Coffee Talk

[naturelovergirl]

How is the coffee on board Celebrity?

Honest responses are welcome since we are coffee connoisseurs  (snobs... hahaha)

 

Regular coffee in MDR, room service, etc... (I typically drink black coffee... a purist...)

AND

Specialty coffees at the cafe as well

 

Thanks! 🙂

[Jeremiah1212]

The drip coffee is not bad. Sometimes the drip they serve in the dining rooms seems better than what they have in the buffet and the self-serve spots around the ship. The coffee bar (Cafe al Bacio) only does espresso drinks so no drip available there. I find what they serve better than your typical Starbucks but if you're a true coffee snob, you may consider it okay to good at best.

[naturelovergirl]

1 minute ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

...but if you're a true coffee snob, you may consider it okay to good at best.

Hehehehe! We give ourselves a hard time because we love coffee so much... thanks!! 🙂

[kathynorth]

I’m very picky with my coffee. I found the buffet and room service coffee to be poor, but I’ve had worse on other cruise lines. I’d rate the coffee in the MDR as fair. However, I really enjoyed a range of beverages from al Bacio. The Americano is closest to a traditional cup of US coffee. 

[cruiserchuck]

The drip coffee is not bad.  It used to be terrible, but they switched to Lavazza coffee a number of years ago.   I really like the espresso at Cafe al Bacio. 

[TeaBag]

7 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

The drip coffee is not bad.  It used to be terrible, but they switched to Lavazza coffee a number of years ago.   I really like the espresso at Cafe al Bacio. 

cruiserchuck just beat me to it.  They use Lavazza.  We love the Cappuccino in Cafe al Baccio.  We drink our regular coffee black too.  I don't know what I'd do if I had to give up coffee.

Edited February 23, 2021 by TeaBag

[markeb]

What's your coffee snob definition? Are we talking roast and grind your own and only do pour over for an individual cup at precisely 205 degrees F? (That's not me, BTW!) Italian made manual pull handle espresso with separate grinder and tamper? (Also not me, although I'd bizarrely love one!)

 

Coffee snob is kind of  like whisky snob and wine snob. There are gradations...

 

Coffee on board is not going to be any of those (Well, the espresso drinks are actually pretty good; those do look like an Italian made high pressure unit. Certainly much better than SBUX...) I usually only have brewed coffee with breakfast, and at that point in the day, I'm probably not noticing nuances of the coffee. But it fits into the OK territory. A double espresso at al Bacio is going to be pretty decent...

Edited February 23, 2021 by markeb

[lyndarra]

Yes, the espresso is good in Baccio. I like a good coffee but it is rare to find good coffee on any ship (that I've been on).

If you like milk in your coffee forget it. The long life milk used on ships makes coffee taste terrible.

The best coffee I've had on a cruise was on an MSC cruise.

BTW when Princess, or was it Carnival I forget which, decided to base ships in Sydney the company did a survey of Aussie cruisers and the most complained about thing was the poor standard of coffee. Princess or was it Carnival put their baristas through barista training in Sydney. Australians tend to be coffee snobs but not OTT.

Edited February 23, 2021 by lyndarra
spelling

[markeb]

17 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Australians tend to be coffee snobs but not OTT.

 

Oh, come now. One of the things I love about Australians is how OTT they can be about things they find important! See steak; hotpots, actual beer (not to be confused with the brand you can buy in the US...), wine...  😀

[jelayne]

The brand of  coffee on the ships is Lavazza.

[naturelovergirl]

Great news about the Lavazza!

Thanks all!!!! 

 

@markebHahaha!!! Yes, there are levels of coffee lovers (snobs)

I do grind my own and buy nice coffee beans for home- but I do not roast my own. So I’m not completely a mad scientist with my coffee. 

I guess the best way to show my love of coffee would be that if I had to pick my “last meal” on earth, it would be real French coffee, full, dark, and rich, from Paris and a fresh baguette slathered in French butter.

