Would bean to cup coffee instead of barista stop you going to a cafe?

[wh1tbyboats]

I get that we all love great coffee but recently I've found myself queuing for most of my visit or finishing my food before my coffees arrived and a poor barista with orders coming out of their ears. I would just love to enjoy a lovely coffee before eating and sit with a friend instead of queuing separately for ages. What to people think of high quality freshly brewed bean to cup coffee? That then frees up the server to do other things in between like print a bill or log an order ... any thoughts ?

A close family member is in the hospitality industry and has in recent weeks moved from a military setting to a general public one, and has said that the difference in customer attitude towards serving staff is astounding.

The overriding impression from the job so far:
"I'd forgotten how incredibly rude people are".

So my thoughts (for what the are worth) are that people should treat cafe staff with a bit more respect. They are overworked and underpaid, and are not your bloody servant.

I’m in the hospitality industry! My point was would it be easier on the staff to use bean to cup so they’ve not got huge queues pressure and less time … or would it put people off if it wasn’t barista made coffee … that was all!

Ah - well in that case... I'm just as happy with a Nescafe.

It would put me off. I used to work at a place that had one and I didn’t like it. People who came with intolerances or vegans only had the choice of americano with whichever milk they chose because the machine only had cows milk in it. Where as a proper espresso machine you can make any type of coffee and use any type of milk. Considering how many people have alternative milks these days I think it’s important you’re able to offer a good range of drinks. I suppose if you had a been to cup you could get a separate milk frother for alternate milks but that goes against what your trying to achieve by freeing up the barista

Local restaurant has a bean to cup - with 2 bean holders, one for decaff and one for proper coffee. They can make any coffee with any milk. It means that anyone can make coffee rather than needing a specific barista. It's different from the bean to cup machines you see in places like Greg's and is a heavy duty commercial version of the ones you have at home. (It's a Jura - I'm nosey so asked about it!)

I love Greggs coffee, it’s better than Starbucks 😁

there is a cafe near me which uses proper baristas. The quality of the coffee really depends on the barista. To the extent I know who has made my coffee without looking to see who’s at the machine (I go there a lot). One particular person is excellent, best coffee ever. Another person is dire, worse than instant! Same machine, same coffee. It’s beyond odd.

Interesting to know ... yes that's what I'm thinking ... it has to be a top quality to machine that gives consistent good quality coffee but gives the server more time to multi task rather than be tied to the machine all shift ...

God no. But I am now an Australian and we have VERY strong feelings about coffee

Yes it would put me off.

It really depends on lots of other things about the cafe. If it had good ambience, friendly staff, was in a good location, had great food/ cakes etc., then it might not matter so much. But I think it would have to really shine in all of those areas if the coffee wasn't all that special.

I’d rather outsource order taking and printing bills to a computer to free up the barista to make good coffee!

I’m barista trained and it really is a bit of a science/art. The machine can only do so much, it’s the little tweaks made by the human that make it perfect. Let’s not let the robots have all the good jobs and reduce us to the order taking, table wiping unskilled workers!

Depends if the price is adjusted. You are paying for the barista to make the drink, if they just press go then if shouldn't be as expensive.

That's an interesting point thank you

😂

I wouldn't order a coffee from a cafe with a bean to cup machine. It's never as nice.

The coffee is still good quality but yes it would be to free up staff to have more time to talk to the customers and focus more on every area standing out thank you I'm in agreement

I'd buy tea

It might be good quality, but it still won't be all that special compared to proper barista coffee. You can't advertise good coffee as a selling point if you are using a bean to cup machine.

Not having that is going to make it more difficult, but not impossible, as long as you are on point in all the other things that matter.

tbh I find barrista coffee too variable and would be very happy with bean-to-cup. and actually prefer old fashioned filter coffee.
black like my soul
no milk
no sugar

It does put me off yes, If there are other pressing reasons for me to choose that cafe I might overlook it but I would expect to pay less than for barista coffee, maybe £2 rather than £3.50.

Thank you ... really interesting to hear everyone's thoughts

Nope, if I wanted bean to cup coffee I'd stay at home and make own

McDonald's coffee us bean to cup machines so I'd expect to pay McDonald's prices

Great thanks guys really appreciate the feedback

It would put me off ordering a coffee. So would filter coffee being the only option. I would have to have tea or a soft drink