The Coffee shop

[Longines]

Satan's snot could not taste any more evil than coffee. And tea is worse.

Took Mrs Long out for a posh breakfast this week*. £4.75 for a latte, was apparently in her top 3 coffee's ever. It still tasted completely vile.



*Was thinking of going to the Ritz - until I saw it was £39 for a full English!

[Marky147]

For me, coffee is 90% experience and 10% taste.

We have a coffee van that arrives outside work on the dot at 10:20am every morning. There is a small tight knit group of us that use this coffee van religiously, much to the disbelief of colleagues. 

About 20 minutes before the van arrives you start to get the tingles of anticipation, we exchange furtive glances across the office and often some excited 'it's nearly time for our posh coffee' whispers.

The van arrives bang on time and gives a shrill pip of its horn and that signals a race... fumbling for money and then a speed walk down the stairs. Met at the coffee van by a lovely doddery man who who likes nothing more than the most wonderful 10 minute conversation about the leaves turning brown, the state of the roads with Winter coming and whether we have put the heating on yet.

Hand over £2.20 and get back a cardboard cup of coffee. Sit back at my desk, lid off, inhale that aroma and then cradle it softly for the next 30 minutes, the occasional gentle sip and a knowing glance exchanged with fellow members then usually at least a quarter goes down the sink when it gets cold.

It doesn't taste particularly nice but the whole experience from start to finish makes it one of my favourite moments of every day.

In among the crowd of non coffee drinkers and posh coffee one man up ship competitions.......we find this gem of a story. Thank you. More please.

It's a great story but I must admit I can't understand the central sentiment.

I drink coffee ... because I like the flavour. I was staying at a hotel in New York recently which had free coffee you could help yourself to in the morning - but it was awful, so I didn't drink it (although we also had good coffee in our Keurigs in our room so it wasn't much of a loss).

But my point would be - why buy food or drink if it isn't for the flavour?

I'd extend it to even if it doesn't taste 'as good' - I went to the Costa in my train station before work for a few years. I would purposefully leave early so that I could have a coffee while I read a book. The staff knew who I was and what I would order and would have it ready for me. But, when they withdrew their proper cups and just started serving it in cardboard ones - I stopped going, because it doesn't taste as nice. To me it seems simple - whatever the experience is I'm ultimately paying for something I like - if it's not as good (or done badly enough for me not to like it) - I'll just stop; no matter how pleasant the experience around it is.

 

Good post.

[arbboy]

amazed so many others, like myself, have never drunk tea or coffee.  Thought i was a freak.  Nice to see some other members of the club.

Always amazes me how much people are willing to pay for a cup of coffee in these over priced shops.  Total gold mine.   Why don't people just invest a score in a decent flask on their way to work every day and spend the cash on top class coffee and make it themselves before they go to work every day and stick it in their bag?  Probably save them £2k a year.

[Knottikay]

For me, coffee is 90% experience and 10% taste.

We have a coffee van that arrives outside work on the dot at 10:20am every morning. There is a small tight knit group of us that use this coffee van religiously, much to the disbelief of colleagues. 

About 20 minutes before the van arrives you start to get the tingles of anticipation, we exchange furtive glances across the office and often some excited 'it's nearly time for our posh coffee' whispers.

The van arrives bang on time and gives a shrill pip of its horn and that signals a race... fumbling for money and then a speed walk down the stairs. Met at the coffee van by a lovely doddery man who who likes nothing more than the most wonderful 10 minute conversation about the leaves turning brown, the state of the roads with Winter coming and whether we have put the heating on yet.

Hand over £2.20 and get back a cardboard cup of coffee. Sit back at my desk, lid off, inhale that aroma and then cradle it softly for the next 30 minutes, the occasional gentle sip and a knowing glance exchanged with fellow members then usually at least a quarter goes down the sink when it gets cold.

It doesn't taste particularly nice but the whole experience from start to finish makes it one of my favourite moments of every day.

In among the crowd of non coffee drinkers and posh coffee one man up ship competitions.......we find this gem of a story. Thank you. More please.

It's a great story but I must admit I can't understand the central sentiment.

I drink coffee ... because I like the flavour. I was staying at a hotel in New York recently which had free coffee you could help yourself to in the morning - but it was awful, so I didn't drink it (although we also had good coffee in our Keurigs in our room so it wasn't much of a loss).

But my point would be - why buy food or drink if it isn't for the flavour?

I'd extend it to even if it doesn't taste 'as good' - I went to the Costa in my train station before work for a few years. I would purposefully leave early so that I could have a coffee while I read a book. The staff knew who I was and what I would order and would have it ready for me. But, when they withdrew their proper cups and just started serving it in cardboard ones - I stopped going, because it doesn't taste as nice. To me it seems simple - whatever the experience is I'm ultimately paying for something I like - if it's not as good (or done badly enough for me not to like it) - I'll just stop; no matter how pleasant the experience around it is.

