2,302 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 9:01:55 GMT
Post by Tibidabo on Mar 10, 2019 9:01:55 GMT
You've got to try the Monmouth coffee experience. What? Where? How? Map please! What if you want an Americano with cold milk? Ah. So is it warm milk they tip into that teeny jug the 90% of times they ask if I would like milk and then do that teenage thing of not bothering to listen to my reply? Surely on that looooooooong list on the wall behind them there is an option for coffee with cold milk? If not, couldn't you simply ask for Americano with cold milk if you're that weird ahem...way inclined? I don't want the stuff anywhere near me. It was the one good thing Maggie did for this country, stopping the agonising, sloooow drip-drip of milky torture of many young, innocent children by sadistic primary educators. Anyway. All this is immaterial. Americano is a long, black coffee. Fact. (Looking fine there as Bareeeeeeeesta Burly, if I may say so.)
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2,203 posts
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Mar 10, 2019 9:51:19 GMT
You've got to try the Monmouth coffee experience. What? Where? How? Map please! What if you want an Americano with cold milk? Ah. So is it warm milk they tip into that teeny jug the 90% of times they ask if I would like milk and then do that teenage thing of not bothering to listen to my reply? Surely on that looooooooong list on the wall behind them there is an option for coffee with cold milk? If not, couldn't you simply ask for Americano with cold milk if you're that weird ahem...way inclined? I don't want the stuff anywhere near me. It was the one good thing Maggie did for this country, stopping the agonising, sloooow drip-drip of milky torture of many young, innocent children by sadistic primary educators. Anyway. All this is immaterial. Americano is a long, black coffee. Fact. (Looking fine there as Bareeeeeeeesta Burly, if I may say so.) One in Borough Market, one in Monmouth Street, Covent Garden Like pick and mix for coffee. About sixteen coffee's at a time. They source their own coffee and roast the beans. You get an informative newsletter letting you know the crop, about the farm, drying processes etc. Lovely staff who are really knowledgeable about coffee. You let them know the style, taste you like and they give you samples for tasting. They ask how you take your coffee and will ground beans for home And they serve great coffee. A little more expensive and smaller cup but it sounds like this is the coffee you are wishing for.
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721 posts
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Post by hulmeman on Mar 10, 2019 10:09:11 GMT
Funnily enough, yesterday, I opened a fresh packet of ground coffee and that smell for me is right up there with new mown grass and seaside as a favourite smell. It takes me back to a beautiful coffee shop in Mahon, Menorca where I spent a happy few hours watching the world go by whilst it pi**ed down with rain thus spoiling the rest of the holiday!
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2,302 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 10:14:42 GMT
Post by Tibidabo on Mar 10, 2019 10:14:42 GMT
You let them know the style, taste you like and they give you samples for tasting. They ask how you take your coffee and will ground beans for home And they serve great coffee. A little more expensive and smaller cup but it sounds like this is the coffee you are wishing for. Sounds wonderful! Thank you. Worth making a trip for soon.
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1,845 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 11:19:50 GMT
Post by NeilVHughes on Mar 10, 2019 11:19:50 GMT
Like pick and mix for coffee. About sixteen coffee's at a time. They source their own coffee and roast the beans. You get an informative newsletter letting you know the crop, about the farm, drying processes etc. Lovely staff who are really knowledgeable about coffee. You let them know the style, taste you like and they give you samples for tasting. They ask how you take your coffee and will ground beans for home Wow, already feel like an idiot when I walk not a coffee shop, some of the things I see being drunk look like desserts and have no idea what half the coffee’s are already, this would leave me like a rabbit in lamplight frozen in an alternate universe.
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4,359 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 10, 2019 11:45:13 GMT
What annoys me the most about coffee shops in England is the terrible service.
They just don't listen when they take your order.
"Black coffee please" "Would you like milk?"
No! Or I would have asked for it!
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4,799 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 11:51:10 GMT
Post by The Matthew on Mar 10, 2019 11:51:10 GMT
Americano is a long, black coffee. Fact. Is it? As someone who never had any great interest in coffee and suddenly found that if you ask for a coffee after a meal it's like the waiter has switched to another language I often find that I'm offered an americano with milk as the closest they can get to a plain ordinary simple coffee.
