The other day I was sitting in Traveler's Coffee (a better version of Starbucks,in terms of quality) with a friend of mine listening to her order a cappuccino in a very anal and American manner. She wanted cinnamon, but not so much that the foam was the color of burnt sienna, she wanted to make sure that they used cream, and not 2.5% milk and she wanted it hot, not lukewarm. I should be use to this, where ever we go, she likes to question the menu and confuse the waiters who really don't care about their jobs or their customers; the last thing they want to do is listen to a foreigner demand what she wants. Normally, this drives me crazy, we're in a country where customer service and quality just really don't exist, and if and when you can find it, you are so surprised that you don't know how to appreciate it. I'm ashamed to admit that I've just learned to t live with it. And really, is it so much to ask for? I mean, really, all she ever wants is a properly made, hot, cappuccino; it's not as if she were wanting Brazilian Special Dark Roast, or elephant coffee beans imported from Thailand. I usually tease her about her simple request and then internally scold myself. There we are in a coffee shop, paying anywhere from 130-170 rubles ($4-$5) and we have to demand HOT coffee. If anyone should be ashamed of themselves it's the customers who get ripped off every single day. When did it become okay and natural to be served cold coffee? Especially here where people freak out and panic about ice cubes and cold water?
Ironically, Traveler's Coffee, according to Gabi (my beloved friend) make the best cappuccino in town. And this is has been seriously researched. There are a lot of choices in the city: Chaska Cafe, Kofe Hause, Kafemolina, Chaklinitza, and Dubinka just to name a few. As for me, I find Traveler's Coffee completely over priced and really, really, REALLY slow service. Perhaps this is why coffee is always served lukewarm, the people move so slowly that it really takes about ten minutes before you are even served so naturally the coffee has cooled off. My personal favorite is Chaska Cafe for two main reasons 1) it's half the price of Traveler's and 2) they don't ever argue with me.
Now, you may be asking yourself, what do you mean, argue? Well, let me explain; first and foremost, I don't eat many sweets. I hardly ever eat cake, if I do eat it, it's usually under duress because I don't want to be rude, I don't buy boxes of chocolate, and I don't enter candy stores unless I'm with a kid that I have to bribe. So I don't eat sweets that often. That being said, I do get my sugar fix from coffee. I'm allowed to indulge in sweet coffee and the last thing I ever expect is people, namely baristas and waiters whose job it is to listen to me, tell me what I want. I can't even count the times I've had this conversation:
me: latte please, large
waiter: do you want sugar?
me: yes please, 3 spoons
waiter: no
me: excuse me, what?
waiter: it's too sweet
me: so? I like sweet coffee
waiter: it's not healthy for you
Just remembering all these conversations just annoy me all over again. Why ask me how much sugar I want and this disagree with me about it!? Seriously! Better yet, just don't ask, I'll do it myself. I'll be the judge of what is and is not healthy for me. I don't think eating cake first thing in the morning, but do I tell people not to do it? Well, I kinda just did, but you get the idea. It's called the service industry for a reason. So there we have it, my friend doesn't want her coffee lukewarm and over seasoned with cinnamon, which I forgot to mention, she has to pay for (5 rubles of 50 grains of cinnamon dust) and I want to place an order without someone judging me.
Now if we move away from the big coffee chains and explore smaller private coffee shops, the chances of finding a better cup of coffee greatly improve. When I first came to Novosibirsk I was exploring the area known as tsnrani rinok, which is like a giant flea market and it's the very best place to buy spices and vegetables. Near this area I came across this tiny coffee/ tea shop and wouldn't you know it, they also serve hot, strong lattes and cappuccinos. They don't argue and the price is a fraction of the cost of the big guys, 60 rubles, about $2. Sometimes less. So this is my advertisement for Purerto. I don't know if it's an Italian name because it's defiantly not Russian. This is the one place where they not only care about coffee, like a lot, the beans are freshly ground and they use thermometers just to make sure the temperature is right, they also care about tea. Here, I'm allowed to relax with a steaming hot cup of coffee and flip through all the fashion magazines I want and not be scolded for my love of sugar.
Why this rant and passionate demand for coffee? Is it the process, the smell or is it simply the idea of coffee that makes people so agitated or calm? Case in point, referring to my friend again, she simply cannot function without coffee. She always jokes that she needs coffee to make coffee. I enjoy coffee because I really love the rich, smooth and subtly bitterly flavor of the drink. I love the soothing effects that come with coffee, yes, I do wake up and I can almost feel the neurons in my brain activating.
