Coffee tasting for UU's new coffee machines: 'Anything is better than what we've got now'

UU students and employees were invited to help decide which coffee beans will be available in the coffee machines by the end of June. Between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm, they could come to the city centre library or Educatorium, where coffee machines offered three options: blend A, blend B, and blend C. No further information was provided about these blends so that people could evaluate the coffee objectively, based on taste alone. Afterwards, they could scan a QR code to share their opinion. The new coffee machines will offer the two most popular blends. 

Many participants did their best to compare the blends. A representative of UU's coffee supplier, Maas, advised people not to drink three cups of coffee in a row: "Otherwise, you'll be bouncing about all day." A group of students took this advice to heart and shared the three cups, while a group of employees put three cappuccinos and three black coffees on a table. "After all, the taste changes once you add milk to it." 

Photo: DUB 

Matter of taste
The opinions about the three blends were far from unanimous. A group of PhD candidates spent a long time deliberating before making a final decision in favour of blend C, while a group of staff members dismissed blend C right off the bat. Most participants didn't notice much difference between A and C, so there wasn't a clear preference for any. According to the Maas representative, blend A is the most similar to the coffee currently offered by UU's coffee machines while blends B and C are similar to those sold by cafés and restaurants.

One thing was unanimous: the three blends are better than the coffee the machines offer now. One employee, who abstains from drinking coffee from the university's machines, said he would drink one of the three blends. Nevertheless, many people were still unsatisfied. In their view, the three blends are an improvement, but they are still not ideal. Several employees said that one needs to go to Utrecht University of Applied Sciences for really good coffee. 

New machines
The new coffee machines will be installed from June 25 onwards. They will offer two kinds of coffee beans, which can be combined with cow milk or oat milk. Tea lovers will be able to choose between five flavours and water at three different temperatures. What's more, drinks will only cost 60 cents. The university will announce the winning blends in a few days.

De keuze van de UU'ers
1110 mensen hebben meegedaan aan de smaaktest voor koffie en thee. Nu is bekend welke smaken in de nieuwe automaten komen. Dat zijn blend B en C, de blends van horecakwaliteit. Blend B bestaat voor de helft uit Arabica bonen en voor de andere helft uit Robusta. Blend C is 100 procent Arabica. Alle bonen komen uit Zuid-Amerika. De blends (zowel zwart als met koe- en havermelk) kregen gemiddeld een dikke 7 van de proevers.

De theesoorten die bij de nieuwe automaten te verkrijgen zijn, zijn kamille, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Rooibos en Green Tea Lemon.