coffee Archives - Page 17 of 21

June 6, 2011

A very nice coffee

For the first time in ages today I went into Pret A Manger in London (on Great Peter Street) and ordered a Flat White. I don’t know why, but I never seem to go to Pret, I can’t recall the last time I was in one. Trying to recall if I have even had a coffee in one of their branches. It’s not as though there aren’t a fair few about.

Well I was in and ordered a Flat White, could they get this right?

First issue was that, they only had takeout paper cups. That’s probably why I don’t go there… I am not a great fan of spending a small fortune on coffee in a paper cup. I do do that, but not when I am drinking inside the coffee shop; I then want a proper china cup!

Well paper cup aside, it was actually a very nice coffee. Just the right strength and not too foamy. Pleasantly surprised.

So what of the service?

It was friendly, it appeared very chaotic, but it was quite speedy and I got my coffee very quickly. Unlike other places I have visited recently which had lots of staff and slow service, here there seemed to be lots of staff doing stuff, but they were in fact doing stuff.

Would I go again?

 Well I did a couple of hours later and ordered another flat white! Wonder if this is consistent in their other branches, well I better try one somewhere else.

May 27, 2011

Coffee at the Nero

My current favourite place for coffee these days is Caffé Nero, in the main as I really enjoy the coffee. The environment is nice too., tables and chairs or comfy sofas depending on what you want or need to do. Good service too, making sure you get what you want and provided efficiently and quickly. I have had consistently good service from the different branches of Caffé Nero I have been to across the country. The coffee is great, but is quite strong, much stronger than a similar coffee at Starbucks or Costa. However you can ask for a weaker coffee if that is your preference.

Alas there are not as many Nero branches as they are of the other two, but I have managed to find them in most major cities.

May 18, 2011

Told you Soho Coffee Co

Two years ago I wrote up about a visit to a branch of the Soho Coffee Co.

Back then I asked

Let me ask you a question, is it really so difficult in this day and age, for a coffee shop to take coffee orders and then make the coffee?

I also said

Recently I went to the Soho Coffee Co and was frankly appalled by the level of incompetency shown by the six staff behind the counter in undertaking the coffee making and serving process.

I finished off by stating

Anyway as a result it will be sometime (if ever) I go back to the Soho Coffee Co.

Well, here we are two years later and I have never gone back to that branch of the Soho Coffee Co.

Just shows the importance of decent customer service and efficient serving. I have visited many coffee places close to that branch, but have not been back.

So what of other Soho Coffee Co branches, well I did visit one once at a motorway services, but only the once. I do recall that service was okay, but not fantastic!

The thing is for me, I know the staff are poorly paid and overworked, but from what I can see the problem is not staff, but management and the management of systems. If some coffee places can get it right, why can’t all of them get the little things just right.

May 4, 2011

This is how you do it…

Why is it that so many coffee places can not get making a simple Americano right?

This Americano from Caffe Nero is a perfect example of how it should be done.

Great espresso coffee topped off with hot water. A great coffee.

At quite a few coffee places I go to, they just get it plain wrong. The key is that the crema (that’s the froth on the top) adds so much to the coffee drinking experience and flavour. Lose that and the coffee is nowhere as near as good as it could be.

I quite like my Americano strong, now I could do that by asking for an extra shot, however as a cheapskate I ask for less water. You would be surprised by how many baristas have no idea what I mean by “not too much water please”.

I really enjoyed my Americano from Caffe Nero and would go there again.

April 24, 2011

Flat White’ish

After a walk this morning I found myself at my local Costa, as you do…

I have mentioned previously that:

Costa however do seem to be able to make an adequate flat white. Like most things, they don’t seem to come close to the ones I had out in New Zealand.

Well today the barista who was on duty had no idea how to make a Flat White. Alas it wasn’t the first time either that I have had a Flat White which wasn’t a Flat White.

I am guessing that they don’t get ordered much and as a result they lack the experience of making them on a regular basis and so they are a bit of a challenge. Alas this is a vicious circle, as people like me who order them, probably won’t order them again as they weren’t up to scratch.

The thing is the Flat White is not the cheap option, at £2.40 it’s near the top end of the menu of coffees. Yes I know I should have complained, but to be honest the queue behind me was horrendous, and I had three impatient little people wanting their toast and apple juice. Also the staff don’t appear to care very much about providing good service either, they come across as disorganised and see customers as an inconvenience. The thing is having been to other coffee places (independents and chains) where the baristas have been professional and shown that they really care about the coffee they make, it’s always a disappointment when you go somewhere where the staff don’t seem to care.

