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Four in a Bed :: New Series (Part 3)


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Old 21-10-2014, 18:05
angelafisher
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Another place where they mentioned the beautiful countryside and fishing port with its wonderful history.
Then they go go-karting. FFS!
But then you remember "Marple"!! Give me go-karting any day!
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Old 21-10-2014, 19:35
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Can't see how the other contestants can mark todays breakfast when it hasn't been prepared by the people who would do so normally? Silly of todays hosts to agree to that.
And taking out the shower drain and sniffing it? Taking OCD to new levels for this show!
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Old 21-10-2014, 20:13
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"Very similar to ours". er, not what I thought!
I know! Talk about delusional
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Old 21-10-2014, 20:26
Wolfsheadish
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Still cannot get my head around her spooning instant coffee into mugs and taking them out to the guests....has she not seen this show before? has she not seen every single breakfast sitting on every single episode feature a pot of freshly brewed coffee or cafetiere?
She seemed strangely inexperienced to me.
I think it's a bit of inverted snobbery. I noticed in today's episode they were rather dismissive of the coffee machine, because they don't drink coffee. Silly women.
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Old 21-10-2014, 20:30
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Or in a rut and standards had slipped. She'd stopped questioning the wisdom of what she was doing. Anyone in any business needs to keep reasessing what they're doing.

A week or two ago - when experienced b&b owners were criticising new-ish b&b owners (was it when one of the guys went off on one with the solo woman?) I did say that having been in the business for years didn't necessarily make one a great owner... it could mean that you simply become complacent, in a rut and don't revisit decisions and practices to question if what was right 3 years ago (say) is still right today.

I think that spooning instant coffee into (ugly) mugs is probably her norm - and maybe that's a lowering of standards which has happened over time if she has filter coffee machines / cafetieres available. She simply didn't take a step back and take a hard look at all her automatic routines before hosting the 4iaB bods.

If she had, her vague thought about getting the filter coffee out might have become less vague and she'd have looked sharper and more professional - because otherwise, her breakfast looked good... even with no choice of bacon cuts...
Yes, I think you're right about the complacency thing and about revisiting your usual procedure. I was thinking something similar when they talked about not having furniture in the rooms; many people these days would like a place to sit down and use a laptop or tablet. It only needs to be a small table and a chair and some of us like to sit at a table to put on makeup
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Old 21-10-2014, 20:32
Wolfsheadish
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Still cannot get my head around her spooning instant coffee into mugs and taking them out to the guests....has she not seen this show before? has she not seen every single breakfast sitting on every single episode feature a pot of freshly brewed coffee or cafetiere?
She seemed strangely inexperienced to me.
Who was the woman a couple of series back who put instant coffee into cafetieres?
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:20
Torch81
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It usually is on this show.
Yes, sadly true. Which is a shame of course as often the wrong one's win because of it. Well if you count 'winning' as portraying yourself in a not overly admirable way on national telly and think getting a pointless looking plaque as a result is a something of an achievement!

Coffee. Maybe I just haven't yet discovered the right one for me, but I'll choose instant (Alta Rica please), over filtered, which I usually find weak and quite horrible, every time. All a personal preference thing I guess.
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:23
anyonefortennis
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Yes, sadly true. Which is a shame of course as often the wrong one's win because of it. Well if you count 'winning' as portraying yourself in a not overly admirable way on national telly and think getting a pointless looking plaque as a result is a something of an achievement!

Coffee. Maybe I just haven't yet discovered the right one for me, but I'll choose instant (Alta Rica please), over filtered, which I usually find weak and quite horrible, every time. All a personal preference thing I guess.
You need to get yourself a cafetiere and try Caffe Nero Italian blend. Now that's what real coffee tastes like.
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:36
Torch81
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You need to get yourself a cafetiere and try Caffe Nero Italian blend. Now that's what real coffee tastes like.
I'm intrigued aft, and always open to new ideas, which this would be. Pre ground or beans? https://www.caffenero.co.uk/shop/onl...eans-c1-7.html I'm presuming you have to buy either online or direct from one of their outlets, which isn't a problem as I'm in central London so there's plenty near!
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:38
anyonefortennis
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I'm intrigued aft, and always open to new ideas, which this would be. Pre ground or beans? https://www.caffenero.co.uk/shop/onl...eans-c1-7.html I'm presuming you have to buy either online or direct from one of their outlets, which isn't a problem as I'm in central London so there's plenty near!
I buy the whole beans from their cafes and grind them fresh every morning. A freshly ground cup of coffee in the morning is sooooooo nice. You can get 2 bags for £5.50. Wholefoods do some great whole beans also which you can grind in one of their grinding machines.
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:46
Torch81
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I buy the whole beans from their cafes and grind them fresh every morning. A freshly ground cup of coffee in the morning is sooooooo nice.
Well, agreed and I want as good as I can get! This is piquing my interest and tempting me. I'm gonna get some and give it a try! I'll report back in due course.
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:47
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Well, agreed and I want as good as I can get! This is piquing my interest and tempting me. I'm gonna get some and give it a try! I'll report back in due course.
If you like fresh coffee you'll like this one.
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:55
Torch81
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If you like fresh coffee you'll like this one.
Well I like good coffee and with a strong taste preferably, so I'm definitely going to try this. Again, thanks for the recommendation. I feel we've gone a bit OT and should possibly be discussing this in the food & drink bit of DS maybe, but never mind!
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:57
anyonefortennis
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Well I like good coffee and with a strong taste preferably, so I'm definitely going to try this. Again, thanks for the recommendation. I feel we've gone a bit OT and should possibly be discussing this in the food & drink bit of DS maybe, but never mind!
It's not as if we are interrupting anyone.
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Old 21-10-2014, 22:01
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It's not as if we are interrupting anyone.
Indeed. And the regulars are a pretty friendly bunch in this thread so we should be fine!
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Old 21-10-2014, 22:06
anyonefortennis
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Indeed. And the regulars are a pretty friendly bunch in this thread so we should be fine!
The Monmouth Coffee Company in Covent Garden sells lovely coffee beans also. The smell walking past is amazing.
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Old 21-10-2014, 22:18
Torch81
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The Monmouth Coffee Company in Covent Garden sells lovely coffee beans also. The smell walking past is amazing.
Appreciated, but don't complicate matters please, () let me focus on and try Caffe Nero's efforts for now. Once I'm more experienced we can move on to bolder and more individual ventures maybe?
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Old 21-10-2014, 23:10
Wolfsheadish
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I'm intrigued aft, and always open to new ideas, which this would be. Pre ground or beans? https://www.caffenero.co.uk/shop/onl...eans-c1-7.html I'm presuming you have to buy either online or direct from one of their outlets, which isn't a problem as I'm in central London so there's plenty near!
I'm with anyonefortennis on this Making real coffee with a cafetiere is every bit as easy as making instant coffee. I'd recommend you experiment until you find what you like. Obviously buy a dark roast (which also has less caffeine) if you like a strong flavour. I'm drinking a yummy one now from Papua New Guinea, but here's what I usually buy:

