High street/Service station coffee shops

[karlt]

I
They don't even sell "instant"

Good. I don't pay good money for a nasty cheap imitation of the real thing.

[skicat]

Instant is to coffee what Heineken is to beer.

[DavidT]

In a relatively busy motorway petrol station today (note; the petrol station, not the refreshment area), the chap in front of me paid for his fuel and then ordered "an Americano with a dash of milk", at which point; a) the (only) till assistant went down the other end of the counter and started fidling with the wonderful coffee machine (see my OP for further details), and b) the rest of the queue wept......

Just an observation.

Further to other postings. I've discovered my favourite coffee from the coffee shops is apparently an Americano. I drink Typhoo tea. Can anyone tell me what is "Yorkshire" about "Yorkshire Tea"? Is it that it is imported via Leeds/Bradford airport?..... I must try it though, it seems to have some good recommendations.

[whoops]

Welsh tea's my fav. Specially sent by post to me dan sarf here in Essex to me by me bruvver. Otherwise, Twinnings Assam.

Did not know they grew tea in Wales, is this new industry?

surely eileithyia, you're tea[sing] me!

[Jonty]

My favourite morning tea is Yorkshire and for afternoon Twinings Traditional Afternoon. Very disappointed that Yorkshire have stopped the coupons. (We have a nice collection of cups, tea caddies and highly-collectable vehicles).
My favourite coffees are simply a filtered coffee, and a cappuccino but very much second to tea and then only occasionally in a restaurant.
And my favourite "eats" with a cup of tea is a toasted teacake or a cheese scone.
I drink about 12 cups of tea a day.
jonty

[DavidT]

Very disappointed that Yorkshire have stopped the coupons. (We have a nice collection of cups, tea caddies and highly-collectable vehicles).
jonty

Do PG Tips still do collectors cards? A childhood memory is of visiting my Gran and getting loads of tea cards. Aviation series was the best - Wright Brothers Flyer, Fokker Triplane, Concorde etc etc etc. Wonderfull. Then there was plants, animals, space stuff (I think) - all sorts. On reflection, Gran must have drank a heck of a lot of tea

[Vorpal]

Right!
Coffee= Lavazza or Hasbeans Monsoon Malibar,freshly perculated,black strong.

Tea=Much as it pains me to say but Yorkshire tea is the best with Twinnings Earl Grey a close second,black,strong.

Why anyone wants to pollute good tea or coffee with milk or sugar is a mystery to me

BTW In a decent coffee shop I don't mind the wait for a decent coffee

I like Whittard's Santos & Java. They do a Monsoon Malibar, as well.

I used a percolater to make coffee whilst camping this summer. One morning when my daughter needed the toilet, I left the coffee & camp stove under the supervision of a friend, who took it off the stove when it began to bubble because she "didn't want it to boil over". When I told her that's how it brews the coffee, she merely looked suspicously at me, as if that couldn't possibly be the answer. I explained that it was called a percolator, and showed how it was constructed. She'd never seen nor heard of such a thing. But she did like the coffee I made. She said it was " just like Starbucks'". I suppose that meant by comparison to instant.

As for tea, I like a variety of teas; loose leaf when I can be bothered. Most of the time, though I just drink PG tips.

I like my coffee or tea with or without milk. I used to insist on black, but it is all but impossible sometimes to get it that way. I gave up a few years ago, and just starting drinking what I was given. I've gotten used to it, and unless it's something special, I don't mind anymore. If I drink anything unusual, thoguh I prefer to taste the tea or coffee properly & not the milk.

I don't mind a wait for a good coffee, either, but in a couple of towns around here, the wait is silly in the chain coffee shops, and the independents make coffee just as good (or better), for less waiting and better prices.

[hubgearfreak]

I drink about 12 cups of tea a day.

it's a mystery to me how one would survive on so little

[hungrydave]

Problem with the poncy coffee making machines is that no matter how many staff you have, you can only go as fast as the machine will let you. Indeed, I find in some sell known chain shops that the coffee is quite often not as hot as it could be because in the rush to serve as many customers in as short a time as possible they don't steam the milk fully: no excuse for a warm rather than piping hot cappo'.

"large black filter coffee, please", and they tell me the posh name

Americano.

Not quite - for what it's worth, an americano is an espresso based drink (e.g. Hot water is forced through coffee grounds at a regulated temperature and pressure). One or two shots of espresso are then topped up with hot water to the required size.

A filter coffee is just that, hot water is left to filter through coffee grounds under the weight of gravity - all the water is passed through the grounds so you're not diluting a concentrated espresso as you are with an americano.

Filter coffees tend to taste a little more bitter / burnt as shops tend to use much hotter water in direct contact with the coffee.

I think Starbucks is the only chain that do filter coffees, your choice elsewhere is limited to an americano. If you're in a hurry, a filter coffee is much quicker as you're drink wont be made with the espresso machine.

A long black is basically the same thing as an americano.

I always ask for an americano with milk (e.g. A black coffee with a splash of cold milk). A latte, cafe au lait, flat white all have more milk than water and, in my view, are pretty revolting.

I like coffee and it's a shame that the high street chains make dishwater.

If anyone lives near bath, I'd be happy to recommend an excellent independent coffee shop.

[Si]

ah, you misunderstand, 'americano' is what they'd call it not what it is, just like you can now get a 'cappuccino' in a tub that you just have to add hot water to