But then you remember "Marple"!! Give me go-karting any day!

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!

I know! Talk about delusional

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.

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

Who was the woman a couple of series back who put instant coffee into cafetieres?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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!

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...

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.

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.

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.