I never expect that level of nirvana on a cruise... but that is my ideal! Ha!

 

[lyndarra]

37 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Oh, come now. One of the things I love about Australians is how OTT they can be about things they find important! See steak; hotpots, actual beer (not to be confused with the brand you can buy in the US...), wine...  😀

Well,  maybe a little.🙄

[markeb]

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

Well,  maybe a little.🙄

 

Once the world is able to travel again, and United figures out their 777s, I so want to go back to Australia. My wife's been, before we were married, and I made it twice for work. Only Sydney and Melbourne, but those will definitely peak your interest!

[markeb]

1 hour ago, naturelovergirl said:

I guess the best way to show my love of coffee would be that if I had to pick my “last meal” on earth, it would be real French coffee, full, dark, and rich, from Paris and a fresh baguette slathered in French butter.

 

 

I guess mine would be a Michelin 3-Star French seafood restaurant in New York, with French, Austrian, and American wine as appropriate, French breads made by a French chef, and French coffee. And probably Portuguese Port. But the coffee would definitely be there!

 

I believe I started drinking coffee (cream and sugar at the time; that went away) at 8...

[Denny01]

Funny how our tastes change and coffee is one of the perfect examples:

 - Young: I poured more ‘stuff’ (milk, chocolate,) than coffee in the cup.

  - Navy: black and the spoon would stand up in it.....and it wasn’t tasty At All, just thick and strong and kept you awake. 

  - first Europe port of call (Barcelona) - stopped at a little coffee shack and got coffee in this little coffee cup.....and was introduced to espresso....I didn’t blink for a while!!!

  - Immediately bought espresso machine and was a very popular guy onboard my ships. 

 - Retired: got very lazy and now do dark espresso  k-cups (SF Bay cups that aren’t plastic and go to compost) and yes, I know its not really espresso. 

 

Den

[onlyslightlymad]

4 hours ago, naturelovergirl said:

How is the coffee on board Celebrity?

Honest responses are welcome since we are coffee connoisseurs  (snobs... hahaha)

 

Regular coffee in MDR, room service, etc... (I typically drink black coffee... a purist...)

AND

Specialty coffees at the cafe as well

 

Thanks! 🙂

It's such a hard one because what is regarded as good coffee can differ from country to country.  I have only been on Solstice once and Millennium 3 times.  Coffee on both absolutely dreadful but then being from NZ I like flat whites and piccolos and the baristas have had no idea about either.  Maybe your tastes are different and it will suit you just fine.  One of the things I enjoyed about doing an NZ/Aus cruise was being able to get off at every port and grab a good coffee.  In face when we spent a second day in Akaroa that was the only reason I took the tender onto shore,  My husband refused to come with me.  I don't think he wanted to support my addiction.  

Edited February 23, 2021 by onlyslightlymad
spelling mistake

[leck57]

I was surprised a poster above mentioned Starbucks when discussing decent coffee. Terrible.

[JeanieC,Aston]

1 hour ago, leck57 said:

I was surprised a poster above mentioned Starbucks when discussing decent coffee. Terrible.

Hi.

I thought the same thing myself,,horrid stuff.

My favourite on Celebrity is a Double Espresso Macchiato in Cafe el Bachio.

 

Ps,,In Europe the city of Naples claims the best cup of coffee and I must admit it is one of my favourites,it’s said it’s because the water is filtered through lava..,a Cafe Cortado anywhere in Spain comes 2nd.

[markeb]

2 hours ago, leck57 said:

I was surprised a poster above mentioned Starbucks when discussing decent coffee. Terrible.

 

1 hour ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi.

I thought the same thing myself,,horrid stuff.

My favourite on Celebrity is a Double Espresso Macchiato in Cafe el Bachio.

 

Ps,,In Europe the city of Naples claims the best cup of coffee and I must admit it is one of my favourites,it’s said it’s because the water is filtered through lava..,a Cafe Cortado anywhere in Spain comes 2nd.

