The Coffee Thread

[bilky asko]

Is there a reason why none of these places, with their no doubt weeks of intensive training that must surely be required to become a "barista", can make an acceptable cup of tea?

It's like getting a coffee in a Tea Room, I suppose.

I always thought Tea Room referred to the meal rather than the beverage.

It definitely refers to the beverage, along with the associated scones, cream, and jam. Apparently our local tea room serves excellent tea and coffee, so maybe it's not a direct parallel.

[Gavin Scott]

Lately I've been enjoying Lost Edinburgh (a group on Facebook) which features lots of pictures showing just how many Tearooms there used to be in the city. From the comments, one would conclude that an awful lot more was served than scones and jam.

But one way or another I suppose it all stems back to the drink I guess.

[Dr Lobster*]

tea rooms are a completely different kettle of fish and joy to frequent but there is something about coffee shops i find nauseating.

it's probably the fact that there are 40 tables crammed into a space the size of a child's bedroom and to make it worse it's full of those ghastly faux middle class people who's idea of a great night out is a cutting edge fusion of hip-hop and dance at saddler's wells.

you know who i mean, those who talk about "sauvignon blanc" and read erotic fiction. the sort of twonk that goes and pays £2.50 for a stale gone-off biscuit.

i reckon there is a connection between drinking stuff that tastes like dog shit and being a complete and utter git.

[bilky asko]

Lately I've been enjoying Lost Edinburgh (a group on Facebook) which features lots of pictures showing just how many Tearooms there used to be in the city. From the comments, one would conclude that an awful lot more was served than scones and jam.

But one way or another I suppose it all stems back to the drink I guess.

Yes, good tea rooms are certainly known for their cakes and snacks - the word's definition just doesn't encompass it.

Thanks to the OED, I know also know a tea room is US slang for "a public lavatory used as a meeting-place by homosexuals".

I did wonder why my local tea room was in an open relationship.

[WillPS]

tea rooms are a completely different kettle of fish and joy to frequent but there is something about coffee shops i find nauseating.

it's probably the fact that there are 40 tables crammed into a space the size of a child's bedroom and to make it worse it's full of those ghastly faux middle class people who's idea of a great night out is a cutting edge fusion of hip-hop and dance at saddler's wells.

you know who i mean, those who talk about "sauvignon blanc" and read erotic fiction. the sort of twonk that goes and pays £2.50 for a stale gone-off biscuit.

i reckon there is a connection between drinking stuff that tastes like dog shit and being a complete and utter git.

... and say things like "haters gon' hate"?

[tillyoshea]

I can make a mean Flat White though.

I love a good flat white... but it seems to be the coffee with the most variable quality for reasons that I've never understood.

I think my taste is slightly odd in that I love a good strong coffee (like a flat white or an espresso), or a practically homeopathic coffee loaded with sugar (like a caramel macchiato), but can't stomach the weak frothy bitterness of anything between the two (like average lattes and cappuccinos).

I also really like a good coffee shop, which might make me a git. But then, any coffee shop crammed with faux middle-class people talking about sauvignon blanc and buying stale biscuits strikes me as not a good coffee shop. I don't think any chain has a monopoly on good or bad coffee shops - in my experience, all of the major chains have examples of both. I occasionally take my laptop and work in coffee shops, which I know marks me out as a tosser in some peoples' books, but certainly improves both my productivity and my mood.

[Gavin Scott]

I must admit, I (and my writing partner) write better material when not at home. Well, more prolifically. Whether its better or not is something different.

Its not even that I get distracted at home (although I do), but there's genuinley some intangible quality that comes from being somewhere else - it may just be the mindset that "we're here now, we'll have to work".

But our non-home place of choice is the pub, where the whole experience is softened by some refreshing pints, and innevitably everything seems funnier.

Writing in a coffee shop seems like it could only be a poor experience. Coffee machines aren't quiet, what with the jets of steam and grinding of beans and such - nor are those annoying humans who chatter and laugh and generally live their lives in a manner not of my choosing.

Very little comedy gold can be panned from that kind of stream, let me tell you.

[tillyoshea]

Writing in a coffee shop seems like it could only be a poor experience. Coffee machines aren't quiet, what with the jets of steam and grinding of beans and such - nor are those annoying humans who chatter and laugh and generally live their lives in a manner not of my choosing.

Ah, but if you find the right coffee shop, with the right quiet-ish and comfortable upstairs/basement room that's not too busy and not too quiet, it can be perfect - at least for me - though I guess my work is less creative than writing. I've only found three perfect spots in Newcastle (well, one's in Gateshead). Besides, as a public health physician, it'd probably reflect badly if I was seen working in a pub all afternoon... whereas a coffee shop is just about passable.