The Coffee Thread

[Square Eyes]

A thread to discuss the nations obsession with coffee.

Our high streets are effectively filled with charity shops and coffee shops, with Costa Coffee having already overtaken the number of McDonalds outlets. Costa seem to have saturated the market, with branches at motorway services, Tescos, hospitals, just about everywhere. Starbucks seem to have been totally ecplised by the emergence of Costa.

So are you a coffee drinker, where do you go, what do you drink, and why is that you can't see them making the drinks in Starbucks ? Don't they have the proper espresso coffee making machines ?

[Alexia]

I get constantly asked for latte, cappucino, espresso etc. on the trains.

People seem put out when I point out I only carry 100oz of brown liquid* rich in caffeine to which they can add milk and sugar.

Whatever happened to "a cup of coffee"?




*I also carry 10 coffee sachets, 10 Starbucks Italian Via sachets and 4 decaff sachets.

[bilky asko]

Costa is literally the British Starbucks (to a good extent). I'm not a coffee drinker, or a tea drinker, but their huge mugs of hot chocolate are lovely, and expensive.

I rarely drink hot drinks, but if I get a hankering when out, it's Costa over anything else.

[Andrew Wood]

Did you find out why it's called a venti?

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/venti

[rob]

I don't drink coffee much, much prefer tea. Tried Starbucks coffee once, and it tasted horrible.

[Gavin Scott]

I like a cafe latte. I used a bean-to-cup Italian machine at my old employer, and we used Starbucks French Roast beans. Tasty. Worked out about 6p per cup. The machine cost about £3,500 though.

When it died we bought a little domestic Nespresso machine. Made equally nice coffee but worked about about 26p/cup.

Where I work now there's only instant coffee, so I start the day buying a cafe latte from a sandwich shop. Its about £1.40. I allow myself one a day. There's a coffee shop (non chain) next door who charge £2.40 for the same thing. No way am I paying that price daily. I occasionally take a Starbucks or Costa in town, but for that price I'd rather buy a pint.

All that "venti" and "grande" lingo is garbage. Lingo to make people think they're part of a club because they know what it means.

Pfft.

[Nick Harvey]

We have nineteen coffee shops in Devizes and Nero have just applied for permission for a twentieth.

I think I've been in one of them, once.

I never drink tea, only coffee, but I'm quite happy with good old "normal" instant. Think I'll take Alexia's train.

[Alexia]

We have nineteen coffee shops in Devizes and Nero have just applied for permission for a twentieth.

I think I've been in one of them, once.

I never drink tea, only coffee, but I'm quite happy with good old "normal" instant. Think I'll take Alexia's train.

£1.70 for a small, £2.20 for a large. Milk & sugar free.

EDIT: Translated into Starbuckeze: £1.70 for an Otto, £2.20 for a Dodici.

[bilky asko]

- Can I get a large black coffee?
- A what?
- Large black coffee.
- Do you mean a venti?
- No, I mean a large.
- Venti is large.
- No, venti is twenty. Large is large. In fact, tall is large and grande is Spanish for large. Venti is the only one that doesn't mean large. It's also the only one that's Italian. Congratulations, you're dumb in three languages.

I love that.

"Grande" also means "large" in Italian. "Tall" doesn't necessarily mean large, and a tall drink usually means a small quantity served in a tall vessel to make it seem large.

Mr Wood gave you an adequate explanation of "venti".

I have no particular alliegence to a coffee shop. Costa, Nero or Starbucks will all do for me if I want a drink although, at least until recently, Starbucks was the "trendier" one to be "seen with"?

What's this about being stupid in language: "Alliegence"?

Anyway, I can't vouch for a brand's coolness - however, Costa seems to be more well known round here than Starbucks or Caffè Nero.

On a related note, I was in Leeds once, and tried to have lunch at Caffè Nero. £18 for two people severely pissed me off - the next time, I went to Greggs, and got a more satisfying meal for £3.

Cafés aren't good places to have lunch.

[Alexia]

Starbucks do a mean Marmite and cheese toastie.

Costa do a mean mint frappucino. Also as the manager is my brother in law, I get extra mint.

[Pete]

I like Costa's all day breakfast roll. Plus you get a decent cup of tea in Costa / Caffe Nero whereas Starbucks' tea is dreadful.

Not really a massive coffee drinker, need it watered down with loads of milk. Starbucks coffee is far too bitter imo so I tend to prefer Costa.

One thing that infuritates me though is when you ask for a cup of tea, and then put the teabag on the side therefore ruining its chance to brew. Put it in first you cretins.