Pet Hates........or FFS

[Marco]

Unfortunately, I have developed a theory through experience when it comes to high street coffee chains - simply, and sadly, if they use Fairtrade coffee, their product will be rubbish - a cup of burnt tasting unpleasantness ( Starbucks, M&S cafe etc)

That’s why I generally only go to Costa or Caffè Nero in these situations - they use Rainforest Alliance products instead.

I can certainly vouch for Costa, as I use their Mocha Italia beans, for making cappuccinos and macchiatos, and they're excellent. It's the quality of the beans being used that's ultimately making the difference, not necessarily anything to do with the Rainforest Alliance.

Mrs. B’s workplace has a fantastic all-singing and dancing coffee machine and a few years ago the sandal-wearing, yoghurt-knitting fraternity of the company insisted they changed to Fairtrade beans. The new coffee was dreadful and they had to change to higher quality, dearer Fairtrade brand as there were so many complaints from the staff!

Lol..! However, as I said, ultimately it's about buying a better product, Fairtrade-related, or not

Marco.

[Barry]

Ive had a coffee from there.. its not bad at all ... their food tho isnt so good.... chips apart...... oh and their ice cream is very nice.

What's that peculiar 'varnish' they coat their chips (sorry 'fries') with. I don't like it - but then I don't like anything that comes out of McDonalds.

[alphaGT]

Even the shop at the end of my street has a coffee machine now, although I've never tried it. No 7-11 here but we did use to have Circle-K for a while just like in 'Bill And Ted.'

America a very strange place to go if you are British. A lot of things are familiar but some are downright bizarre. Like being able to buy beer in the chemist's.

Yes things are different here, and as you say, don’t always make sense. America was a county of black coffee! That’s all that was served for many years, nothing else. If you want cream and sugar, you put that in yourself. Until Starbucks came around about 15 or 20 years ago, only a fancy restaurant would have such things as cappuccino or latte. And espresso is only available at these upscale coffee shops like Starbucks, or, an Italian restaurant, which is where I get one from time to time after a nice Italian meal.

McDonalds is pure Americana, hamburgers and fries, there are dozens of chains here that sell the same, but one thing about McDonalds is that it’s always the same. No matter what city you are in world wide, you see the big arches, and you know what they serve. And they grow all of their own ingredients, the beef, the wheat, the potatoes, even the tomatoes that the catchup is made from, they own their supply chain, except perhaps the coffee Farm? But maybe they do?

Here we call it the Drug Store! Because there is no chemist there. There is only one shop in all of Richmond that actually mixes compounds. The rest only push pills. And it is strange how they’ve evolved to be a small department store, I have to walk a tenth of a mile just to get to the prescription counter!

One drug store chain recently stopped selling cigarettes! It was all over the news! Beer and cigarettes are the main staple of many businesses. But who goes to the drug store for cigarettes? Apparently someone.

Russell

[Macca]

I was thinking of Rite-Aid because that's very close to the UK's 'Boots the Chemist' which are/were also department stores with a pharmacy counter. Just surprised me the first time I went in Rite-Aid that they had massive piles of beer everywhere. You wouldn't see that in Boots but otherwise they are very similar.

[Barry]

This sort of thing



Fancier than I can do

Sadly such 'artistry' means absolutely nothing to me. It doesn't add anything to the coffee drinking experience IMO.

[struth]

Sadly such 'artistry' means absolutely nothing to me. It doesn't add anything to the coffee drinking experience IMO.

First taste is with the eye Barry

[Ian7633]

Sadly such 'artistry' means absolutely nothing to me. It doesn't add anything to the coffee drinking experience IMO.

It probably does, about three quid

[User211]

WRT someone saying Starbucks coffee is dreadful.

It is.

How then is that chain so huge? I am amazed by that fact.

Costa beans are OK Marco but there is better out there. You will find them.

The trouble with some really high grade small producer coffees is they can taste amazing, only to find that when you.re-order the same, it sometimes isn't. Quite a lot sometimes it isn't.

In other words, small producers seem to come up with some amazing beans, but they seem to have trouble being consistent at it.

Annoying I find.

[Barry]

First taste is with the eye Barry

No, first taste is with the nose - the smell.

[Crackles]

It probably does, about three quid

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