Comments on: It’s like 8 hours of barista competition

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:06:54 +0000

Although I am not in the camp of withholding sugar and other condiments from customers, comparing sugar to salt is apples to oranges. Salt is used to enhance flavors that are already present (also apparently has the ability to suppress undesirable flavors). Sugar (or sweeteners) are not widely believed to have the same properties, in that the addition of sweetener does not enhance the flavors that are already present, but at least in my experience, tends to flatten out any complex flavors that are hopefully present in your cup.

By: Carlos Ferrer

Carlos Ferrer — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:20:46 +0000

I felt like at the end of a pilgrimage, coming to the Penny University yesterday. I enjoyed the coffee, the learning experience and do have a thought to offer on the “milk-sugar” debate. First an anecdote from a hotel school in France (ca. 1978):

A rich arabic Sheik comes to your restaurant, orders the cod and a red burgundy to go with it. What do you do?

The students were divided. The French took the “german police” attitude: “Verboten”. The students from abroad, especially the african thought that “who pays decides”. A norwegian friend of mine said:

Point him towards a red Bordeaux, that goes best with cod. All norwegians know that!

In a world where it is unwise to alienate the customer, Mike Philips et al. approach at serving layered coffee experience might work. So in that spirit here’s my proposal. Serve each coffee at the University with three cups. One for only coffee, next one with sugar/milk and last one for a flavor or spice of choice, honey, custom made syrup or such.

In my opinion, “University” is a place to experiment as well as to teach/learn. So, old style dogmatism may be “old style” but that could backfire a 3 generation coffeehouse. The barista is there to make the coffee, but he has also the opportunity to learn from the customer.

By: P.U. « Covering the 2010 World Barista Championship – Unofficially

P.U. « Covering the 2010 World Barista Championship – Unofficially — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:10:55 +0000

[...] pork pie, you’ve prolly already heard that one of the hottest spots on the WBC Coffee Map is Penny University – the small-but-focused-store front operated by Square Mile Coffee [...]

By: Jon Sharp

Jon Sharp — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:48:26 +0000

I think it’s great. I love that you’ve properly pushed the boundaries when the rest of us think groundbreaking is not having syrups and 16oz cups! You are doing something truly original which is really exciting for me both on coffee and business levels.

I look forward to visiting.

By: Kevin du Plessis

Kevin du Plessis — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:24:02 +0000

I am sorry to say I cannot agree with anyone that dismisses the concept of brewed-coffee-only as pretentious. When properly roasted and prepared, coffee, as gustatory and social experience, can be phenomenal. James surely recognised this along with the (sadly) generalised absence of venues offering this kind of coffee experience and stepped in.
Surely those wishing to get a latte, cappuccino or even an espresso, having discovered this isn’t on offer at Penny University, are unlikely to succumb before reaching the nearest “traditional” cafe? If you don’t like the fact you won’t be able to get milk/sugar there, then don’t go.
I personally think it’s fantastic that the speciality coffee world has evolved to such a level that a niche has been created where an establishment as this may take root and flourish, spreading ideas and techniques and hopefully exposing a great many more people to the utterly amazing sensory experience that coffee can offer.
Drop by, give it a shot, and you will see for yourself.

By: James

James — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:36:05 +0000

Geez, reading the NYT article’s comments, one in particular wants to take us back to the Boston Tea Party days, it seems that more than coffee could be a-brewing!

Some familiar goblins raise their heads again: The old ‘wandering the streets of Paris or Milan’ one. I have lived in France, and man, I must’ve been missing something because I’ve yet to find a coffee there that didn’t make me wish sugar could make it better.

Why are folks so keen to criticise the idea and not the coffee? Now, for one, it’s a pretty inexpensive experience, and if it didn’t meet your expectations, it’s not like your evening is ruined by not enjoying a pricey meal. You’ve parted with a mere £2.50-3.50 and 10 minutes, is that not a fair trade for something you MIGHT actually enjoy? Just try it for crying-out-loud and THEN cast judgement. I’m sure that some folks may not enjoy it, and I’ll tell you what; Tim/James/Tobias would be at least a little hurt, but happy that that person actually tried it and THEN made their mind-up. You can’t please everyone.

Choice is overrated anyway: Would you salt sushi? Ask for sugar in your Jasmine tea? Drink your champagne at room temperature or demand that your Chateau Margaux is served chilled? Why not? Would you want a McLaren F-1 in automatic? Does one get upset that there is not half, quarter, or double sugar Coca-Cola available? Who the heck is that waiter to tell me that the wine tastes best at 15 deg C or the Coca-Cola Company to tell us that we can only have seven teaspoons of sugar in a can? I want sweet sixteen, dammit!

One last thing: If ANYONE visits Penny University and can honestly say that they felt the man behind the bar was arrogant or sanctimonious, or anything like that: I’ll give you a free coffee with as much sugar and milk as you like, and I’ll even make it with pride and offer no opinions as to your preferences. Why? Because you tried it, you spoke to them (hopefully listened) and you’ve made an informed decision, unlike some people…

P.S. I have had a couple of G&Ts to temper today’s extreme caffeine consumption, hence the verbosity of this ‘comment’.

By: James Hoffmann

James Hoffmann — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 08:57:15 +0000

Thanks for the tip – all fixed!

By: christianb

christianb — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 08:02:49 +0000

The link to Penny University is broken :(

PS I love the concept and the “no sugar, no milk”-policy.

By: sanford b

sanford b — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:14:53 +0000

This is kind of off topic, but I saw the picture and it reminded me of something: have you found any weird tastes coming from the bamboo stirrers? How are you cleaning them? We stopped using wood stirrers at Comet after Jim noticed a strange taste from stirring them in hot water. Any thoughts?

To get to the point of your post, I love the idea of an atmosphere where I could actually sit down and talk with my guests about the coffee, the brew method, and just life in general. As I go deeper and deeper down the ExtractMoJo hole, I find that I hate the inconsistency of single-cup, manual brew methods, but I really LOVE the amount of time it offers me to spend talking to people. I’ve found that with some of our guests the 3-5 minute wait has gone from an inconvenience, to a stolen moment that people actually look forward to. Working in a college town with a great university nearby brings in some really brilliant minds and I’m constantly in awe of the amazing people I have the privilege of serving.

Has the limited seating been a problem yet? Our seating is a little less sparce (4 2-person tables and 6 bar seats) but initially a zoning problem prevented us from having seating at all. We got through it, but I kind of miss those months when we all stood around drinking coffee.

I respect your thoughts on the to-go cups and cream/sugar issue. Has it been an issue at all so far?

Have you noticed any trends with your guests? Do many work in the coffee industry?

I’m happy that Penny University exists. The idea of sitting at that bar and talking with people, drinking some of the world’s most beautiful coffees is incredible. I’m really happy for you, and I look forward to visiting you guys someday. I’ll be sure to bring my own Splenda! :)

By: Danny

Danny — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:13:09 +0000

They really do an amazing job, something to consider bearing in mind the age of the machine and the seemingly woeful rate at which it can produce a cup!