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Poll: What’s Most Important?
May 19, 2008 Posted by Chris Tingom Filed under General
It has been a while since we’ve done a poll on Arizona Coffee, so leave your thoughts on what matters most when selecting a coffee house:
11 comments
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Austin says:
This is a tough one for me. I find that it all depends on what i am looking for. If it has a friendly staff and i am just looking for a place to hang out, then i can actually overlook the drink quality. If i am meeting people, then comfort is high on the list while wi-fi moves to the bottom. Atmosphere is big for me, but if the coffee is great then I could drink it out of an alley.
Jessica Waltz says:
I agree with Mr. Austin!
However, “Quality of Drink” is a MUST!
FYI - Best Quality Drinks for me are:
1) INZA Coffee
2) Solo Cafe
3) Lux Coffee
4) Steve’s Expresso
5) Coffee Rush
Todd says:
I look for the same thing in a coffee shop that I look for in a restaurant. The product quality must be great, the cost reasonable, and the atmosphere is also important. ‘Extras’ like live music and WiFi are only important to me in specific situations (like I need to get some work done or I want to listen to music). Above all else, though, is quality of product. If I can make better at home, I’d rather stay at home and save my $$.
I also agree with Jessica - Inza Coffee is one of the best coffee houses I have EVER been to, and I grew up in Portland, OR.
Austin says:
I think it is interesting that both of you have said Inza is highest for quality. I enjoy Inza, and while it doesn’t get negative points for quality, I find that there are others on the list where i get much better coffee. Though I drink cappuccinos and some places make those better or worse than other of their drinks
Ron Cortez says:
First, let me thank you guys for your comments. To analyze coffee drinks gets a bit tricky. Even Ken Davids who is a well renown coffee cupper discloses every one of his judgments as “my opinion”. I like drinks from many places that are not on the list however, I only drink espresso or plain coffee with no milk. So if I am not accustomed to drink milk or sugar it will be unfair for me to judge a latte. I do notice an overwhelming number of people that are placing quality of their drinks as the number one reason. That is great. This is what make Arizona coffee a great blog.
Clintus says:
I wish I had more time to hang out at a coffee shop. Being fairly new to coffee, I would have to say location is #1 followed by wifi for me since when I do go I tend to bring the laptop and want to get some work done. Also, I live out in surprise and work in north phoenix. Not a lot of options for me. (that I know of at least)
Ryan says:
Quality is #1 for me, Friendly staff #2 and #3 would probably be comfortable couches. That makes my perfect coffee shop.
Pierce/Bear says:
As Austin stated.
His posts encapsulated my opinion as well.
BTW: I happen to like vida e caffe’s Mocha’s as well
Michael T says:
Chris - Imma pick on your polling again. I recommend “location” and “cost” be thrown out of the results - they’re too vague.
Have there been any write-ins for “Recommended by AZCoffee” yet?
Psyd says:
I dunno about chucking location and cost. I looked at it as relating one to another. If cheaper coffee is available but it’s a more difficult location, would I go there? I tell the story of getting a cab from Market St and the Embarcadero, passing at least twenty other cafes including the Starbucks across the street and the Java City (or whatever) in the building that we were in to get to Blue Bottle’s Linden kiosk. In, as Austin said, an alley. This was before they had the shop halfway between, and the farmers market was closed that day, so it was a twenty block cab ride, both ways. The cab made the coffee twice as expensive than if we had hoofed it two blocks even, to half a dozen other shops.
Some folks would have found that the location of the Java City outweighed the cost and the location aspect of Blue Bottle. I out quality of coffee first in mine, and I’m constantly re-iterating that.
In DC, I left my hotel to get to murky on two different visits. Last time I was in DC, it was a ten minute bike ride, passing a Starbucks in the lobby of the Hyatt to get out of the hotel, and this time it was a Starbucks in the lobby of the Westin Gateway in Arlington, to walk two blocks to get to a metro stop to take the tube to a station that was a block and a half from the murky coffee shop.
That’s choosing coffee quality over location. And cost.
Chris Tingom says:
Someone asked if anyone had selected “other” from the poll. Two people actually did: One said “Fresh Roast” and the other said “Babes.”
Even though it was unscientific, I think the results of the poll tell us something. Quality of drink is still the most important aspect, with overall vibe, friendliness, and cleanliness following right behind.