The Coffee Files
That daily cup of joe is burning a hole in your gut. What about your wallet?
Table of Contents: | Here Are The Results:
November 4th, 2009
Murmurs • Lists. A Great Way To Organize The News You Follow.5 comments
November 4th, 2009
Dr. Know2 comments
November 4th, 2009
Letters to the Editor • Inbox1 comment
November 4th, 2009
Not As Simple As 1-2-3 | Oregon’s upcoming census could mean another seat in congress.1 comment
November 4th, 2009
Rogue of the Week • University Of Oregon | Who’s killing Rudolph?5 comments
November 4th, 2009
Gimme A Break | Earl Blumenauer’s bill pays people to ride their bikes to work, but not everyone’s cashing in yet.1 comment
November 4th, 2009
Giving Treebates | Planting a tree may lower your sewer bill. 3 comments
November 4th, 2009
The Daily Show | Can a new publisher reverse the slide at The Oregonian?1 comment
November 4th, 2009
Law Of Averages | As Skipper leaves the sheriff’s office, an investigation into an alleged coverup is part of his legacy.13 comments
November 4th, 2009
Hey, Neighbor! • Hey, Neighbor!0 comments
[September 3rd, 2008]
It’s no secret that “cheater pints”—those tall glasses of beer that are supposed to contain 16 ounces of alcohol but really have only 14—have been disgracing local watering holes for years (see “Caveat Drinkor,” WW, June 18, 2008).
But that made us think: Are Portlanders being cheated by their baristas—as well as their bartenders? In Wisconsin, reporters with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently discovered not all “16 ounce” cups of coffee are created equal.
To find out if that was true here, WW decided to perform an undercover test last week of 12 coffeehouses in Portland. At each of the locations, we purchased 16-ounce cups of coffee and declined “room” for cream. Once outside, we secretly measured how much liquid the cups contained to see if the cafe’s 16-ounce cups actually contained 16 ounces of liquid.
The results were surprising, but for a good reason.
Why? Two out of three of the 16-ounce cups of coffee we purchased were not filled to the top. Only three coffee joints gave us completely full 16-ounce cups of coffee—Boyd’s Coffee in the Pearl, Starbucks on Northeast Broadway and Common Grounds in Southeast. At Albina Press we were allowed to pour our own.
But all of the stores were using 16-ounce cups, as advertised, the java joints that did short us did so only by the tiniest margins. If we lost money, it was only a couple of pennies.
^ Here are the results:
Story continues below
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True Brew
3370 SE Milwaukie Ave.
Ordered Guatemalan Organic Coffee @ $1.75 for 16 oz.
Received 15.75 oz.
Tiny’s
1412 SE 12th Ave.
Ordered Stumptown Coffee @ $1.85 for 16 oz.
Received 15.75 oz.
Common Grounds
4321 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Ordered Cafe Umbria coffee @ $1.70 for 16 oz.
Received 16 oz.
Starbucks
1441 NE Broadway
Ordered Pike Place Blend @ $1.75 for 16 oz.
Received 16 oz.
Peet’s
1510 NE Broadway
Ordered Gaia Organic @ $1.80 for 16 oz.
Received 15.75 oz.
Albina Press
4637 N Albina Ave.
Ordered Stumptown Panama Carmen Estate @ $2.25 for 16 oz.
Self-serve: We poured 16.5 oz.
Bikini Coffee Co.
520 SW 5th Ave.
Ordered house blend @ $1.60 for 16 oz.
Received 15.75 oz.
Portland Coffee House
603 SW Broadway
Ordered Panache Brand @ $1.60 for 16 oz.
Received 15.66 oz.
Nordstrom Espresso Bar
701 SW Broadway
Ordered Riva Coffee @ $1.60 for 16 oz.
Received 15.75 oz.
Armory Cafe
128 NW 11th Ave.
Ordered Nossa Familia Coffee @ $2.25 for 16 oz.
Received 15.75 oz.
Sweet Masterpiece
922 NW Davis St.
Ordered Bad Beard Blend @ $2 for 16 oz.
Received 15.75 oz.
Boyd’s Coffee
404 NW 11th Ave.
Ordered Boyd’s Coffee @ $1.60 for 16 oz.
Received 16 oz.
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