05 July 2004

Our flirtation with the coffee bean gets serious

Just walking down the stree the other day, noticing a pub advertising pints for around £1.40, cought myself in thought: "That's the same price as the coffee I've just had". What kind of crazy world is this when coffee costs the same as beer [more in fact if you compare volume]? No wonder we have a drinking problem in this country; who wants coffee when there's beer and wine? [Well, I do; during the day -but that's another story].

And yet clearly the coffee business is expanding too. There are nice coffee shops now -not just greasy spoon sorts of place; all formica and flourescent strips- no real pleasant places to be with nice seating and so on. In fact, I realized that I've been thinking in idle moments of trying to find a cafe that would let us do church in it ...

Anyway, there's clearly something afoot in the leisure drinks businiess and it ain't all alcohol.

3 comments:

maggi said...

I've been pointing out for months now, that not only is Starbucks ethically dodgy, but where else would you pay TWICE AS MUCH for a cup of tea as you would for a pint of beer? Their Chai Tea Latte is about £3.90 or something - crazy.

Anonymous said...

Eek. Is there a reason why you have to go through all these channels just to post a comment?

Anyway...

At least Ole Blighty is beginning to realize that instant coffee just won't do. I can't stomach the stuff, and I am horrified if I go into a restaurant or cafe and am given the stuff. Smells and tastes like vomit. Still baffles me how many Englishmen still drink it day in, day out. For some, it's the only kind of coffee they know. This is a great tragedy.

But yes, the extortionate prices are a problem.

Dave

----> The Grace Pages

Andii said...

Starbucks are probably one of the better ones ethically; most branches offer Fair Trade coffee [Bradford -it's usually an alternate coffee of the day] and their commitment to origins is a step in the right direction. But I do wonder what the mark up is when a pint of Beer can be cheaper.

"Spend and tax" not "tax and spend"

 I got a response from my MP which got me kind of mad. You'll see why as I reproduce it here. Apologies for the strange changes in types...