Riley McGree Socceroos Q&A

USA is a strange one, you have two leagues of coffee.

You have the volume, black sludge purveyors like Dunkin Donuts and even Starbucks, especially outside the big cities. However in SF, LA, NY, Chicago and Austin you get some great places, some of which are localised and others which have spread across the country for example Blue Bottle.
My visit to Chicago last year and I had the misfortune to go into a Branch of Peets Coffee. It was probably one of the worst coffees I have ever had. Could t take more than two sips. The place was packed. NZ in my experience do the best coffee.
 
I once bought one of those espresso things that you stick on the hob. While watching a video of how to use it on yourube I realised that I had become a coffee ******. I took it back immediately and had a cup of tea and all was right with the world again.
 
My visit to Chicago last year and I had the misfortune to go into a Branch of Peets Coffee. It was probably one of the worst coffees I have ever had. Could t take more than two sips. The place was packed. NZ in my experience do the best coffee.

Yeah Peets is dreadful, just the US version of Costa or whatever.

Philz is OK, although some of the brews are a little niche, and not to everyones tastes.
 
So in conclusion, if Gibbo would just put his hand in his pocket for a decent coffee machine at Rockcliffe and bring in a good barista, our issues with recruiting players from overseas would pretty much be sorted then? 🤔☕
Swap parmo for parmy and mido is still playing today!
 
Interview is strange. Can't decide if the 2 don't like each other, if McGree is a d*ck, or he just can't be arsed.
The interviewer seemed like a bit of a d*ck head.

Could tell that from the off, when he looked around saying it was noisy, like he expected everyone to be quiet (in a canteen) :LOL:
 
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I do like a coffee, but I'm not a connoisseur. I don't really understand how places can supposedly differ so much. The machines are pretty much the same right? And you can order the same beans they use in Melbourne or Milan or wherever.

So are they saying the baristas are crap (but again, really, how hard can it be?) Or what?

Genuinely don't get it, but happy to be enlightened!

To be fair, there's a hell of a lot to making decent coffee, and the machine is only 25% of it. You could put a £4,000 machine in the hands of most coffee drinkers and what they would get out of it would be an abomination. Just like what comes out when you pay a 17-year-old kid £5 an hour to do it, like we do here. I don't blame them either, I wouldn't give a toss in their shoes, and it's not a career which is exactly known for progression.

Equally though, you could give a £20 Aeropress to someone with half an idea and they would get good results for black coffee, probably more than someone with half an idea and a £4,000 machine (where a lot more can go wrong).

Just watch some James Hoffman videos on youtube, and you will see what I mean, and probably get bored very quickly. I went through a phase of trying to learn more, and I still got bored :LOL:

Just because someone brews and serves coffee, I wouldn't really call them a Barista, although some obviously are. Most of the good ones are probably hampered by where they work, the kit they use, procedures, type of beans, freshness etc.

Even the best "fresh" beans you get on supermarket shelves are mostly crap. If it doesn't have a roasting date on, then it is generally crap. There are plenty of places online to get freshly roasted beans, but they're expensive and most coffee shops probably don't use these due to cost.
 
To be fair, there's a hell of a lot to making decent coffee, and the machine is only 25% of it. You could put a £4,000 machine in the hands of most coffee drinkers and what they would get out of it would be an abomination. Just like what comes out when you pay a 17-year-old kid £5 an hour to do it, like we do here. I don't blame them either, I wouldn't give a toss in their shoes, and it's not a career which is exactly known for progression.

Equally though, you could give a £20 Aeropress to someone with half an idea and they would get good results for black coffee, probably more than someone with half an idea and a £4,000 machine (where a lot more can go wrong).

Just watch some James Hoffman videos on youtube, and you will see what I mean, and probably get bored very quickly. I went through a phase of trying to learn more, and I still got bored :LOL:

Just because someone brews and serves coffee, I wouldn't really call them a Barista, although some obviously are. Most of the good ones are probably hampered by where they work, the kit they use, procedures, type of beans, freshness etc.

Even the best "fresh" beans you get on supermarket shelves are mostly crap. If it doesn't have a roasting date on, then it is generally crap. There are plenty of places online to get freshly roasted beans, but they're expensive and most coffee shops probably don't use these due to cost.

Thanks, yeah assumed it would be barista that was mostly the issue because that made the most sense, but didn't really appreciate how much of a skill it was!
 
To be fair, there's a hell of a lot to making decent coffee, and the machine is only 25% of it. You could put a £4,000 machine in the hands of most coffee drinkers and what they would get out of it would be an abomination. Just like what comes out when you pay a 17-year-old kid £5 an hour to do it, like we do here. I don't blame them either, I wouldn't give a toss in their shoes, and it's not a career which is exactly known for progression.

Equally though, you could give a £20 Aeropress to someone with half an idea and they would get good results for black coffee, probably more than someone with half an idea and a £4,000 machine (where a lot more can go wrong).

Just watch some James Hoffman videos on youtube, and you will see what I mean, and probably get bored very quickly. I went through a phase of trying to learn more, and I still got bored :LOL:

Just because someone brews and serves coffee, I wouldn't really call them a Barista, although some obviously are. Most of the good ones are probably hampered by where they work, the kit they use, procedures, type of beans, freshness etc.

Even the best "fresh" beans you get on supermarket shelves are mostly crap. If it doesn't have a roasting date on, then it is generally crap. There are plenty of places online to get freshly roasted beans, but they're expensive and most coffee shops probably don't use these due to cost.
The art of making a proper cup of coffee is a minefield isnt it?

I 'invested' in a decent domestic machine last year and there's plenty to take into account, but like you say, freshly roasted beans makes a massive difference, not just in taste but even the temperature of the drink too!
 
The art of making a proper cup of coffee is a minefield isnt it?

I 'invested' in a decent domestic machine last year and there's plenty to take into account, but like you say, freshly roasted beans makes a massive difference, not just in taste but even the temperature of the drink too!
You are right like, when I make my Lidl instant I like the temperature just right or it’s down the bloody drain with it!
 
I'd like to see this incredible goal he apparently scored on Sunday. I wonder if it's any better than the one he scored on Saturday.
 
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