Can we talk about Costa?

[Twitteratti]

I just don't understand why it appears to be so successful. Is it because in too many places there just aren't enough decent alternatives?

Someone on Coco Cola's board obviously thinks it serves decent coffee

Their cheese and tomato toasties are lovely.
They serve those tiny cups of milky hot choc for kids which cost 60p or are happy to pour a large drink into two cups, the independents in town are not and charge £3:50 for hot choc.
They serve small biscuits, again independents in my town don't cater for children in this way.
I feel more confident in their allergy info than in independents that serve peanut cake bars/peanut butter sandwiches.
The staff are friendly, tried a new place and was sneered at for questioning their labelling.
Unlike Starbucks they don't serve drinks and food one at a time, achingly slowly and without a tray.

Best & strongest & cheapest coffee I had was at a local Portuguese cafe

Ha ha. I travel around for work and my clients give me everything from nasty vending machine shite that is hot and wet and nothing more to pods and filter coffee complete with a full tea service and naice biscuits and the best coffee I've ever had was from a business staffed mostly by Portuguese people.

This thread has reminded me that my favourite Costa is actually at the Isle of Man airport, which is weirdly cheaper than the UK high street - coffee and cake is under a fiver. Must be a tax thing.

The toasties are lovely! As previous posters have said there is plenty of pram room, you can always get a seat, they don't mind if your baby isn't silent and the staff always offer to bring your drink to your table if you have your hands full with a buggy!

If I wanted shit coffee I would just drink instant.

This with bells on.
It’s not being a coffee snob to say that I don’t want to drink Costa coffee any more than it is to say I’d sooner have a sandwich from Pret or an independent than a curled up cheese sandwich from a petrol station.

Sorry but I just have to correct people on one point re toasties. cheese and mushroom is far superior to cheese and tomato

I can’t believe anyone would compare costa with instant fuck me, you really don’t know your coffee

Coffee snobbery is like wine snobbery- most people haven’t got a clue what they’re on about

In the one I went into they only did whole milk or skimmed. So my tea could either be too creamy or too wishy washey.

What happened to semi skimmed? Or was that just the one I went into?

A great deal for Whitbreads. I think they bought the chain for £30 million and sold it for £3.9 billion ... Pretty great deal. Impressive. Of course CocaCola overpaid as they were desperate to diversify.

Toddler was just going to say the same re size of drinks - the medium size is perfect for me. The independents tend to do small cups - 2 mouthfuls and it’s gone!

I like their coffee but do agree that the shops aren’t always as clean as they should be, and the quality of how well the coffee is made is inconsistent.

For me it's because they do a variety of iced teas and coffees whereas the independent shops in my town just do hot or soft drinks.

I will usually pick Starbucks over Costa but I rarely drink hot coffee drinks from either, if I do then I have a latte. I prefer Starbucks for frappes and hot chocolate because I once has a frappe from costa and it was awful, my squirty cream was yellow.

I love a cold brew coffee with a load of ice and a pump of monin caramel syrup Both Starbucks and Costa cold brews I've tried were like piss. I make my own in my coldbrew machine now and it's way stronger.

I like that if I go to a Costa in a service station or an airport then I'm not going to be charged £8 for a sandwich.

If I want a coffee before work, it's the only place open in my small town.

If I'm going for coffee with friends to catch up I'll go to our town's lovely independents (who are thriving). I think in the town where I work costa and the independents serve different markets and coexist well.

The staff in ours are miserable 😂 we have some wonderful independent shops... but pil always go to Costa. (They call it Costas)

If you name a U.K. town they usually say... oh there’s a [insert chain coffee shop]

I dig my nails into my leg

What happened to semi skimmed? Or was that just the one I went into?

They have very recently started to carry semi skimmed as well.

They serve decent quality tea
I love their hot chocolate
I like the corrugated type take away cups over smooth ones (lookin at you Starbucks)
Space for buggies
Generally v clean where I am
Very tolerant of babies and toddlers in my experience

The one thing that annoys me is you have to ask for napkins and the most I’ve ever been given when I asked is two. While this is of course much better for the environment it bugs me because I’m sure that’s not their motivation

glintandglide, I don't pretend to be a coffee expert but I think instant coffee is absolutely shit and Starbucks is only slightly better and Costa slightly better than Starbucks.

When I go to one of the coffee bars in Soho the coffee is on a completely different level.

Of course everyone has different tastes and the fact that Starbucks is always packed even though their coffee is vile shows that. Lots of people drink instant coffee but I can't even take 1 sip of it without feeling sick and yes, I have tried loads of different ones

Well, obviously not with all things...it's just that I think Costa's coffee is sooooooo yuk that I struggle to believe that so many could like it.

We get it OP, you’re a superior being.

I’m intrigued by all these amazing London indies that are allegedly everywhere. None are within a 15 minute walk of my office, it seems. Prêt gets my general custom (50p off for reusable cup, decent coffee), or the Starbucks two doors down who have the loveliest staff of any cafe I’ve ever been to, and next to no staff turnover in the last two years.

Costa always feels a bit grimy but my local one was v kind when I was a breastfeeding new mother and wanted to nurse a mediocre coffee for as long as I could get away with it.

Independent or coffee shop in soho are not actually By words for quality or taste. It means nothing, an independent can easily be shit and often are.

And instant coffee is in no way comparable to any bean coffee, no matter where it’s sold. It’s like comparing dirt to gold

CatchEmAll - at our local Costa why will give you a dash of both full fat and skimmed if they have run out of semi-skimmed!

"they" not "why"...

Love the coffee, love the cakes, love the savoury stuff, love the style of the place..

love the style of the place what style? Airport lounge?

@JassyRadlett None are within a 15 minute walk of my office, it seems. wherebouts is your office? I'll find you an independent coffee shop

Costa is the only place around here that doesn't let random dogs in (I don't like dogs, and I don't think they should be in a food place either, although according to MIL coffee shops don't count.)
Thankfully my Costa does let dogs in.
I don't understand why I should support independents over a chain.Costa employs local people and I have more chance of buying shares in Whitbread or CocaCola, than of having a part in an 'indie'.

Costa and Costa Express and 2 separate businesses.
Costa Express install and service the machines in petrol stations, shops etc. The machines use real coffee, milk etc. This is why they only offer semi skimmed milk, for example. You can still get double shots, etc - they just sell as individual units.
It's a massive amount of work for the machines to be individually updated to new flavours - because there are so many machines. It's not like your average coffee machine (and don't I know about it?)

Costa Coffee are coffee shops. They can offer different milks and a wider range with minimal work to implement.

Look at the business model of Coffee Nation (sold to Whitbread and rebranded), you will see that it was always about the coffee. They source great coffee, very ethically. The guy responsible for original sourcing still manages this side of the business.
Most Costa customers don't like the comparatively 'burnt' signature taste of Starbucks. It's individual taste, at the end of the day.

I really like Costa coffee, and have the opportunity to drink a lot of it! If you find a problem with Costa Express, give their Head Office a call. Some of the franchise owners are a bit irresponsible about faulty machines, because a non trader costs them. If nobody reports it, it won't be fixed.