Coffee currently at the International Cafe, Regal and other ships?

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

I see another post where they said the coffee right now at the International Cafe was not as good.  It was weaker.  Maybe the staff even mentioned a change.  I hope this was something temporary!  Maybe the Regal just didn't have the better International Cafe coffee.   I have been looking forward to coffee and specialty coffees there.  Has anyone on any other ships noticed a recent change?    Maybe ordering drinks made with espresso would work?

[JeffT237]

We were on the Discovery in October and had a few speciality coffees per day from the IC.  We'd order the fresh brewed coffee in the morning and usually have an afternoon Espresso, flat white or cappuccino in the afternoon.  For our morning coffee we take it black and found it strong enough for our taste, maybe comparable in strength to a medium blend at Starbucks but not bold.  We enjoyed the speciality coffees and espresso drinks there.  

[symui]

I was on the Royal in early November and it was the worst coffee and espresso I’ve had since the restart at the IC, every cup, every shot, everyday.  Not exactly sure why but I suspect it was the beans they were using.  Enjoyed every thing else about the cruise,  crew was great, food was good to very good. 
 

On the Ruby now and pleased to report the coffee and espresso at the IC is consistently good.  I’ll ask one of the baristas what beans they are using and report back.  

Edited December 8, 2022 by symui
Typo

[wrongwaywatson]

We got off of the Enchanted last week and I consumed a whole lot of fresh brewed coffee from the IC.   I thought it was delicious!

[LACruiser88]

We were just on the Regal for 37 days, all of the coffees in the IC were quite strong.  Very much like Starbucks coffee.

[Shelly97060]

On Diamond and coffee is good, strong enough to hold up to cream. 

[Buckeye10640]

I am on Enchanted currently drinking coffee from IC. Seems same as in the past to me. In fact I got an iced latte yesterday with an extra shot of expresso and it was  almost too strong for me (and I like my coffee strong). Definitely it was stronger than Starbucks. 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Thanks to you all!  And thanks for trying to ask and post again, symui.  I am hoping those comments on the coffee might be a temporary thing.

Edited December 8, 2022 by PRINCESS Sweet Pea

[MissP22]

29 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I am on Enchanted currently drinking coffee from IC. Seems same as in the past to me. In fact I got an iced latte yesterday with an extra shot of expresso and it was  almost too strong for me (and I like my coffee strong). Definitely it was stronger than Starbucks. 

I thought the cappuccino was strong on the Enchanted also so I order Americano. 

[sopo1953]

We just got off the Regal. We found the coffee significantly better at the coffee shop on the Lido than at the International Cafe. First time this has been the case for us. 

[EllieinNJ]

We were on the Enchanted for 2 weeks in November and the fresh brewed was great and the cappaccinos were excellent.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

10 days on Enchanted for TG, and I had a latte every day. I don't like my coffee strong/bitter. I like them super creamy and sweet (basically, I like Frappuccinos, hot or cold). They were not as sweet as I like them, but nice and creamy.

Quite delicious, I might add. I tried Vanilla bean Latte (like it best of all), Chocolate Mint Cappuccino (not enough mint), Butter Pecan latte, and Chocolate Cookie Latte.

 

 

I am not sure they were very strong with all that milk, syrup and ice in them, and two of them in a row on our last morning didn't make my heart jump out of my chest. Two cups usually do, since I have tachycardia. But they were delish!

[Ramblergirl]

I am a heavy drinker - coffee drinker, and I  had lots of problems during my cruise on Coral last month. Firstly,  the free coffee at Horizon was undrinkable.  Yak. I  mentioned this to the staff member who just looked at me and said nothing.  Coffee at MDR was marginally better, not good, but drinkable. IC was a hit and miss, depending on who made it, but usually good.

Next time I will bring coffee mugs and  some instant coffee with me to make a stronger brew to take away to my cabin.

[Crashe]

Damn you people, forgot all about the salted caramel….

[symui]

On 12/7/2022 at 7:51 PM, symui said:

 I’ll ask one of the baristas what beans they are using and report back.

Beans at the IC on the Ruby are Caffe Boasi Gran Riserva from Italy.  They are in a dark blue bag with white lettering.  These are the same beans used on the Ruby since the restart and IMO are good for espresso and brewed coffee. 
 

I'm curious if other Princess ships are using the same beans?  Anyone out there on other ships  let us know what beans the IC has in stock. Thanks!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

12 hours ago, Ramblergirl said:

the free coffee at Horizon was undrinkable.  Yak. I  mentioned this to the staff member who just looked at me and said nothing.

exactly what did you expect them to do? Run down to the nearest coffee shop? These people work for pennies and don't have any say in coffee selection.

 

That's exactly what we do on RCI cruises - bring our own instant coffee.

12 hours ago, Ramblergirl said:

Next time I will bring coffee mugs and  some instant coffee with me to make a stronger brew to take away to my cabin.

Edited December 11, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[pompeii]

I was the person who commented about the weak brewed coffee at the IC on the Regal. All the specialty coffees were great, it was just the brewed coffee that was too weak for our taste. I remember it from years past being much stronger at the IC.  It doesn't have to be "the strongest you can get at Starbucks" strong, but this wasn't at all robust at all unless we added a little espresso.  We survived once we started ordering a double espresso to split between our two large brewed coffees.  😁

Edited December 11, 2022 by pompeii

[EllieinNJ]

When I was on the Enchanted last month you were suppose to be able to get the fresh brewed coffee in the buffet and the steakhouse bar in addition to the IC but every time we asked for it they said they only have espresso.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, EllieinNJ said:

When I was on the Enchanted last month you were suppose to be able to get the fresh brewed coffee in the buffet and the steakhouse bar in addition to the IC but every time we asked for it they said they only have espresso.  

Enchanted has coffee machines in the buffet (free brewed coffee), but dang it - they were broken half the time.

[MissP22]

53 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Enchanted has coffee machines in the buffet (free brewed coffee), but dang it - they were broken half the time.

Oh well, they're going to force me to drink their cappuccino all the time.  😄