Beyond just the caffeine effect, this drink brings people together. People relax around each other and laugh more, girls stop talking about work and talk about shoes or hair. Men laugh about women's problems and plot to over throw their bosses. It's different than beer since the conversations don't spiral down to food talk and zombie invasions; instead they (ideally) migrate up to cat and pet stories, religion and everyone's favorite, politics. So you see, if you don't have a hot, well balanced cup of coffee how can you expect those around you to be open and be cheery as well? Coffee is more than just a hot liquid, it's about society.
Ironically, Traveler's Coffee, according to Gabi (my beloved friend) make the best cappuccino in town. And this is has been seriously researched. There are a lot of choices in the city: Chaska Cafe, Kofe Hause, Kafemolina, Chaklinitza, and Dubinka just to name a few. As for me, I find Traveler's Coffee completely over priced and really, really, REALLY slow service. Perhaps this is why coffee is always served lukewarm, the people move so slowly that it really takes about ten minutes before you are even served so naturally the coffee has cooled off. My personal favorite is Chaska Cafe for two main reasons 1) it's half the price of Traveler's and 2) they don't ever argue with me.
Now, you may be asking yourself, what do you mean, argue? Well, let me explain; first and foremost, I don't eat many sweets. I hardly ever eat cake, if I do eat it, it's usually under duress because I don't want to be rude, I don't buy boxes of chocolate, and I don't enter candy stores unless I'm with a kid that I have to bribe. So I don't eat sweets that often. That being said, I do get my sugar fix from coffee. I'm allowed to indulge in sweet coffee and the last thing I ever expect is people, namely baristas and waiters whose job it is to listen to me, tell me what I want. I can't even count the times I've had this conversation:
me: latte please, large
waiter: do you want sugar?
me: yes please, 3 spoons
waiter: no
me: excuse me, what?
waiter: it's too sweet
me: so? I like sweet coffee
waiter: it's not healthy for you
Just remembering all these conversations just annoy me all over again. Why ask me how much sugar I want and this disagree with me about it!? Seriously! Better yet, just don't ask, I'll do it myself. I'll be the judge of what is and is not healthy for me. I don't think eating cake first thing in the morning, but do I tell people not to do it? Well, I kinda just did, but you get the idea. It's called the service industry for a reason. So there we have it, my friend doesn't want her coffee lukewarm and over seasoned with cinnamon, which I forgot to mention, she has to pay for (5 rubles of 50 grains of cinnamon dust) and I want to place an order without someone judging me.
Now if we move away from the big coffee chains and explore smaller private coffee shops, the chances of finding a better cup of coffee greatly improve. When I first came to Novosibirsk I was exploring the area known as tsnrani rinok, which is like a giant flea market and it's the very best place to buy spices and vegetables. Near this area I came across this tiny coffee/ tea shop and wouldn't you know it, they also serve hot, strong lattes and cappuccinos. They don't argue and the price is a fraction of the cost of the big guys, 60 rubles, about $2. Sometimes less. So this is my advertisement for Purerto. I don't know if it's an Italian name because it's defiantly not Russian. This is the one place where they not only care about coffee, like a lot, the beans are freshly ground and they use thermometers just to make sure the temperature is right, they also care about tea. Here, I'm allowed to relax with a steaming hot cup of coffee and flip through all the fashion magazines I want and not be scolded for my love of sugar.
Why this rant and passionate demand for coffee? Is it the process, the smell or is it simply the idea of coffee that makes people so agitated or calm? Case in point, referring to my friend again, she simply cannot function without coffee. She always jokes that she needs coffee to make coffee. I enjoy coffee because I really love the rich, smooth and subtly bitterly flavor of the drink. I love the soothing effects that come with coffee, yes, I do wake up and I can almost feel the neurons in my brain activating.
Beyond just the caffeine effect, this drink brings people together. People relax around each other and laugh more, girls stop talking about work and talk about shoes or hair. Men laugh about women's problems and plot to over throw their bosses. It's different than beer since the conversations don't spiral down to food talk and zombie invasions; instead they (ideally) migrate up to cat and pet stories, religion and everyone's favorite, politics. So you see, if you don't have a hot, well balanced cup of coffee how can you expect those around you to be open and be cheery as well? Coffee is more than just a hot liquid, it's about society.
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