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[Closed] Costa (lot) Coffee

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[#2285401]

Just a mild and fairly pointless rant, but I feel the need to share nontheless.......

Called in at a Service Station on the M18 yesterday for a piss and fancied a coffee. I was under no illusion that a Costa in the services wasn't going to be massively overpriced, so that I can sort of live with, however.......

Please can I have a Large White Coffee, with a 'Double Shot', I asked - double shot, usually means an extra expresso in a normal strength coffee, or so I've been led to believe.......

So, do you want 2 shots instead of 4? was the reply.

Slightly confused, I decided to simplify things and stated that I just wanted a white coffee, but extra strong.

So you want two extra shots of expresso, I was asked - I said yes, as by now I just wanted a bloody cup of coffee. That'll be a pound extra - ok, fine.

So, with my bill for a cup of coffee now standing me £3.79, I thought the trivialities were finally sorted - oh, how wrong could I be.......

So you want a Massimo Americano with 2 extra expresso's?

Blood starting to boil, I repeated my request for a strong white coffee, whatever name that might be marketed under.

Finally the stupid cow saw fit to actually make my drink, but couldn't actually complete the task without turning round and asking me, not once but twice (as she forgot what my response was the first time) - do you want milk in that???????????????

Yes please, was my rather resigned answer - the mind boggles as to what other method she had up her sleeve for making it white.......


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:06 am
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Milk?

In Coffee??

Are you a girl?


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:09 am
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I avoid those places like the plague! Too much unnecessary choice. 🙄

Some time ago I started a thread about the self-heating tins of coffee, will see if I can find it.

Would definitely be cheaper!


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:10 am
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Black tea in Scotland isn't it druid?


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:11 am
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I had a Costa Gingerbread Latte today 😳


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:12 am
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Finally the stupid cow .......

She might have been new to the job, she might have had domestic issues on her mind, her mother might have just died, she might have suffered from a temporary ear infection.

It was only a cup of coffee.

Was it nice........did you enjoy it ?


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:12 am
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ernie - no, the skill she displayed turning a simple request into an over-complicated cup of what still turned out to be a white coffee can only have been developed with years of training.

Oh, and the burning desire to be an awkward ****.

It was ok, but I realised I'd only drank about a quids worth when I tipped the cold remains away today.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:18 am
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[i]Was it nice........did you enjoy it ?[/i]

For £3.79 I'd have expected a multiple ****ing orgasm.

Are people completely round the bend or what? £3.79 for a coffee!!! I hope you never complain about the price of.....anything really.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:21 am
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Flask of coffee anyone.....nice n hot....milk no problem


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:25 am
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I know quite a lot about coffee, and make my own at home with our Gaggia Classic machine. I've been a fan of proper espresso since before it was fashionable in the UK (i.e. since the early 1970s).

But I've got absolutely no idea what all those stupid names for the stuff, written on the walls of British cafes, mean. And neither, I suspect, does anybody working or drinking in those places.

To my shame, I have once had an espresso in a Costa Coffee, and one in a Cafe Nero. I have never been to any other chain, and I hope never to again. Just drink tap water during the day. You can't go wrong.

My Mom swears that (many years ago) she once asked for a coffee without milk at a self-styled high class hotel. She was told "we don't serve coffee with milk - you'll have to have it without cream"


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:46 am
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Milk in coffee ... LOL!

How MUCH! Bloody hell ... £3.79 does that come with gold dust?

I never drink at those "fashionable" coffee houses.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 12:54 am
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I bought an electric mug you can plug into the ciggie lighter socket at Mountain High for under a tenner. No muppetry allowed when we talk coffee.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 1:08 am
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The costa in our tesco is quite cheap and tastes good enough.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 1:34 am
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I think people are happy to pay these prices becsuse it makes them feel they are in Sex And The City or something


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 1:41 am
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She's not a stupid cow, she's a 'Barista'. 🙄 Although from experience they do mean the same thing!


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 2:29 am
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£3.79 for a coffee!!!

Don't buy coffee in Perth (no, the other one) then! $8.00 a cup in some places 😯


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 2:51 am
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To be fair here, you did order a "white coffee" (which would normally indicate a filter coffee) and then ask for "double shot" which would indicate an espresso based drink... no wonder the poor girl working there was confused and confirmed your order a couple of times.

I think the reason people have this belief that coffee is so expensive is because they're ordering espresso based drinks, without really understanding the level of skill required to make one properly**
If you just want a cheap, basic coffee it maybe worth just ordering a filter coffee in future. You'll probably find it a lot more reasonably priced for your expectations 🙂

--
**By which I don't mean to imply that the standard of training and materials supplied to the employees of most coffee chains is likely to make one properly.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 4:20 am
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^ Agreed. I also think the standard of Costa at motorway services is appalling compared to the ones on your high street, which themselves are very average. That, along with the price gets my goat! I'll try and stop at Starbucks on the services for their freshbrew filter stuff - I appreciate that's not always possible!


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 7:43 am
 hels
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For future reference - what you want is a "Flat White".

This is a double shot Americano with milk in, but not uber milky like a latte or cappucino, so you can drink it after midday.

They understand when you ask for a Flat White in Edinburgh now, but it may take a while to seep out to the provinces.

£3.79 though was the water shipped in from Fiji ??


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 7:49 am
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This is probably a good time to ask...when you order a Cappuccino, obviously they froth the milk, but is it normal for the froth to take up a third of the cup. The last time I discovered enough change in my wallet, I walked out thinking 'this cup feels a bit light', sure enough, a few gulps later I was left with a load of froth.

