Did you know that if you order your espresso drink at Peet’s Coffee with less shots than the default amount, they reduce the price? How cool is that! Tonight I went to Peet’s Coffee in Irvine by UCI after going to my Writer’s Group and I ordered a single shot medium latte with whole milk. But what I noticed was that when I ordered the medium latte the cash register said one price, (think it was $3.65). But then the barista inputted some command into the computer and the screen said something like, “Single Shot” or something and then the price was reduced to $3.10!!! It was so cool. I have noticed them doing this before, but tonight I decided to share this tidbit of information with the rest of you out there!
One reason why I get the latte with only one shot is because the coffee at Peet’s tastes great and is pretty strong. So I don’t need a lot of shots in order to get the excellent coffee flavor. The milk is almost always prepared at Peet’s with the utmost care and skill. They consistently make their foam fresher and silkier and tastier than they do at Starbuck’s. I think this is primarily because they use cleaner milk steaming containers and are more mindful when they steam the milk. You see, at Starbuck’s, the baristas often use the same metal container for steaming milk. And some of the baristas that are in a hurry mix already steamed milk with fresh milk and re-steam in order to save time. The problem is, whenever someone does this, the milk doesn’t steam properly and the bubbles don’t form right in the foam. You want small, almost invisible bubbles in your foam. That makes sweet foam. It tastes especially good with whole milk and breve, but you can make good foam with 2% milk also. Now, not all baristas at Starbucks do this bad shortcuts to making foam. The baristas at my local Starbucks do a great job, but I have had bad foam on countless occasions from other Starbucks. While the baristas at Peet’s Coffee almost always make amazing foam.
At Starbucks, it doesn’t matter if you get less than the regular amount of shots in your drink. You will still have to pay the “full amount of shots in your drink” price. I really like that Peet’s Coffee charges you less if you get let’s espresso shots in your drink. It rewards you for customization and for people that are watching their caffeine intake it is nice. So next time you order a medium or larger sized latte at Peet’s and you want it cheaper than the regular price, tell the barista that you want a single shot medium latte and keep an eye on the display on the register. If the barista knows what he/she is doing he will probably reduce the price for your benefit.
I hope this little tip is helpful to you and your caffeine ingesting ways. Maybe it will help your wallet if you get coffee often. Also weaning yourself of shots in your drink is a great way to lessen your caffeine intake if you are trying to cut back. Especially since the espresso at Peet’s is full flavored and you don’t need that many shots to have a satisfying latte.
-Tyler
