False Promotion - Sydney's best coffee?

admin

Hi guys - was in the MetCentre [a shopping centre & foodcourt] in central Sydney today and came by a place called Primavera Espresso Bar.

It had a sign saying 'Voted Sydney's [crossed out] - no, Australia's Best Coffee!' Having an interest in this sort of thing, I went by and when the owner/barista was free, asked him who voted it Sydney's [no, Australia's] best coffee?

His answer was, 'we did'; on reflection [& when he could see it didn't sound very impressive] he then said, a'ctually it was a poster supplied by our espresso company'. Don't know much about Primavera, but it seems like they may roast their own?

Either way, hope their product has more integrity than their self-promotion!

-A

tommy

that sort of promo is so standard though, like "Worlds best kebab". im not sure that many people take much notice of them unless they have some sort of reliable source, such as "voted by the 4am drunk crowd". did you try their coffee? if so how was it

admin

Hi Tommy - no i didn't, but that's not really the point - it was the fact that they used the word 'voted'. I guess I'm a bit of a stickler for these things, because when we do a survey we find out peoples' opinions and do careful research ourselves, so when anyone uses the word voted, I expect to see some sort of independent back-up of the claim. Maybe I should get Sydney forum members to do a bit of research on the place [ie try a coffee there] and we could do one of those poll things here, based on their results! -A

DDP

I think I know the guys you are talking about. If it is the same one, this would one of two or three stores they own, and their supplier would be one of the larger commercial suppliers. Bold statements such as "Australia's best coffee" would be as a result of the coffee supplier (I would suggest), though not discouraged by the owner. I don't wish to make this a slanderish post, but I would suggest to any cafe that advertise's their product to be Sydney's best, or Australia's best, or even the World's best, to let such a statement come from someone else's mouth as result of great product and service, at least there is no argument in the consumer's eyes as to whether you really deserve such acknowledgment. The best testimonial one can give is that of someone else, and not of their own. They're just my thoughts.

fattylateplease

True. The thing is, everyone has a differen't idea about what makes a coffee the best. In the end it is down to taste, strength and so on. I have had award-winning coffee, ok, award winning roast as the coffee was crap and then sampled the coffee brand at another store. The results and taste couldn't be far more differen't. From where I come from, every cafe has the sign best coffee in town. Obviously they don't get out much, drink their own coffee or know much about coffee and their statement is quite laughable. but oddly enough, they stick to their guns and believe it. For me, I would be more impressed if the barista preparing the coffee had an industry award next to his/her coffee machine. I would by and try then.

admin

actually, since starting this thread, have noticed a couple of comments to similar effect from the 'rate your cafe' section on our website: 1 [re: Vivo cafe in Sydney] My initial surprise from tasting possibly the worst take away coffee in Sydney was surpassed only by the surprise it had been provided to me allegedly by the "Winner of Best Cafe in Sydney", a fact which could not slip my attention as it had been plastered humbly in large letters on the wall behind the counter and on the t-shirt of every member of staff. 2.[Boudene's] Yet another cafe claiming to have the best coffee on the Coffs Coast. Ordered a macciato which was served in a regular cup about 2 thirds full. Typical watery taste with horrible bitter taste and pale cream crema. Am starting to wonder if the fact that a cafe is advertising the best coffee [wherever]... is a sure sign to stay away! -A :o

tommy

i guess thats not such a bad rule - anywhere that is serving top coffee probably wont need to blow their own trumpet with a line of t-shirts to that effect...

jim

Our local Kebab shop had a sign: "Probably the Best Kebab" Who can argue with that!