Coffee (can't stand tea) milk/cream and 2 sugars. Actually, stick a jug of milk in the microwave and add sugar and coffee to taste... lovely Soft drink's gotta be Coca-cola then Pepsi Max (can't stand normal pepsi - I think it's got a funny taste, sort of rubbery/gone off oniony. absolutely disgusting)
OMGz0rz Hex in full agreement with Emzay shocker I tried to like tea... I can sort of drink Green Tea and lemon Tea, but at the end of the day, it's nasty. RedBull all the way for me. I don't even taste RedBull anymore, I seem to have developed a way of downing the can without it touching the "redbull tastebuds"
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha oh you're serious? Pret's coffee is apalling, surpassed only in the league of hideous coffee by Starsucks. It disturbs me how many different ways those two companies can mess up something as simple and fundamental to their business as coffee. It's either so milky you can't taste the coffee, or the beans have been over-roasted so it tastes burnt and bitter, or the milk's steamed too hot and got burnt, or it gives the impression they've 'accidentally' recycled their coffee grounds because it's somehow weak and bitter at the same time. Rancid. On that note, I am shocked by what people are willing to pay good money for. It's not like a coffee from Starbucks is exactly cheap - I mean you're looking at £1.79 for a tall cappucino or latte, and then they have the audacity to charge you an extra 25p for an 'extra shot', which is mandatory if you actually want your coffee to have any flavour. So we're talking £2 minimum. Given that the cost of the raw ingredients must be in the region of 5p tops in the volumes they purchase it, that's a hefty 4000% markup. For that kind of money I'd expect something better than I could make at home with a rusty bucket, some lukewarm water and a sieve. Of the high street coffee megalopolies, the only ones to which it is worth paying the extortionate prices they command are Costa and Nero. Both make excellent coffee that tastes of coffee rather than burnt milk and stale coffee grounds, both are cheaper than Starbucks, but Costa wins by a whisker because every Caffe Nero I've ever been into reeks of smoke. On the whole, however, I'd far rather support a local restaurant or coffee house than a global megacorp - the atmosphere is invariably better, you get a better coffee in many cases, and you usually pay a LOT less. Add to that I think it's really sad the way people flock to the recognised brand (Starbucks, McDonalds, iPod), blinkered to the huge number of alternatives available which offer better quality for equal or less money, to the point where long established, hard working businesses are at risk of dying out because some over-advertised wholesome American megabrand has set up shop next door. Maybe I should move to mainland Europe, where this sort of shenanigans isn't nearly so prevalent, and wonderful, quaint little coffee shops serving amazing espresso and fresh pastries at fair prices (read coffee & cake for two for the cost of a flaky non-descript brown beverage from Starbucks) in a fantastic atmosphere are thriving.
Don't like either tea or coffee. However, oddly enough, I love the smell of coffee in the morning. Don't know why I don't care for the taste..
Well said mclean, for me it's Nero though. (My local Nero has a smoke-free basement area). They are still rather expensive though. Alas pretty much all my local small coffee shops have died out now in favour of megacorps. We have 2 Starbucks, 2 Costasm, 1 Nero and probably others in a 1 mile radius.
Doesn't Guildford have a similar status for the most amount of coffee shops per square mile like Wokingham does for pubs? Every corner turned in Guidlford reveals yet another coffee establishment.
Yeah I think many/most Neros have a non-smoking area, it's just I'm quite sensitive to it and it spoils a good coffee for me. IMHO a total ban on smoking is about the only good thing Starbucks ever did, and the smoke-friendlieness of continental coffee establishments is the flaw in my otherwise perfect plan outlined above. The sooner we get a NYC/Ireland stylee ban on smoking in public places the better. /ducks to avoid the onslaught of flaming spammage
see your initial post was quite sensible... but after that little addendum i'm saddened to say that you are no longer on my christmas card list
To be honest, if your avatar is anything to go by, I'll count it as a blessing that I'm not getting any post written with that hand! lol
