Have you heard of Muzz Buzz? It’s a drive-through coffee outlet that’s been operating in Western Australia - and now, it’s arrived in Melbourne. This is their outlet at DFO Cheltenham:
Muzz Buzz has a large variety of menu items, from iced drinks to flavoured coffee to food, ice-creams and energy drinks. Their coffee flavourings are at no extra cost, which is unusual.
I’m not a huge fan of drive-through coffee outlets, but I thought I’d give it a go. Here’s what their coffee looks like - note the straw. Who drinks coffee through a straw?
Unfortunately the coffee was close to lukewarm and a little weak (I ordered strong). My girlfriend Marjorie ordered a flavoured coffee, which was definitely nicer.
They got at least one satisfied customer that day:
Recommended for: Drivers who like the convenience of drinking coffee through a straw. Flavoured coffee lovers.
Not recommended for: People who like coffee that tastes like coffee.
——
Later the same day, I got to try Nespresso.
Nespresso is a novel attempt by Nescafe to market themselves as the high end of the coffee market, although perhaps not high enough for coffee snobs. Basically, the system consists of a very easy to use coffee machine that uses Nespresso coffee pods - and nothing else. There are, I think, a dozen varieties of the pods available. Others have criticised the system for using stale coffee in the pods, plus the proprietary nature of the pods will be a concern for some. What concerns me, as always, is how the coffee tastes.
At their kiosk in Myer, I had a chance to find out. After enduring their marketing spiel, I had a latte using a ‘Ristretto’ pod (the strongest pod available). So how did it taste? Not bad at all really. The latte was creamy, with little bitterness I thought. The flavour was a bit lacking compared to a good cafe, but still beats a lot of mediocre cafes and about 90% of home setups.
Recommended for: A take-away or similar business looking to sell quick and easy espresso on the side, without serving watery weak swill. Or, someone wanting a semi-sophisticated setup at home, without spending four figures.
Not recommended for: Coffee snobs. Get a better machine, and fresher beans.
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July 29, 2008 at 12:18 am
Joe
I am not a huge coffee drinker but both of these seem like really cool and interesting ideas. Keep up the good work.
July 29, 2008 at 1:40 pm
benjamin
Yeh I don’t like drinking coffee through a straw either. I really dig all the Muzz Buzz logo and brand look and convenience, but it’s not fantastic coffee.
July 29, 2008 at 10:24 pm
markk
I agree about the brand look and convenience. The other products might be better than the coffee!
August 7, 2008 at 7:11 am
Hands
When did you drive through? I’ve been a fan of Muzz BUzz for a while, they’ve been in Vic for at least a year…and using a coffee blend like 5 senses makes sense, maybe you should stick to Starbucks………….
August 7, 2008 at 7:29 pm
markk
Do a search for ‘Starbucks’ on this blog - or even read the next post - and you’ll see that I’m not a fan of that establishment either!
August 15, 2008 at 1:55 pm
themolk
We had someone from a corporate pen/paper company try and push a ‘Nespresso’ solution in for us… yuck…
August 18, 2008 at 9:33 pm
markk
At work, you mean? I think Nespresso would be superior to most work setups!