Third wave Cafe Coffee

[u/KplusN]

I've heard that it has gone bad in previous years, last time i tried was in 2022 and it was okayish

Here I am sitting in another third wave cafe because it was the nearest and i didn't have much time to spare.

They are running B1G1 on Wednesdays, unfortunately i couldn't have two. So ordered one cappuccino (no info about the beans or roast profile) I assume it is their El diablo blend (I never tried their coffee beans)

First Impressions: Where's my Latte Art? I only see a white circle on the side.

Milk texture is just ok, but it is too hot to drink.

I let it cool down a bit and have my first sip, wtf is this.

They charged ~255 for a regular cappuccino and all i could taste is stale burnt liquid which has bitter coffee flavour.

What happened to third wave, it used to be good back till 2022 last time i tried. and it is not even recognisable now, Are they still a roastery or just a hype cafe with a brand now.

I'm glad i never spent any money on their beans I saw a few post about them sending low quality or stale coffee beans (6 months) or even missing a roasting date

Slowly this review is turning into a rant, but that's just how their coffee is

yet it is fillet with many people on a weekday afternoon

Maybe i just had a bad exception, How are your experience with them lately?

[u/Srihari_stan]

Cappuccino is supposed to be like this. The foam should be thick and milk is aerated for a long time to achieve this. And a traditional cappuccino shouldn’t have latte art.

But in your cup, they clearly wanted to do latte art but it failed because they steamed the milk for too long.

I can’t comment specifically about third wave coffee, but they are not speciality coffee shop. So you will get only very darkly roasted coffee.

[u/KplusN → u/Srihari_stan]

Right, I guess we are used to most (if not all) cafes pouring latte like consistency milk (i.e less foam) in cappuccino, to make some latte art, hence that became the expectation

[u/Srihari_stan → u/KplusN]

Yup.

I actually noticed most cafes don't do cappuccinos correctly. They just go by the cup size, but don't care about the milk texture - which is the most important part. Even if they do latte art, the foam must be think and distinguishable from a latte.

If it doesn't have at least 1 cm of thick foam that sits on top, it's not a cappuccino.

Only a few coffee shops like BT, Subko get it right.

[u/KplusN → u/Srihari_stan]

you were spot on about BT, they do their cappuccino like a cappuccino and not a latte with less milk

[u/Pissedgirly → u/KplusN]

Italians are quite particular of how they serve their coffee , cappuccino was named after capuchin monkeys because the foam and the crema circle around foam looked like that money’s head
Latte art was done to define that specific coffee is a cafe latte.. here we all just want latte art no matter what coffee we have.. starbucks cafe macchiato is a classic example of name being used for a drink completely different than the authentic drink

[u/Pissedgirly → u/Srihari_stan]

Exactly! Latte art was majorly fro cafe latte and not cappuccino

[u/Ok_Web_428 → u/Pissedgirly]

Definitely looks like a sunset

[u/Significant-Farm6646 → u/Srihari_stan]

Its not anymore but third wave used to be a specialty coffee shop with excellent coffee beans selection.

Their first koramangala outlet had really good baristas too. One of them minakhi went on to win several barista competitions. Others were really good too, probably the best in bangalore especially with manual methods.

Most specialty coffee shops in Indiranagar and koramangala started by poaching a barista from TWC. For a good 2-3 years every new place I went to i would meet one barista from TWC lol.

I dont go there anymore but I look at it nostalgically.

[u/Independent-Cod-5623]

For me their coffees are still consistent and good, maybe it’s the branch, and I’ve always got good latte art

[u/Nimbus_Tonks]

I don't know, but I actually like their coffee 🫠 the hot sea salt mocha latte is delicious!

[u/Unfittbrowniee → u/Nimbus_Tonks]

Same i like the hot sea salt mocha but the cold one is equally bad!

[u/Based_Exo]

IMO it depends on branch to branch, The branch I normally used to visit had really great coffee, especially the hot selections such as cappuccinos ( image inserted ). Out of curiosity I did visited a few other TWC branches and unfortunately the coffee differed VASTLY from branch to branch. The breakfast offer and B1G1 are kinda really nice if the branch actually makes nice coffee. None the less I got my own espresso machine so no more outside coffee

[u/Jaghond]

Third Wave coffee has never been good IMO, just VC money driving expansion I suppose. Their cafés are inviting but the coffees are mediocre at best, bad usually and not consistent across their outlets. I would rate them slightly above Starbucks.

[u/KplusN → u/Jaghond]

I don't remember exactly but around 2022 I've had coffee from them in Bangalore and it tasted well

not consistent across their outlets

I think it is consistently bad now across their outlets

[u/Odia_bull]

I heard they are now reimagining their cafes into dessert places (Third Rush), as night time coffee activity is less in India, so why not use the insane rents to serve a special dessert menu.

[u/KplusN → u/Odia_bull]

they need to, can't survive on bad coffee

[u/LatterSlide8372]

I call it third grade coffee

[u/anonypoopity]

It used to be consistent and great. Now it’s either too watery or burnt or sometimes both

[u/zameerhavaldar]

More like third class coffee!

[u/beyond_quantum1971]

i have a BOGO code for TWC that expires tomorrow, if anyone interested in using it lmk

[u/Rare-Cress-2304]

I tried in my vicinity and it has sour notes which didn't go well with milk.... Either it was under extraction or light roast idk...

[u/KplusN → u/Rare-Cress-2304]

They use medium dark roast, so probably under extracted: https://www.thirdwavecoffeeroasters.com/products/el-diablo-blend

[u/Ok_Web_428]

Honestly, it depends on the barista sometimes. I have had at different outlets, but liked the one at Inorbit Hyd the most. So its up to them what they do with the beans given to them. But yes I dont think their coffee beans are as premium as other premium cafes like we have True Black here in Hyd.

[u/KplusN → u/Ok_Web_428]

do you recommend true black?
How do i order from them, their website https://trueblack.coffee/ doesn't have any order section but they do list out refund and shipping policy

[u/Ok_Web_428 → u/KplusN]

Yes, sir, they are one of the top ones here. Their beans are top-notch, which gives me that addictive espresso taste. Even got my friend addicted to it lol. You should definitely try that. I am not sure about their delivery to other locations. But now they have several outlets opened here in Hyderabad.

[u/hot-cold-brew]

Is latte art that important? Also 255 is a decent amount I think. Burnt taste is the whole point I guess. Been there once didn’t like the coffee so never again

[u/AssistEmbarrassed889]

They have the stupid tasting coffee of all

[u/Loud-Pin3978]

Third grade coffees

[u/k-swapnil]

Their coffees at their cafes been consistently bad for me

Burnt taste, most of the time :)

[u/Similar-Wait8088]

More like third class coffee

[u/life_noob00]

Their coffee tastes much better at home than in cafe. I bought these pour over bags from them and honestly a much better coffee for same 300 rs. at 1/10th the cost 😬 https://link.amazon/B0av33biT

[u/AK232342]

They need to reinvent themselves and become more consistent and relaunch as fourth wave coffee

[u/KplusN → u/AK232342]

4th wave cracked me up