Dear Weinoo, Perhaps we can offer something here... that being JP and myself, the owners of La Colombe. First, we are very sorry to hear that you had a bad coffee experience. I was indeed shocked to hear about the quality of your espresso, particularly when I am familiar with everyone behind the bar and take great personal interest in his or her training. Also, I can't help but notice that your comments imply that we some how do not care, but I assure you, simply judging from our devotion and the twists in my stomach from your comments, this cannot be further from the truth. Some facts: Barristas: A La Colombe barrister is a highly trained professional not paid $6 per hour. A full time barrista earns $40,000 per year, not including 401K and health benefits. In addition, as for your comment concerning tattoos and piercing, no La Colombe barrista has a visible tattoo or a piercing. This left me confused. Training: I expect every drink that passes over our bar to be perfect, and I train the barristas with this in mind. Our program is extensive, is not a quickie video, but days and weeks spent with me in theory, practice and performance. No other coffee company goes as far we do. Let me say here also, that our newest rookie has been with us three years, with the majority have 7 years plus experience behind our bar. Grinding: We recommend whole bean coffee, and are not in the practice of "random grinding". I am left thinking that a bag mix up occurred, and there is a client out there wondering why we did not grind his/her coffee. Please forward me your address and I will gladly make this up to you, plus some.