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587 posts
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Post by Polly1 on Mar 10, 2019 12:09:15 GMT
I began to find lattes too milky so now I ask for an Americano with cold milk. Didn't realise this was weird!
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2,302 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 12:13:37 GMT
Post by Tibidabo on Mar 10, 2019 12:13:37 GMT
Americano is a long, black coffee. Fact. Is it? As someone who never had any great interest in coffee and suddenly found that if you ask for a coffee after a meal it's like the waiter has switched to another language I often find that I'm offered an americano with milk as the closest they can get to a plain ordinary simple coffee. Yes! They are wrong. www.primermagazine.com/2013/live/the-americano-your-new-go-to-coffee-orderIf you want to ask for an Americano with milk that's fine. They shouldn't be offering you one as an Americano is a long black coffee. I'm going to invent another name for an Americano with milk. Um. Let's see. I think 'cappuccino' has a certain ring to it....
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Post by emicardiff on Mar 10, 2019 12:29:46 GMT
So to continue, and further, this discussion... How many cups of coffee to people get through on an average day? Often just one, but I make it strong. I consider it a community service: I don't just drink coffee because I enjoy the taste, although I do enjoy the taste. I drink it so that others may live. Amen! my new boss got a hell of a shock the first time I made the coffee (we make a pot in the morning, cos we're fancy arts types) and I made it strong enough to fuel the generator. I do this so we all may survive the day.
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18,700 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 10, 2019 13:28:48 GMT
Is it? As someone who never had any great interest in coffee and suddenly found that if you ask for a coffee after a meal it's like the waiter has switched to another language I often find that I'm offered an americano with milk as the closest they can get to a plain ordinary simple coffee. Yes! They are wrong. www.primermagazine.com/2013/live/the-americano-your-new-go-to-coffee-orderIf you want to ask for an Americano with milk that's fine. They shouldn't be offering you one as an Americano is a long black coffee. I'm going to invent another name for an Americano with milk. Um. Let's see. I think 'cappuccino' has a certain ring to it.... I hereby REJECT your Cappuccino. I do not require unnecessary froth on top of my coffee. Furthermore I require cold unfrothed milk to cool down my Americano, which I like to start off with very hot.
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Post by emicardiff on Mar 10, 2019 13:41:14 GMT
Yes also a cappuccino isn't the same as an Americano with milk, because of a) the froth b) Americano is made with espresso and water rather than espresso and milk as a cappuccino is.
Also frankly, in customer service, it's easier to offer the likely options up front because 99% of people will want that and it makes your life easier. You know, for minimum wage, 8-12 hours a day dealing with the joy that is the general public.
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2,545 posts
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Post by viserys on Mar 10, 2019 13:47:24 GMT
I confess I'm also among those who order "An Americano with milk" since plan regular black coffee seems to have been abolished in the modern coffee shops with all their fancy names.
Cappuccino is, as Emily and Burly say, something different with a lot of froth, Flat White something with less froth but still frothy and Latte has a completely different different milk:coffee ratio than "black coffee with a bit of milk in it".
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2,946 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 13:59:04 GMT
Post by crowblack on Mar 10, 2019 13:59:04 GMT
Monmouth Coffee experience Yes! Amazing brownies too. I prefer tea but as you can never get a decent cup unless you make it yourself I get lattes when I'm out and about. The Almeida's is like lava and I never remember until it's too late.
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2,302 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 14:45:21 GMT
Post by Tibidabo on Mar 10, 2019 14:45:21 GMT
I hereby REJECT your Cappuccino. *Sigh* I knew I should have stayed off this thread.😫☕️
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1,895 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 15:18:43 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 10, 2019 15:18:43 GMT
I confess I'm also among those who order "An Americano with milk" since plan regular black coffee seems to have been abolished in the modern coffee shops with all their fancy names. "Would you like room for milk in your black coffee?" (I hear this more often than you'd expect. WAY more often.)
