Good espresso at Sheetz?
Posted by Tom Moertel Fri, 18 May 2007 05:21:00 GMT
A strange thing happened to me over the weekend. While traveling, I stopped at a Sheetz gas station / convenience store in Meadville, Pennsylvania. This store, I noticed, was serving espresso. Curious, I ordered a double, my usual test-out-the-new-place order.
When I received my double, I was prepared for the worst. I had learned the hard way that few coffee houses in the United States can make a decent espresso. And this Sheetz was not a coffee house. My grim expectation was only reinforced by what I had in my hand – a paper coffee cup, feeling ominously heavy. Based on the weight, I knew the espresso was going to be over-extracted – watery and probably sour, too.
After I paid and left the store with my Big Cup Of Espresso, I paused in the sunlight for a closer look. Something wasn’t right. The cup was one-third full, but the crema actually looked pretty good, unlike what I would have associated with insanely over-extracted espresso. When I took a taste, I was surprised again: the espresso was pretty good. While not what I would call a great shot, it was perfectly drinkable and better than what I expect from Starbucks.
It was then that I realized that something unusual was going on at Sheetz. If the espresso I was drinking didn’t look over-extracted, and if it didn’t taste over-extracted, and yet it did fill one third of a 12-oz. coffee cup, it couldn’t have been a double. It must have been a quad.
My curiosity piqued, I decided to call Sheetz and ask what was really in my cup. I ended up talking with John, their coffee specialist, and he (besides being a nice guy) confirmed that, at Sheetz, a single serving of espresso is about 2 ounces in volume and is made from 14 grams of coffee. My double serving, then, was made from two 14-gram pulls, for 28 grams of coffee in total. So I had, indeed, been drinking what at most coffee houses would have been four shots.
Mystery solved.
Based on my conversation with John, I expect that espresso at Sheetz is likely to be fairly consistent. I hope, then, that the sample I tried at the Meadville store is a good predictor of what I can get at other Sheetz locations. If so, I may have found a solution to the problem of finding decent espresso when on the road.
Have you tried straight espresso at Sheetz? If so, what did you think?
Update 2007-05-22: On Saturday, 19 May, I tried another sampling of Sheetz’s espresso, this time at the Grove City, Pennsylvania store. I ordered a “single” serving, equivalent to a double at most coffee houses. The preparer, to my disappointment, pulled the shot into a 12-oz. coffee cup and then, to my dismay, poured the shot from the 12-oz. cup into a 2-oz. cup, leaving much of the crema behind and resulting in a drink that looked damaged. The taste was damaged, too – slightly watery with a mild sour note.
Thus my second trial of Sheetz’s espresso was disappointing. I can only hope that my preparer’s two-cup technique was her own, unique variation on the standard practice at Sheetz. In any case, if you order a single at Sheetz, play it safe: ask that your shot be pulled directly into a 2-oz. cup.
readers
Not a particularly helpful comment, but I just found it interesting that coffee in the United States is measured in grams.
Hey Tom… Thanks for taking the plunge. I’ve been driving by my local sheetz, seeing the sign for espresso. I just couldn’t bring myself to try it. Maybe feeling more embarassed about being seen buying it at sheetz than being worried about getting bad coffee. :-)
I guess I’ll give it a try.
Bill, please let me know what you think of the espresso you get at your local Sheetz. So far (see the update to the main article), Sheetz is 1 for 2 for me. Was the bad shot I received the rule or the exception? Only more data will tell.
The one thing I miss about other areas of Pennslyvania (Center City Philadelphia has no Sheetz) is the food at Sheetz. It’s by far the best Gas Station Food EVER. Not being a coffee drinker, I can’t give an opinion on their coffee, but everything else—splendid.
I’ve tried the espresso at Sheetz and it’s great! I just wish they would give you back the ability to make a special request on their computer menus. Many of their menu choices have changed for the worse too.
I stumbled across this while looking up something else about Sheetz and was surprised to see this. I work at the Meadville Sheetz you see (on top of the hill). I agree with you that our expresso is good and you get your money’s worth. I would also like to say that no, they are not supposed to pour it from a bigger glass to a small shot for a single. I’m personally pleased that you liked our expresso at first and even though it wasn’t at our store that that happened to you, I apologize for the team. We are here to provide quality products. We hope to see you soon!
Sheetz does have some great coffee…if you are interested, they just began a contest where you can win $5k. All you have to do is make a video of yourself performing a poem about Sheetz coffeehouse coffee. It’s a fun and simple way to possibly cut down on your gas expenses. Check it out at www.Sheetzpoet.com