Starbucks, Cold n Brew, & Point Coffee

The commonality of those three in my title is basically that they are chain coffee. However, among all the other chains those three are something superior. Starbucks is up to for a debate because while in another country they might not be as great as over here, I am going to have to give them credits for inspiring local coffee shops and chains to innovate and improve their service. A lot of things that lack from local coffee chain is service and hospitality while Starbucks know how to squeeze money out of your pocket. They certainly sell class and experience rather than the coffee itself. But this isn’t about it, this is about my recent experience back in yogyakarta when I was over indulging caffeine.

Since at my current place they don’t have Starbucks and Cold n Brew, I miss those two the most. Cold n Brew is a local chain that has great morning caffeine kick. Honestly, their coffee is really that good and it isn’t sweet. They are not too sugary and their coffee is always just right and the consistency definitely present. However, the only thing lacking from the place is certainly the service. So, it’s why I always opt for their online service or buy them from grab so I don’t have to deal with bullshit. Their cup isn’t always full either which is quite a pity because their coffee is really that good. Priced over almost $3 for their lattes, it was the best morning pick me up that I had in Yogyakarta.

With Starbucks though, somehow it is a ritual to me. It’s a place I couldn’t miss visiting when I am there. The location of this starbucks is at Malioboro street, the iconic and famous street in Yogyakarta. I have so much memory in the place and I used to know all the baristas because I was a frequent and I spent literally from morning until night being in the building. The spot is really nice for people seeing because not only indonesians are there but international tourists are around and I always love hearing english once in a while. It’s nice to listen something of rarity but feels familiar. The coffee that I order certainly changes but I am definitely in love with their croissants, not for its taste but because the memory attached to it. Somehow it also used to be my morning breakfast at one point and the only thing I would eat.

And Point coffee is something cheap but consistent and good. I talked about this coffee a lot and it’s almost my daily caffeine source these days. The price is pretty competitive and the consistency is unmatched, at least where I am from. It is a lot different from other places where sometimes it’s not really consistent and I hate how it would taste. Sometimes, I haven’t had a coffee and I always hate it when I get awfully made one. Thankfully point coffee aren’t like that. They are consistent and hands down, sometimes taste even better than Starbucks especially when compared to their other similar menu.

While I know that taste is pretty much subjective but a lot of people also note that point coffee has similar consistency like starbucks. Strangely, whenever I visit the convenience store, it’s not as packed as other cafe. I am not sure why but I wonder if people think it’s of low quality while in reality it’s not. Despite the location their coffee is actually really good but after talking to a few people, especially in Indonesian market, the consumers enjoy drinking instant coffee and since it’s also available on the fridge and cheaper at the convenience store, they opt that rather than buy it from point coffee which are slightly more expensive because they are also using more premium beans.

This year, I decided to try something new which is properly documenting every cafe I visited and making a folder out of them. In the past, I never do this and sometimes I forgot about all the cafe I visited. Since I am also posting my coffee and cafe reviews here, to avoid double posting, it helps so much keeping track of them. I plan on making folders and categorizing them either cafe or recipe and also by locations. There are many cafe throughout the country that I visited but this is the closest I can get to being organized about it. Hopefully, this year I could travel to more coffee places and taste different coffees like I used to again.

Anyhow,see you in my next coffee adventure!