https://doichaangcoffee.com

I buy the beans and grind them fresh every morning - you can't beat it!
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Old 21-10-2014, 23:35
daisydee
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Yes, sadly true. Which is a shame of course as often the wrong one's win because of it. Well if you count 'winning' as portraying yourself in a not overly admirable way on national telly and think getting a pointless looking plaque as a result is a something of an achievement!

Coffee. Maybe I just haven't yet discovered the right one for me, but I'll choose instant (Alta Rica please), over filtered, which I usually find weak and quite horrible, every time. All a personal preference thing I guess.
You certainly can't beat freshly ground beans for flavour, but my current favourite ground coffee is Lavazza Crema Gusto (available at all Supermarkets !) which I use in my small Boden cafe tierre. I've always had two of these and I'm glad I did because I broke one recently, I replaced it with a £5 one from Asda. I tried making it in a jug with the plunger from the broken tierre but it didn't work very well. :-/ (just experimenting incase I broke the other one )
Can't be without my morning shot of fresh coffee, which is why I was pretty horrified by the mugs of instant.
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Old 22-10-2014, 00:32
Wolfsheadish
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You certainly can't beat freshly ground beans for flavour, but my current favourite ground coffee is Lavazza Crema Gusto (available at all Supermarkets !) which I use in my small Boden cafe tierre. I've always had two of these and I'm glad I did because I broke one recently, I replaced it with a £5 one from Asda. I tried making it in a jug with the plunger from the broken tierre but it didn't work very well. :-/ (just experimenting incase I broke the other one )
Can't be without my morning shot of fresh coffee, which is why I was pretty horrified by the mugs of instant.
You know that's espresso, don't you? I should think it's a little finely ground for a cafetiere, but if it works for you...
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Old 22-10-2014, 10:07
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Appreciated, but don't complicate matters please, () let me focus on and try Caffe Nero's efforts for now. Once I'm more experienced we can move on to bolder and more individual ventures maybe?
If you've not got your cafetière, also consider Moka pots (if you've a heating surface suitable - I use the top of my woodburning stove though a hob works perfectly well!) but someone whose opinion I really respect says an Aeropress is better than a cafetière.

Too much info / too many options?

But whatever you use, the quality of the coffee is what matters.
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Old 22-10-2014, 10:40
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I buy the whole beans from their cafes and grind them fresh every morning. A freshly ground cup of coffee in the morning is sooooooo nice. You can get 2 bags for £5.50. Wholefoods do some great whole beans also which you can grind in one of their grinding machines.
I'm very surprised to read this, because I love the coffee in Caffe Nero and on their website it says that their online shop is the only place you can buy it. I contacted them to get clarification as to whether they meant that their site was the only online source but it is also available for purchase from high street branches. They replied that it's not sold in the cafés and their site is the only place to get it. As the postage is so collossal I haven't ordered any. Did you ask the manager to get some in for you or is it readily available in your local branch?
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Old 22-10-2014, 11:00
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I'm very surprised to read this, because I love the coffee in Caffe Nero and on their website it says that their online shop is the only place you can buy it. I contacted them to get clarification as to whether they meant that their site was the only online source but it is also available for purchase from high street branches. They replied that it's not sold in the cafés and their site is the only place to get it. As the postage is so collossal I haven't ordered any. Did you ask the manager to get some in for you or is it readily available in your local branch?
They are readily available in most of their cafes. I've been buying them over the counter for years. So I don't understand why they told you they are not available from their branches. I wouldn't buy them from their website as the postage is ridiculous like you say. Almost the same price as the coffee.
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Old 22-10-2014, 11:22
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Really? Wow, that's quite annoying that I went to the trouble of asking them and still didn't get the right info. Thank you very much indeed, anyonefortennis.
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Old 22-10-2014, 11:24
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Really? Wow, that's quite annoying that I went to the trouble of asking them and still didn't get the right info. Thank you very much indeed, anyonefortennis.
That doesn't surprise me Sue. Companies are all pretty clueless these days when you call them up to enquire about something.
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