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Brits spend "£122 million a week on take-away coffees"
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So apparently Brits are spending "£122 million a week on take-away coffees" - an average of £393 a year for big coffee fans:
http://www.watchmywallet.co.uk/news/2013/january/uk-spends-on-coffee-save-money-coffee-orsaveit/
Do you think we are becoming more Americanised - with the increase in home coffee machines etc? Losing our tea-loving roots?
It would be interesting to know if tea drinking is still in decline - the only info I could find on it was in this article but that was from 2005 so a bit old (and about the increase in herbal tea)...Anyone know any new figures on it?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/may/18/foodanddrink
http://www.watchmywallet.co.uk/news/2013/january/uk-spends-on-coffee-save-money-coffee-orsaveit/
Do you think we are becoming more Americanised - with the increase in home coffee machines etc? Losing our tea-loving roots?
It would be interesting to know if tea drinking is still in decline - the only info I could find on it was in this article but that was from 2005 so a bit old (and about the increase in herbal tea)...Anyone know any new figures on it?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/may/18/foodanddrink
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At home in the evening though there is nothing better than a good cup of tea.
But I want a double tall, sprinkled,half and half mocha lite cappucino espresso with marshmallows
I still drink tea though,it's particularly good for anti oxidants
Considering 'brits' have been taking holidays in European countries regularly now since the 60s/70s, it's taken a long time for decent coffee to 'catch on' here in the UK. Even now it's not uncommon to get served up a mug (yes some brits still sneer at those tiny cups!) full of boiled black water.
Making a good coffee is an art form in itself and proper coffee machines (domestic) don't come cheap. Industrial machines cost thousands. The first thing you have to know about is what kind of water you are pumping through the machine. If hard it will need filtering otherwise the machine pipes will scale up and block within a few weeks.
I'm not that surprised at the figures quoted......more surprised it's taken so long! Worth noting though that Coffee drinking here is hellishly expensive and way OTT. In Bulgaria I was paying 40pence for a double espresso.....and that included waitress service too! Here in the UK a double espresso costs a staggering £1.85.....collect at the counter!
My share of that is £0 per year.
A good strong cup of black coffee can be found easily in Italy, Scandinavia and even Germany and the Netherlands.
Starbucks coffee is revolting, Costa and Nero are okay as places go
I agree with you about Europe.......the coffee in Italy is especially good!
Starbucks is an insult to coffee .......revolting stuff:(
I think that's more to do with Bulgaria's lower cost of living. I hate to think how much even a simple espresso would cost in say Rome or Paris these days :eek:
I was like do I keep the cup!
I don't know many who go to coffee shops as most people I know do not drink tea or coffee.
Then do a shop around Auchan and (assuming you have your own machine), buy a few kilos of Auchans own brand coffee beans. Way cheaper than UK prices.
You will pay top money in any city. I never went into Sofia when I was in Bulgaria but i'd expect to pay around 80pence for a double if i was in the City centre, but pop down some side street and you'd pay half that.
Most of the coffee sold by the big chains isn't that great quality wise. People should support the quality independents who often do better coffee for less price. Plus their cakes are often made locally and fresh, rather than in some far off factory and pumped full of e numbers.
Are we to assume that because you don't ride everywhere on a fair-trade bicycle made of hemp, wear George clothing and survive on a diet of lentils and tap-water you simply MUST be living an extravagant, decadent, hedonistic lifestyle?
Anybody care to guess what the hair-styling industry, or the manicure/pedicure industry in the UK is worth?
How about the cosmetics industy or even (if you can bear to think about it) the entertainment industry?
If anything, now that political correctness has killed off the 'lunchtime pint' that market share has been taken by takeaway coffee.
Consumer expenditure on alcoholic drinks is about £40.7 billion.
The point of contention with coffee shops is that you can make a similar cup of coffee at home for a fraction of the cost.
I dunno. Where in Europe do you find "massimo" lattes in paper cups?
I agree that coffee making can be an art though. David Schomer's book on professional techniques is a must read for any enthusiast, imo.
So the coffee market is piddlingly small in comparison then, as I suspected.
More bs and hyperbole from journos desperately trying to turn sweet FA into "News" about "seismic cultural shifts".
Even if that were true, why is a point of contention? Do you ever go out to restaurants to eat even though you could probably cook yourself dinner for a fraction of the cost?
Can you?
Even if you can, that doesn't really help if you're not at home, does it?
Are we to assume that the entire restaurant/cafe industry is equally frivolous cos people can make their own food at home too?
Well I certainly can't make a drink like the ones I buy at Costa.
I'm not a big coffee drinker (actually don't like the stuff by itself at all), but I love a hazelnut or caramel latte from Costa when I get the chance. I'm a bit fed up of hearing people moan about what a waste of money it is to spend £3 on a drink or sneer at the fact it's not 'proper' coffee. I happen to just enjoy drinking the flavoured lattes that Costa make and I can afford to do so.
So, leave me alone coffee snobs!