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 15:40:35 GMT
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2019 15:40:35 GMT
I confess I'm also among those who order "An Americano with milk" since plan regular black coffee seems to have been abolished in the modern coffee shops with all their fancy names. I think they call it filter.
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Post by emicardiff on Mar 10, 2019 15:46:13 GMT
I confess I'm also among those who order "An Americano with milk" since plan regular black coffee seems to have been abolished in the modern coffee shops with all their fancy names. Cappuccino is, as Emily and Burly say, something different with a lot of froth, Flat White something with less froth but still frothy and Latte has a completely different different milk:coffee ratio than "black coffee with a bit of milk in it". Yes at the risk of outing myself as one of those terrible "baristas" a cappuccino is 1/3 espresso 1/3 milk 1/3 foam. Whereas a 'true' latte should be 1/3 espresso 2/3 milk (but most will stick a bit of foam on top to make it look pretty!) A flat white is pulled differently in terms of espresso shot (shorter, stronger) and the milk foamed more 'densely' (for want of a better word for it). There is a filter coffee option in both Costa and Starbucks now for those in want of an 'ordinary coffee' but I find that isn't strong enough (see above post, it's for the safety of others I do it)
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2,203 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 15:49:34 GMT
Post by theglenbucklaird on Mar 10, 2019 15:49:34 GMT
I confess I'm also among those who order "An Americano with milk" since plan regular black coffee seems to have been abolished in the modern coffee shops with all their fancy names. "Would you like room for milk in your black coffee?" (I hear this more often than you'd expect. WAY more often.) I always say yes, even though I drink it black. Living on the edge me
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4,359 posts
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Coffee
Mar 10, 2019 16:36:21 GMT
via mobile
sf likes this
Post by shady23 on Mar 10, 2019 16:36:21 GMT
That just means they give you less though?!
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999 posts
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Coffee
Mar 11, 2019 1:13:29 GMT
via mobile
Post by Backdrifter on Mar 11, 2019 1:13:29 GMT
I stopped going in the chain places years ago due to their terrible coffee.
Independents all the way for me. I highly recommend the Milk Bar in the Victorian Market in Inverness if you're ever up this way. (Excellent ice cream too).
My standard order is a long black with hot milk on the side so I can add just one or two teaspoons. I can't recall ever being asked if I want milk. My main issue is usually the size of the cups. Most of the time I have to stop them making it in a giant cup.
One coffee a day is fine for me.
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5,495 posts
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Post by Baemax on Mar 11, 2019 8:24:07 GMT
I confess I'm also among those who order "An Americano with milk" since plan regular black coffee seems to have been abolished in the modern coffee shops with all their fancy names. "Would you like room for milk in your black coffee?" (I hear this more often than you'd expect. WAY more often.) Maybe they would just rather put the milk in themselves, because it's easier to order a black coffee with room than to order a white coffee then watch the barista like a hawk to make sure they put in precisely the required amount of milk and not a single drop more.
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Post by emicardiff on Mar 11, 2019 8:30:53 GMT
"Would you like room for milk in your black coffee?" (I hear this more often than you'd expect. WAY more often.) Maybe they would just rather put the milk in themselves, because it's easier to order a black coffee with room than to order a white coffee then watch the barista like a hawk to make sure they put in precisely the required amount of milk and not a single drop more. Exactly this. I show the coffee some milk and it's better to have it on the side rather than having to yell STOP! at some poor barista to make sure they don't drown it. Also because as pointed out above, 99% of the time you're ordering an 'Americano' or 'Filter coffee' as the product, not a 'black coffee'....and also again a lot of people DO want milk and it's a reflex question to ask for the 100th time that day if someone wants milk with that. As a similar comparison, many purists would argue one doesn't take milk with Earl Grey tea, however a lot of people do so it's easier to just ask... Honestly I don't want to get on my high horse here but there's a LOT of 'oh aren't people who work in coffee shops so dumb' actually no. Firstly all the major chains, and CERTAINLY the indies train in coffee making, coffee origins and all that jazz. Secondly baristas are working for minimum wage dealing with the great unwashed day in day out, sometimes you forgoe 'the correct way' for 'the easiest way' and if 80% of your customers want milk with an Americano, then it's bloody well easier to ask if they all want milk.
