Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT strips 4061-4065 (5-9 August 2019)
Dandi Andi:
As someone who runs a coffee shop and has taken the requisite courses on food safety, this strip makes me cringe.
First of all, there are microbes that survive just fine in boiling water, but they aren't generally the ones you need to worry about causing infectious diseases. The ones that can live in those environments usually need to live in those environments. The ones we do need to worry about mostly die off at temperatures above 140of. A decent batch brewer will hold 195-205 brewing temperature for 4-6 minutes. Mr. Coffee won't do it, but something from Bunn or Fetco definitely will. Dora's customers probably won't get sick. Probably.
As Gyrre pointed out, many pathogens can create spores or capsules to protect part of the colony in the case of boiling water. This is usually not a problem in food service because the combination of high heat in the preparation process and the acid in our stomachs kill enough of the pathogens that our immune system can easily deal with the rest. But immune compromised people may not be so lucky. That's why washing and sanitizing are so important. Washing removes soils where pathogens hide and a chemical sanitizer (we use quaternary ammonium) kills 99.9% of surface microbes. That's enough to keep people safe when drinking my coffee. Sterilization (99.99% reduction of microbes you get from an autoclave) isn't generally necessary. I wouldn't trust equipment that clearly hasn't been cleaned, though, no matter how hot the brewer gets.
But the worst part for me is imagining what that batch drip must taste like. A lot of that brown muck is going to be oil and that oil is going to be rancid. That brew basket is going to give the coffee a world of bitter, unpleasant flavors. It doesn't matter what she's roasting, all people are going to taste is that basket. If she's not going to take her brewing seriously, she might as well save some money and throw some Folgers in there instead.
brasca:
Good points pecoros7. My experience with brewing coffee is from the perspective of a convenience store worker so it’s not all that sophisticated, but the problem is more about taste than cleanliness. That being said there are people who buy coffee beans that were crapped out of cats so Dora might be right. Some people will buy anything that sounds sophisticated.
DaiJB:
--- Quote from: shanejayell on 04 Aug 2019, 20:29 ---
--- Quote from: Castlerook on 04 Aug 2019, 19:45 --- He really needs to talk to someone.
--- End quote ---
Well, Pintsize likely knows he's back. I expect he'll drop in.
--- End quote ---
Knowing Pintsize, that could be quite literal...
Winslow: "Exactly how long have you been duct-taped to our ceiling?!?"
Wingy:
--- Quote from: dutchrvl on 09 Aug 2019, 05:49 ---Perhaps it's just the specific coffee taste and not any bitterness that you dislike?
--- End quote ---
I like the smell most of the time. It's the taste, which I perceive as bitter no matter how amended. Coffee flavored candies and tira misu (however that's spelled) I find vile. Just one of my particular foibles I suppose. My wife drinks coffee regularly, but I don't hold that against her until she has to buy it instead of make it at home (I object to the price paid compared to home brewed).
As far as vegetables go, I was raised eating many home-grown veggies raw. My parents tried to get us to eat cooked veggies, and that's when I discovered I can't stand the slimey-in-my-mouth feel, no matter what the taste (my mother has many strong points; cooking is not one of them). So I've gotten good at steaming and substituting and making two versions (with and without veggies) of many dishes, and I really don't mind. But when I go to a restaurant, I'm a fussy eater, for sure. So I'll eat things like zucchini (well, small amounts anyway) raw, but as soon as it starts to wilt in some dish, fuhg-ged-aboud-it! Like I said - just one of my foibles. Y'all can have my share, I'd really rather starve. Really. It saves tossing my cookies at the table, or seriously wanting to.
Beer is the same thing - I liked Bubbles description of IPAs. Between the bitter from the hops and the fact that I've too many alcoholics in my extended family, plus the fact that I apparently have the gene that allows one to metabolize alcohol at high speed so I don't ever "feel the buzz", well I just avoid alcohol. I'll have a glass of wine with a meal once in a great while, but that's more about toasting and being sociable than it is about enjoying the liquor. It's way cheaper to eat out without paying that tab too.
Tova:
--- Quote from: Wingy on 11 Aug 2019, 11:55 ---
--- Quote from: dutchrvl on 09 Aug 2019, 05:49 ---Perhaps it's just the specific coffee taste and not any bitterness that you dislike?
--- End quote ---
I like the smell most of the time. It's the taste, which I perceive as bitter no matter how amended. Coffee flavored candies and tira misu (however that's spelled) I find vile. Just one of my particular foibles I suppose. My wife drinks coffee regularly, but I don't hold that against her until she has to buy it instead of make it at home (I object to the price paid compared to home brewed).
--- End quote ---
I was just the same a few years back. This might sound odd, but I decided one day to acquire a taste for coffee. Started with mochas, drank them for a while (couldn't stand them at first). Then as they became tolerable, moved to lattes with sugar, then long blacks with sugar, then without, then finally espresso.
An interesting side effect was that there are a few things I used to hate which I now like, including gin and olives.
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