I think that was me. It was that the espresso drinks on board are better. Like it or no, they’re the common frame of reference in the US, and independent coffee shops are rare, and spotty outside urban areas here. Or the Pacific Northwest where independent drive up espresso seems to be everywhere. 
 

Italians pretty much take credit for coffee. And pizza. But I don’t live in Naples, so sometimes you make do. 

[barbette165]

1 minute ago, markeb said:

 

Italians pretty much take credit for coffee. And pizza. But I don’t live in Naples, so sometimes you make do. 

I've often wondered, if the Italians claim to have the best coffee and best pizza, how come they don't have any branches of Starbucks or Pizza Hut? 😀

[DrKoob]

We may not be as big a coffee snob as the OP but we do love our coffee. In our opinion, worst is in the buffet or from room service. Maybe the worst coffee I have ever had. If we are eating breakfast in the buffet, we have juice and immediately go to Cafe Al Bacio where it is pretty good. At least as good as our local coffee places here in Seattle. 

We have found the coffee in the MDR to be better but it often gets to us at a less than optimum temperature. The best brewed coffee we have had on a Celebrity ship is in Blu. It is one of the reasons we often book Aqua just because of the outstanding breakfasts in Blu and coffee is a good part of that. 

 

And for those of you dissing Starbucks, you have probably never been to one of their Roastery locations (there are only a handful worldwide) and tasted coffee from one of their Clover machines. Best brewed coffee ever.

 

[markeb]

15 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

I've often wondered, if the Italians claim to have the best coffee and best pizza, how come they don't have any branches of Starbucks or Pizza Hut? 😀

Perhaps the same reason I’ve never seen a Long John Silvers serving fish and chips in the UK! 😀

[hawkesbaynz]

I turned into a coffee snob when I lived in New Zealand. Returned to the UK 15 years ago to find the coffee shocking so purchased grinders/expresso machines etc. Purchased next day delivery roasted coffee etc. My tastes have since tempered and use a plunger and even coffee bags at work. Have not used instant for over 15 years.

 

When i fly back to visit NZ I still slather at the thought of the coffee and pies on the plane!

 

The coffee on Celebrity is good in Aqua and Al Bacio but i will drink tea in the Buffet. Being English Tea is always a fall back for when the coffee promise is poor. However irish water in tea.... that is a league of it's own.

 

My idea of coffee heaven is a double macchiato in Italy. Unfortunately the Italians will refuse to sell you a double one so buy two! Am still praying for that trip to Italy in September to board Reflection..... 

 

[ExArkie]

We found the coffee in Luminae to be reasonable (only two trips on celebrity, both booked with a great deal on a suite). Never tried the buffet coffee, but would not expect much from it. Cafe al Bacio is the best on board, actually better than "specialty coffee" I've had on other cruise lines

 

Not that I object to the coffee quality in any of the other cities mentioned (memories of my first trip to Paris definitely include incredible coffee at breakfast, and is "flat white" an actual religion in New Zealand?), but I have to put in a plug for Vienna. The Austrian coffee houses (Cafe Central is my favorite) not only serve great coffee today but, at the beginning of the 20th century, also served as the incubator for ideas that changed the world.

[markeb]

33 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

And for those of you dissing Starbucks, you have probably never been to one of their Roastery locations (there are only a handful worldwide) and tasted coffee from one of their Clover machines. Best brewed coffee ever.

 

 

The Clover coffee is pretty amazing. But I was just looking online and I guess they've pulled most of them from their stores? In favor, for the most part, for the Nitro Cold Brew systems that they've done a similarly horrible job of promoting?

 

We have a small chain operation (a few locations in the DC metro area, Chicago, and California) called Philz Coffee. They're a 100% single cup pour over place, with 20 or so coffee blends. You pick, they make, one at a time. One location is on the way from our alternate parking area at Nationals Park. Absolutely amazing coffee!