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999 posts
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Post by Backdrifter on Mar 11, 2019 12:42:53 GMT
Also, there are probably a lot of customers who put so much milk in their coffee they really do need "room" for it (baffling though it is to me, but each to their own) and the baristas have learned to check for this. Similarly, when ordering a long black - which should be a double shot as standard - the reason I often have to ask for a much smaller cup is that enough customers want their double shot in a big one for the staff to treat this as the normal order. This seems odd to me as it effectively dilutes it back down to a single, but again each to their own and I assume some like a larger amount of a weaker coffee than a shorter stronger one. A few years ago at a really nice Italian cafe in Bermondsey the barista actually said in his experience in the UK the general preference was for weaker coffee (and was actually surprised by my request for a 2-shot in a short cup). Sadly that cafe is now gone.
I suppose I just like coffee to taste of coffee, maverick that I am. Likewise tea (to taste of tea, not coffee) - seeing people drink stuff that looks like very, very slightly off-white milk makes me gag.
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5,495 posts
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Post by Baemax on Mar 11, 2019 13:33:53 GMT
The things people do to their hot drink of choice does sometimes make me wonder how much they actually like them. Indeed, the reason I stopped drinking coffee in the first place was because even teenage me could figure out that four large sugars and an inch of milk was probably a really hefty clue that I didn't particularly like the taste of coffee. I also know someone who takes his tea as basically a mug of boiled water that someone dropped a teabag into by mistake but don't worry I'm pretty sure they got it out before it managed to steep at all. I have suggested he may want to try other beverages but apparently he's happy, so I just leave him to it...
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18,700 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 11, 2019 14:21:59 GMT
Let’s keep things simple. I’ll have the Double Ristretto Venti Half-Soy Nonfat Decaf Organic Mocha-Choca-YaYa Brownie Iced Vanilla Double-Shot Gingerbread Frappuccino Extra Hot With Foam Whipped Cream Upside Down Double Blended, One Sweet'N Low and One Nutrasweet, and Ice...with Wiiiiiiings.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2019 15:06:22 GMT
Let’s keep things simple. I’ll have the Double Ristretto Venti Half-Soy Nonfat Decaf Organic Mocha-Choca-YaYa Brownie Iced Vanilla Double-Shot Gingerbread Frappuccino Extra Hot With Foam Whipped Cream Upside Down Double Blended, One Sweet'N Low and One Nutrasweet, and Ice...with Wiiiiiiings. Would you like chocolate on that?
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Coffee
Mar 11, 2019 15:14:38 GMT
Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2019 15:14:38 GMT
Let’s keep things simple. I’ll have the Double Ristretto Venti Half-Soy Nonfat Decaf Organic Mocha-Choca-YaYa Brownie Iced Vanilla Double-Shot Gingerbread Frappuccino Extra Hot With Foam Whipped Cream Upside Down Double Blended, One Sweet'N Low and One Nutrasweet, and Ice...with Wiiiiiiings. Would you like room for milk?
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999 posts
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Coffee
Mar 11, 2019 16:50:38 GMT
Post by Backdrifter on Mar 11, 2019 16:50:38 GMT
When people order lattes are they asked if they'd like to leave room for some coffee?
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999 posts
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Coffee
Mar 11, 2019 16:56:12 GMT
Post by Backdrifter on Mar 11, 2019 16:56:12 GMT
even teenage me could figure out that four large sugars and an inch of milk was probably a really hefty clue that I didn't particularly like the taste of coffee. Hahaha! Did you just carry on drinking hot milk and sugar after that?! I also know someone who takes his tea as basically a mug of boiled water that someone dropped a teabag into by mistake but don't worry I'm pretty sure they got it out before it managed to steep at all. I have suggested he may want to try other beverages but apparently he's happy, so I just leave him to it... That's the tea equivalent of those stories about people who make a martini by measuring out the gin then opening a bottle of vermouth across the other side of the room. I know people who might just as well pour out the hot water then hold it next to a photo of a tea bag.
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