Saturday 13 December 2008

Coffee Lessons



Apparently I have gained a reputation for frequenting various coffee outlets. So I thought I'd give you an opinion on them. I'll be as biblical as possible.


Let's start with Starbucks. Big brand, big reputation. But in biblical terms I sometimes find their coffee a bit Laodicean (See Revelation chapter 3 for the biblical allusion). I mean by that "lukewarm". The coffee they churn out just isn't hot enough. They say that's the way it's meant to be. Whatever.



Costa, well I can't think of any criticism that I would make of Costa that I wouldn't make of any of the other big outlets, namely prices and the bewildering variety of caffeine fuelled beverages they offer. Frappas and Mochas with weird flavours all feels a bit like the altars of Damascus when all you really need is the black stuff on its own.




A recent vist to Bella produced a new surprise. An Americano served as two shots of espresso in a cup accompanied by a little jug of scalding hot water so that you could determine the strength for yourself. I really can't think of a biblical allusion, but I guess you could add or withold water according to your faith. A very seeker friendly way to serve an Americano.





Cafe Nero is my coffee outlet of choice. Unfortunately it hasn't arrived in Crawley yet. A bit like revival. It's happening elsewhere but not in our patch at the moment.






Now for the shock. If you want a reasonably priced cup of coffee that tastes good, a MackeeDees latte is hard to beat. Honest. A bit like the local church, really. Always there. Open to all. Sometimes taken for granted.


Some people have even got two for one McD's coffee cards. Who'd have thought the golden arches could compete in the big time coffee league? Golden arches. Reminds one a bit of heaven, eh?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can't personally see that many parallels between McDs and heaven, however I have been proven wrong many a time before.

James said...

Hi Richard. Good to hear from you. I think you'll probably be proved right.

Anonymous said...

Hello James, I tagged you in a 7 questions thing, now you can reply to Graeme and Me in one post (points for efficiency):

http://www.richard-slater.co.uk/archives/2008/12/13/learn-a-little-more-about-richard-slater/

Unknown said...

Coffee? Coffee? we don't go to these places for coffee. They are an expression of lifestyle choices.

I need to know if the ambience will convey what a suave, jazz-loving member of the intelligentsia I am...

James said...

I feel exactly the same Kevin. Just don't have the confidence of a suave jazz-loving member of the intelligentsia to say it!

Anonymous said...

My top three in order are.

coffee republic
pret manager
cafe nero

James said...

Hi Anonymous. I'd forgotten Coffee Republic. It's pretty good. Never been to Pret Manager. Thanks for your comments. Perhaps we should invite people to list their top coffee outlets. How about it guys?

Werewolf Dude said...

Staying at home is the best coffee outlet, you can relax and enjoy a DVD/Book at the same time. Plus it's a lot cheaper. :D