wissel.net

Usability - Productivity - Business - The web - Singapore & Twins

The Latte test


I have to admit that I'm a Cafe Latte addict.

Here in Singapore the big contenders are there: Starbucks, Spinelli, CoffeeBean, Coffeeclub and some smaller ones. The latest entry in the race is McCafe, McDonalds' take on Starbucks. McCafe is well styled, however you can see, that the staff is new and needs to practice. I wonder if McCafe is already active in the US?
Coffeclub has the best deal on WiFi (20SGD flat for Pacific Internet subscribers, 25SGD for the rest), but Starbucks has the most friendly staff (you actually can flirt with them and that is something remarkable in this part of the world!), the best locations (between my office, the MRT and my gym) AND the best Latte in town. The only drawback are prices. A local coffeeshop charges 0.80SGD for a coffee mug, the Latte goes at 5.25SGD. (The joke goes: Starbucks Latte goes at 0.75SGD, but you must buy a mandatory 4.50SGD Starbucks experience). Internet, provided by Singtel, is 0.30SGD/min with no cap and that's a show stopper for always on.
How much is a Grande Latte and Internet elsewhere?

Posted by on 10 March 2004 | Comments (1) | categories: After hours

Comments

  1. posted by Joe Litton on Monday 15 March 2004 AD:
    Well, I am definitely a coffee addict. When I do go to Starbucks, it is about US$3 for a grande latte. I believe I paid US$40 for an unlimited month of WiFi (via TMobile).

    But I prefer to buy green coffee beans, roast them using our Zach and Dani roaster ( http://www.breworganic.com/Coffee/Coffee_roasters.htm ), grind the beans with our Rancillio Rocky grinder ( http://www.1st-line.com/machines/home_mod/rancilio/rocky.htm ), and then brew some espresso with our Livia 90 ( http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.pasquini.shtml ). We probably have about US$1500 invested in our equipment, but we actually *save* money compared to what we used to spend. And the coffee is much better. But we are, of course, no longer getting the Starbucks experience
    Emoticon smile.gif