So now I get Lattes (or flat white) as you seem to actually get a full cup.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 8:12 am
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A babychino is 50p at costa - great for the bairns. Hot milk, chocolate on top and a marshmallow on the side 🙂


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 8:48 am
 hora
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Costa services on the M60/M62 -I asked for a double Maciatto (sp?) basically a single with an extra shot . They charged me for two Maciatto's. I asked why?! They pointed out its 2x. I pointed to the board that it says '40p extra shot' and they said 'no it doesn't apply'.

Asked for the manager and he repeated what the staff member said.

I asked others in the queue (as I thought I'd finally lost my marbles) but the whole queue agreed with me that it was bizarre.

The Manager relented but I imagine its the Franchise owner(s) pulling a fast one.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 8:56 am
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Niche coffee, anyone?


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 8:56 am
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spooky_b329 - Member

when you order a Cappuccino, obviously they froth the milk, but is it normal for the froth to take up a third of the cup.

Yup. 1/3 coffee, 1/3 milk, 1/3 foam. Standard cappuccino.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:18 am
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I stopped at Costa on the M4 Reading services early-ish one morning.
Stood at counter for a few minutes while a couple of girls pottered about with the coffee machine and till, neither spoke to me or even made eye-contact.

Eventually I asked 'are you open?'

to which one of them replied.... 'I don't know'

Okaaaay... bye then!


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:27 am
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People working in motorway services in 'not-as-sharp-as-you' shocker.

Bless you all and your special cotton socks.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:31 am
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[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:31 am
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Customer in not having a clue what he's talking about shocker..


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:36 am
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Let's hope some expensive coffee doesn't spoil your entire Christmas idyll....


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:39 am
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Here's a tip - the prices are all on a big board on the wall. If you don't want to pay the price, don't use the shop and make other arrangements for hot drinks.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:43 am
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@BigJohn. Was your 'Mom' in America during this debacle?


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:45 am
 hora
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I imagine if services were allowed to they'd charge you £1 to use the toilets.

Thank **** they have to provide this service FOC as part of their site/duty.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:47 am
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cuppacappycappacheeenoooo is indeed 1/3 1/3 1/3, lahhhdeeedahtay is usually a shot of expresso then the rest hot milk, sometimes topped with a small bit of steamed milk.. but not traditionally with the little dash of steamed milk if i remember correctly.

asking for what is a flat white with extra shots will confuse anyone working in a coffee vending establishment... I'm assuming you went in fully dressed and not dancing to songs nobody else can hear whilst wearing a camp-bed as a hat? If you did then its the barristers fault for not realising your mentally unhinged and just pouring you a glass of tap water and calling it holy water, then asking you to leave quietly.

you silly poor people, dont you know your overpriced hot drinks?

anyway, i'm off to sit in starbucks pretending to write something interesting on a Macbook through my thick rimmed glasses with no lenses feeling superior 😆


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 9:54 am
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philconsequence - Member

<snip>
anyway, i'm off to sit in starbucks pretending to write something interesting on a Macbook through my thick rimmed glasses with no lenses feeling superior

I'm sitting at home having revved up the Rancillio peering at STW through thick lensed glasses and feeling slightly inferior....


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:30 am
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What's an expresso?
Sounds like something you'd get told about at a breast feeding support group.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:38 am
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i'm sitting at home having loaded up the Gaggia with some of square mile roasters Finca bourbon Chimaltenago from Guatemala.
i'm typing this on a macbook pro but i don't wear glasses.
feeling slightly smug but only about not having to buy crap overpriced coffee from a motorway services.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:39 am
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Am guessing that TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR has never had to work day after day after day in a petrol station serving overpriced caffeine flavoured water to chippy blokes that can't read a big sign, with descriptions and prices, and everything.

Give her a break, is all I'm saying.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:39 am
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I think it's a bit much calling her a stupid cow. She obviously wasn't clear what you wanted and there was a break down in communication. I'm not surprised she was confused though, as I'm still not quite clear what you were after. Are you asking for 2 extra shots on top of your coffee or your coffee made with two shots? Sounds like you basically bought two drinks in one, which is why it's expensive and you are probably still totally wired from it, which is why you are so worked up about it all and calling people just trying to do a days job stupid cows...
Costa put 2 shots in most of their drinks anyway.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:44 am
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The Co-op are doing big jars of Nescafe for £4.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:45 am
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geoffj - Member
What's an expresso?

It's a veeeery fast Espresso... 🙂


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:46 am
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So you want a Massimo Americano with 2 extra expresso's?

You'll probably find its the till, not the person behind it that asks these questions. In big chains the till prompts all the questions and answers for each transaction.

There was a good example on the radio a while back - someone who works a late shift and their train home gets in after all the shops have shut, so she buys small cartons of milk from the burger king in the station. Everytime she buys a carton of milk the till prompts the guys serving to tell her to 'Enjoy your meal'


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:48 am
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Kenco anyone?


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:48 am
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Sometimes the large drinks already have 2 shots of espresso, hence the confusion over the extra shot bit


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:49 am
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Does anyone make a professional level espresso machine I can power off my car cigarette lighter socket? I'm thinking I could roast fresh beans on my exhaust manifold, use a hand grinder, then brew at leisure at the services. Has to be quicker, cheaper and easier than buying ready made.


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 10:53 am
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BWD, you just need to drive round in one of these:

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 15/12/2010 11:01 am
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