It isn’t a “real” Costa, in the sense that it is a franchised branch, but wouldn’t think that was really the issue. My first choice would be to avoid the place and go somewhere else… however choice is limited, and the Morrisons Cafe is not really a viable option (even if I am the Mayor).

So maybe next time I will complain, I certainly should drop a line to their head office.

March 3, 2011

Coffee and Croissant

Wanting a break whilst shopping recently we went to Patisserie Valerie for coffee and cakes.

The coffee was very nice, and for a change from many coffee places not in a huge vat of a mug, but more of a cup. I had an americano and it was very nice.

If you are use to the Venti sized coffee servings that you get at Starbucks or Costa you would be disappointed. But for me the quality of the coffee was good and that to be honest is what really counts, not the quantity of coffee. My wife had a filter coffee and she enjoyed that.

There was a wide choice of cakes and I was tempted by many different varities. In the end I went with the almond croissant.

It did taste of almonds, the almond paste was not overdone, though I would have liked more almonds on top and slightly less icing sugar. As for the other cakes, the toasted teacake was according to my son “not very nice” and having had a bite I had to agree. Something not quite right about it. However my daughter was overwhelmed by her huge plain croissant, so much so we had to get some more butter for it, which came quickly and with a smile. The waitress even offered to bring a bag if we couldn’t finish it; it was that large. My wife enjoyed her cinnamon danish pastry and I didn’t get a look in for a bite, even though I offered her a bit of my almond croissant.

With free wifi it’s a nice place to sit and work over a coffee, though as we found a nice place to take a break. The service was efficient and quick, and certainly so much better than the Café Rouge next door.

January 27, 2011

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

So there I was at Paddington waiting for my train when I thought I would get a coffee, well I’m not that much of a fan of the coffee on the train and decided that I quite fancied a doughnut too.

I was slightly sceptical of Krispy Kreme though I did quite like the look of the doughnuts and so falling to temptation bought a small americano and two doughnuts, a simple glazed ring and a lemon meringue filled doughnut.

Now they were slightly too sweet for me, but they were fresh and tasted quite nice.

The simple glazed ring doughtnut had too much glaze as there was a fair bit of sticky glaze on the underneath.

The lemon meringue filled doughnut came filled with a lemon custard and was topped with a thin meringue. This was better than the glazed doughnut and was, well let’s say it was an interesting experience.

Would I get them again?

Probably not unless I was really fancying something really sweet!

What about the coffee? Well the coffee wasn’t that bad, certainly better than the coffee you get on the train.

January 23, 2011

Costa Flat White

Experience has told me that Starbucks though they now sell the flat white aren’t much good at making them. I have also found asking them to make a skinny flat white results in either excuses that this isn’t possible or that the end result will not be very satisfactory.

Costa however do seem to be able to make an adequate flat white.

Like most things, they don’t seem to come close to the ones I had out in New Zealand. Costa also don’t complain if you ask for a skinny flat white either.

The only thing I don’t quite understand is why is the flat white more expensive than other similar coffees on offer?

Oh and another question is a flat white different to a latté? It should be in my opinion, a latte should have less foam and a flat white should use a foam consisting of much smaller air bubbles than you would find in a cappuccino. Not every coffee place I go to knows that though. Ah well one day I will need to go back to Auckland for a visit.

January 16, 2011

Coffee at Pizza Express

When the Americano I had ordered at Pizza Express arrived, I wasn’t that impressed to be honest. It looked a little flat and there was no crema, something I normally expect to see in an Americano.

However appearances aside, there was a real depth of flavour and I really quite enjoyed it.

January 14, 2011

On the train…

Earlier this week on my way to a conference decided to have a coffee on the train.

In the past coffee on the train was basically a no no for me!

Why?

Well generally it was instant coffee and as a real coffee aficionado (or is that just a posh word for snob) I don’t drink instant coffee. So I would normally get a tea.

Things have improved in recent years and now on the high speed First Great Western services you can get freshly brewed coffee from freshly ground beans. As with any high street coffee outlet you can get your choice of cappuccino, latte, etc…

I went with an Americano and though pleased to see that it was Fairtrade, it was freshly made, I was disappointed with the resulting coffee. It lacked depth, character and flavour. Don’t get me wrong it was so much better than instant coffee, but was not special and to be honest on the way back I didn’t bother with the coffee.