I agree with you that having your chosen drink in a proper cup/mug is a benefit. More and more outlets are doing away with this and it is now a plastic/cardboard receptacle. In this new age of recycling everything, surely it is better to wash a cup out and reuse that instead of producing more and more trash? It is still nice that in most hotels you can still have a drink in a cup whilst in your room.

[Knottikay]

amazed so many others, like myself, have never drunk tea or coffee.  Thought i was a freak.  Nice to see some other members of the club.

Always amazes me how much people are willing to pay for a cup of coffee in these over priced shops.  Total gold mine.   Why don't people just invest a score in a decent flask on their way to work every day and spend the cash on top class coffee and make it themselves before they go to work every day and stick it in their bag?  Probably save them £2k a year.

Good point. I have got one of them metal heated cup things for journeys. Unfortunately, I am normally running late and don't use it as much as I should.

PS....if you dont drink coffee.....get out of my shop! (said in a Barbara Windsor voice) 

[Mark_Porter]

It's a great story but I must admit I can't understand the central sentiment.

I drink coffee ... because I like the flavour. I was staying at a hotel in New York recently which had free coffee you could help yourself to in the morning - but it was awful, so I didn't drink it (although we also had good coffee in our Keurigs in our room so it wasn't much of a loss).

But my point would be - why buy food or drink if it isn't for the flavour?

I'd extend it to even if it doesn't taste 'as good' - I went to the Costa in my train station before work for a few years. I would purposefully leave early so that I could have a coffee while I read a book. The staff knew who I was and what I would order and would have it ready for me. But, when they withdrew their proper cups and just started serving it in cardboard ones - I stopped going, because it doesn't taste as nice. To me it seems simple - whatever the experience is I'm ultimately paying for something I like - if it's not as good (or done badly enough for me not to like it) - I'll just stop; no matter how pleasant the experience around it is.

I don’t dislike the flavour and it does give me the buzz that I need in the morning but the purchase is primarily driven by experience. I am sure there are many more examples of buying things where the experience actually outweighs the final product.

I actually only starting using the van after seeing that it was being used almost exclusively by the most senior people in the company that I work for – managers, directors, CEO etc. I wanted to get on first name terms – when I first had to present at a board meeting I felt a lot more comfortable knowing most people in the room already rather than being faced by a wall of unknown directors.

[Graham C]

amazed so many others, like myself, have never drunk tea or coffee.  Thought i was a freak.  Nice to see some other members of the club.

I can't believe you've never had a cup, like really never? You don't even know what it tastes like?  Why don't you try it? 

[arbboy]

amazed so many others, like myself, have never drunk tea or coffee.  Thought i was a freak.  Nice to see some other members of the club.

I can't believe you've never had a cup, like really never? You don't even know what it tastes like?  Why don't you try it?  

Hate the smell of coffee.  Never understood why you would wait 3 minutes for a kettle to boil to have a drink so never tried tea either.  When i am thirsty i want a drink now not in 5 minutes time when the kettle has boiled.  Always had orange juice for breakfast.  Drink water during the day.  Beer at night!  

I don't know why i have never tried it tbh any more than why i have never tried smoking a cig either in my life.

[horseplayer]

Same premise as to why people buy lunches rather than make them at home I guess?

Very very rarely drink coffee occasionally get a tea from a nice independent near me who charge 50p takeaway which is reasonable if passing

[mondatoo]

amazed so many others, like myself, have never drunk tea or coffee.  Thought i was a freak.  Nice to see some other members of the club.

I can't believe you've never had a cup, like really never? You don't even know what it tastes like?  Why don't you try it?  

Hate the smell of coffee.  Never understood why you would wait 3 minutes for a kettle to boil to have a drink so never tried tea either.  When i am thirsty i want a drink now not in 5 minutes time when the kettle has boiled.  Always had orange juice for breakfast.  Drink water during the day.  Beer at night!  

I don't know why i have never tried it tbh any more than why i have never tried smoking a cig either in my life.

You know you don't have to fill a kettle to the brim to make a cuppa right ?

Same for me re Coffee though, have made it for others and smells so bad, I can't get past that.

I will start a thread for a list of things people have never had that is std for most, will take Pads all day though.

[exstream]

Also never tried coffee.

[RED-DOG]

Does anyone actually collect the tokens on the side to get a free cuppa after 6 visits?

Yes. Mrs Red does, and God help me if I forget and throw my cup away without taking it off, she makes me fish it back out of the bin.

[MintTrav]

Never understood why you would wait 3 minutes for a kettle to boil...............When i am thirsty i want a drink now not in 5 minutes time when the kettle has boiled.

I know its not the point you were making, but you must never let the kettle boil. Totally fecks up the flavour. If I ever let it boil accidentally, I throw out the water and start again.

[Kev B]

My first drink of the day for at least 30 years is lemon tea. Then it's coffee all the way. Instant good enough when I'm working and the customers are making it. At home I bought this bad boy almost 2 years ago. It's a belter.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

My first drink of the day for at least 30 years is lemon tea.

Weirdo.