This is the second time I have been to this Illy location, and now I’m pissed off and angry (for you guys). The people there are completely clueless and are giving you a bad name. The first time I visited this location, the person (I won’t use the term Barrista) was on her phone the entire time and the place was filthy, and it was clear she had no idea what she was doing. The latte was not drinkable.
This time (this morning 10/5/2015), was just ridiculous, and again, undrinkable. This place has your Artisti Del Gusto designation. That is supposed to be the pinnacle of Illy quality. So…
When I walked up, there was a portafilter with a tamped puck sitting on the drip tray. I have no idea how long it was there, but that is what was used to make my latte. The shot seemed to pour about right, so the grind was o.k., but, the result did not taste right at all. After meeting Dan (your VP of Business Dev I think) at the NY Coffee Festival last week, I know what a shot of Illy is supposed to taste like.
Now we move on to the milk and drink construction. The lady just dunked the steam wand into the milk and fired up the steam, and just left it there until milk bubbled over the top of the pitcher. Now, as you might imagine, not only was the milk texture totally screwed, but it was scorched and so hot it could burn a customer. I don’t require latte art, but the lady just dumped the scorched milk into the cup like it was a soda or something. There was no care at all. This was just an airport worker that wanted me out of the line as soon as possible.
You guys need to send someone out here pronto to save this location.
Daniel