Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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It seems like occasionally when I order a cold brew, what I get is iced coffee. My neighborhood Starbucks is frequently out of cold brew, do they ever just use coffee instead? I react to heat-brewed coffee in a way that I don’t to cold-brewed, and there’s times it doesn’t taste right &/or I react. (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by missjulie622
[removed]
Spare_Cauliflower917 14 points 11m ago
I guess it depends how the store preps it. I have never ran out of cold brew completely and had to fill it with iced coffee, there’s times it stops working for an odd reason but we would then offer an iced americano or an iced coffee. It is more common for us to run out or iced coffee and offer an iced americano or cold brew.
missjulie622 [OP] 4 points 11m ago
That makes sense, I always mobile order ahead, so maybe that’s the case & why it wasn’t marked ‘Sold out at this store’ on the app. A few times they were sold out right afterwards when I checked the app, and once I overheard a barista tell a counter customer they were out of cold brew, as I walked out with mine, which i’d noticed was oddly warm. I wouldn’t mind, except cold brew is more $$, and I react unpleasantly to heat-brewed. Maybe I’ll order in-store from now on!
imhereforthegossip89 1 points 11m ago
Iced coffee would not have been warm either because it is mixed with ice right after being brewed. Cold brew coffee will be warm if kept at room temp rather than in the fridge. I know some stores do that to save time. So it’s down to the flavour, not the temp.
You may be confusing between hot brew and cold brew. Hot brew means that the coffee was brewed in hot water. But in the case of ice coffee, a big batch is made and is then immediately cool with ice. Cold brew coffee means that cold water is added to the beans and then the brew sits at room temperature for 22 hours. So it’s not iced from the beginning either.
You may be confusing between hot brew and cold brew. Hot brew means that the coffee was brewed in hot water. But in the case of ice coffee, a big batch is made and is then immediately cool with ice. Cold brew coffee means that cold water is added to the beans and then the brew sits at room temperature for 22 hours. So it’s not iced from the beginning either.
jams1015 -1 points 11m ago
What do you mean that it stops working? I've noticed others saying this before, too, and I don't understand. I've been at SB 4 years and our store's Nitro/Cold Brew system has never gone down a single time of which I'm aware, but I read about it from other partners in the subreddit from time to time and am curious! What happens?
OP, at our store, we wouldn't give you iced coffee instead of Cold Brew, they are equally easy to make and there's no reason to do it? Our drive thru side has a Curtis of cut Cold Brew, though, and it's next to an iced coffee Curtis, so if the Curtises get filled with the incorrect contents, then it theoretically could happen, but it'd 100% be unintentional.
OP, at our store, we wouldn't give you iced coffee instead of Cold Brew, they are equally easy to make and there's no reason to do it? Our drive thru side has a Curtis of cut Cold Brew, though, and it's next to an iced coffee Curtis, so if the Curtises get filled with the incorrect contents, then it theoretically could happen, but it'd 100% be unintentional.
Spare_Cauliflower917 4 points 11m ago
We have Nitro/Coldbrew too. Most commonly it “stops working” when switching over the kegs. Probably just switching them over wrong (ex; not pressed in) and then pressing the button. It’s always an easy fix but not one every barista on the floor or ssv will know how to deal with in the moment. Since we’re a busy drivethru store, sometimes before the problems solved, it would be faster for the alternatives to cold brew, which is the only time we’d offer.
jams1015 1 points 11m ago
Would you guys be allowed to set up a spare Curtis with cold brew? We're a busy drive thru, too (100k+) and this has been such a godsend, seriously. We set up a Curtis of cold brew right behind our drive bar, so our drive bar can help reduce flow to cold bar when a cold brew is called during peak. I would imagine for times when the system is down, it would possibly help? i mean, not the nitros, but for regular cold brews?
Broad-Flounder-4971 2 points 11m ago
We’ve had issues with a hose on the tap, but we also couldn’t turn off cold brew for the app recently. We offer iced coffee with a shot for people who want cold brew, but never without telling them.
dazedandconfusedhere 2 points 11m ago
Our nitro machine has been broken for two weeks - apparently they needed to order a part
Also if you don’t stay on top of the daily cleanings it can lock you out of the system (even if you’re doing it but not marking it done on the machine) and if it locks you out during a rush you might not have time to troubleshoot right away
Also if you don’t stay on top of the daily cleanings it can lock you out of the system (even if you’re doing it but not marking it done on the machine) and if it locks you out during a rush you might not have time to troubleshoot right away
jams1015 1 points 11m ago
I've heard of it locking people out before! Haven't seen it personally, but I've heard of this!
aspiringgrandpa 1 points 11m ago
our nitro had been down going on 7 months 😭
floofxs2 5 points 11m ago
Iced coffee rarely got used at either store I worked at. I’d just ask the store directly and tell them iced coffee isn’t a good substitute for you. If you’re a regular they’re likely to remember and tell other baristas. If we were out I would ask before replacing.
megs1288 4 points 11m ago
If they run out of cold brew they should let you know, not just put ice coffee in.. it’s not the same thing. Please don’t feel like you cannot ask them about it. You’re paying for cold brew.
dazedandconfusedhere 4 points 11m ago
Cold brew takes 20hours to be made, so if it didn’t get made the day before or cold brew has been unexpectedly popular, it’s possible to run out and not have more until the next day (or for a couple hours until yesterdays batch is ready)
Ideally, you wouldn’t be able to mobile order it if that’s the case, and in store we would let you know that we’re out and offer an iced americano or iced coffee instead. For a mobile order I would wait until they get there to ask, but some baristas might just do the iced coffee if it’s busier to reduce your wait time
Ideally, you wouldn’t be able to mobile order it if that’s the case, and in store we would let you know that we’re out and offer an iced americano or iced coffee instead. For a mobile order I would wait until they get there to ask, but some baristas might just do the iced coffee if it’s busier to reduce your wait time
aee78 1 points 11m ago
The few occasions we've run out of cold brew and didn't catch before someone mobile orders there's an empty cup sitting in the hand off plane. We wait to see if you want ice coffee, an Americano, or a refund.
Intelligent-Hunt-906 0 points 11m ago
They can!
kennsnaps 0 points 11m ago
When this happens we always ask if they'd rather an iced coffee or iced Americano, we never just assume. It's possible they may be doing that & there's nothing wrong with asking them about it. They probably don't realize there's such a big difference!
kingfreaks 0 points 11m ago
Yes that’s what’s happened. I’ve worked at a lot of different locations and I’ve seen partners use Iced coffee instead of cold brew because they didn’t realize we were out. If they run out of cold brew frequently then this is almost definitely the case and the workers there don’t care enough to let you know.
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