdSailor’s guess that 6% of all milk canisters would be empty was right on the money. EdSailor obviously knows a lot about coffee. He should enjoy the Peet’s coffee card that he won.

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