UKC

Used to have a great local independent coffee house which sadly closed down about 6 months ago. Nearest one to me now is Nero's which actually makes a very nice expresso, Starbucks can feck off!

In reply to Cú Chullain:

Near me, currently Gloria Jeans.

In reply to Cú Chullain:

Anyone that uses Illy, best I've had so far

In reply to Cú Chullain:

they're all full of ponces, but Starbucks do the best frappawhatevers

In reply to Cú Chullain:

In fact that reminds me....................................................
C Ya's in 30

In reply to trevor simpson:No Way...Nero do the best Frappa things. To be honest I pick the one which give me my 10th coffee free, which is Nero. Although I have a small Italian coffee shop 2 mins from my flat and they do the most amazing home made tirimisu, as well as proper Italian coffee.

In reply to Bill Davidson: Kember and Jones on Byres Road in Glasgow does the best coffee I have ever had outside of Italy. (it's Illy as well).

In reply to Bill Davidson:

"Anyone that uses Illy, best I've had so far "

This is true, they are everywhere in France, sadly none near me.

In reply to lynda:

Thanks L, I'll stick that in the memory under Good Java

In reply to Bill Davidson:

Illy is overrated....Lavazza if you can get it is far better.

Of the chains Pret is the best.

The test of a cafe's coffee is the straight espresso....if it is drinkable that is a good start, if not why bother. Sadly it is quite easy to take a crap shot of coffe then disguise it with milk and sugar and sell it to uneducated punters.

I would posit that 90% of UK coffee drinkers wouldn't know a decent cup of coffee if it bit them on the arse.

That is still better than the US at 99% for the same statistic.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

If everyone new "good" coffee then you'd have lost the opportunity to feel superior in your knowledge of all thing coffee related as all the "punters" trot off to Starbucks whilst you go to "this fabulous little place on Suchandsuch Road that does an espresso to die for darling".

Just wouldn't be as fun would it.

In reply to Cú Chullain: I like coffee! Except Costa, always disappointed with coasta...

In reply to lynda: They make great freshly made savoury tarts as well.

The second best place in Glasgow to get good espresso is:

My flat....mmm Gaggia Espresso Pure, Dualit Grinder & Illy Red Coffee Beans = Perfetto Espresso!

In reply to Alasdair Fulton: mmm yes the tarts are good. Also, if you ever go for breakfast there, may I recommend the waffles with bacon and maple syrup or the croissant with wiltshire ham and gruyere cheese.

I'll be round at yours for my expresso then!

In reply to Cú Chullain:

Nero, republic, costa and starbucks in that order

In reply to Cú Chullain:

Anyone who is brewing proper Ethiopian goat food. Even Starbucks when they are brewing Sidamo.


Ask for Ethiopian coffee. They need the money.


Remember what Bob said - give them the money.

In reply to John Wood:

Seconded. My biggest frustration is reserved for places that think a cappuccino is just a frothy milky coffee, rather than an espresso with a shot of hot milk and some foam. There's a big difference!

In reply to Alyson: I've only ever once had a cappuccino from Nero, and it was unspeakably bad. Maybe I had a bad one, but the Costa equivalent is far superior.

In reply to John2:

I used to favour Coffee Republic, Costa, Nero, Starbucks in that order when I used to have a disposable income.

Currently I'm on espresso beans from Booths. Verrry nice.

In reply to John2: Remember, these caoffee chains are all just franchises...the quality of espresso is only down to the freshness of the beans, the grind, a quality machine, the right tamp pressure and the correct draw time.....pretty simple really

If only 1 or 2 of these are bad....the coffee will be rubbish!

In reply to galpinos:

true but if you're not near such and such a road it gets difficult. then i would be dying ;p

In reply to Alasdair Fulton:

and the Barista....

In reply to Jim Fraser:

Indded. Whatever you buy, make sure it's fair trade.

In reply to nz Cragrat: Well yes, it's the barista's job to make sure all these things are correct!

In reply to Cú Chullain:

Nero is definitely the best....the other's always taste strangely watery to me. I 'think' Nero puts another shot of expresso in their Americanos which might explain it. In Edinburgh, Black Medicine on Nicholson, who also use Illy, is great. Beanscene also good locally.

Although I think their store-coffee is crap, I always think the beans you can buy from Starbucks to make at home seem very good. When I was working in Rwanda about a year ago, I actually met the head taster from Starbucks who was taking his job very seriously, travelling all round the country in the back of a Pajero etc...

In reply to nz Cragrat: Agree strongly. Good beans and a fancy machine still equals dishwater when the guy/lass behind the machine doesn't give a damn about the coffee. In the UK the kit gets better but the human infrastructure - the barista culture - is pretty thin on the ground.

UK coffee is pretty shoddy, but at least you can get some compared to even 3-4 years ago.
Canada was appalling.
Australia good.
NZ could be great - the Fix in Dunedin; Joes Garage in Qtown; c4 in Chch are a real eye opener to anyone who thought they liked coffee.

Please keep sending across antipodeans who can make good coffee to spread the word here!

Cheers

Ben B

In reply to ben b: Is it true that you must be a trained barista to serve coffee in Australia? According to my sister it is....but 75% of what she says is rubbish!

In reply to Alasdair Fulton: I don't think there's any law about being 'trained' but the market is very competitive. People really are passionate about their coffee, bored and lazy baristas don't seem to last long.

HTH

Ben B

In reply to Alasdair Fulton:

that is rubbish....my fave coffe place in sydney is run by an italian family and i'm sure they never had any sort of training.

that is not to say they don't have schools and/or courses for baristas there.

In reply to Cú Chullain:

As much as i hate to admit it, MacDonalds is a reliable source of good and sensibly priced coffee, I wouldn't buy anything else there

In reply to Alasdair Fulton:

Perhaps she is confused, and meant that in order to practice law you need to be a qualified Barrister



djb

In reply to Anonymous: Lol...i thought it might be rubbish....much of what she says is!