What’s the worst coffee shop do you think?

[Soubriquet]

I needed to kill some time before my bus and the nearest shop was Starbucks.

I don’t drink coffee but I thought a cup of tea would be fine. Nope. It was horrendous. It was honestly the worst tea I’ve ever had in my life. I couldn’t drink it and I had to pay the pleasure of £5 for it!!

Next time, I would rather walk 10 mins to a greggs

Pret do nice fresh food and good hot chocolate. Greggs and McDonalds do a decent cup of tea.

When I was pregnant and a bit PFB I asked for the ingredients for the Frappuccino I was considering buying at Starbucks and the bloke handed me the Tetrapack it came on so I could read the list. Dear god. This was a long time before the current focus on UPF but even so it was enough to put me off for life. I've got a decent scientific education and I'm not knee-jerk paranoid about "chemicals!" but I've never seen such a long list of spooky gibberish.

Not a fan of Starbucks or Costa although there’s a Costa near me with a really nice, quiet upstairs area so I go there occasionally for a chat, or a read.

I can’t really fathom why coffee shops are so popular. Huge noisy coffee machines hissing and grinding, with the noise bouncing off all the glass and wood, no soft furnishings to dampen the acoustics. That’s before you add burnt beans, scalded milk and whatever excuse for tea they serve. Baffling.

I like starbucks for a latte- its nice and light and doesn't need sugar. I only order a latte from there or iced drinks.

Costa tastes ok but it makes me feel shaky afterwards- and I drink a lot of strong coffee normally.

Nero is probably my least favourite- I think it tastes bitter.

Greggs is hit or miss sometimes nice sometimes it's cold and half a cup.

McDonalds do a lovely cappuccino and flat white. Probably my favourite mainstream coffee.

I don't order tea anywhere unless it comes in a teapot haha- Im fussy about my tea and it always tastes like water.

Starbucks tea is terrible. Like dishwater.

I don’t mind Costa products (don’t drink coffee) but as a pp said, the shops are generally so tired and run down. Dark and dingy. They need a massive overhaul.

Never had a hot drink from Greggs (just the cheese and onion bakes by the bucket load) but may give it a try after this thread!

I know you asked for worst, but the only one I’ll go to now is Greggs.

I like their ethos regarding giving back to staff, it’s not horrifyingly expensive, and it’s actually drinkable.

I’ve had so many revolting cups of coffee in the past, that I’m now completely risk averse when it comes to chains (will still risk independents).

Starbucks is awful, never go in. Weak and watery, even a double shot is weak!
Nero for the strongest. Agree that Costa tastes burnt.
Use independent usually, always good.

Well Starbucks is an Israeli supporter and is widely being boycotted.

Costa are supporters of trans activism and have painted murals of post op trans men with visible scars from breast removal

So I would judge anyone who gives them a penny of their money anymore.

What I am taking from this comment is that you would like everyone to know what a fancy grown up sophisticated lady you are.

Yes there's no point going to Starbucks for tea. They don't even do decaf!

I hate having to put the milk in before the teabag has infused.

Costa is the best for teas as you get a pot, separate milk and almost 2 mugs worth.

Costa is the worst
Gails is the best.

I think all the chains are pretty hopeless for tea, the water never seems hot enough. I know they have to make a profit, and I know the mark-up on coffee is probably huge, but I can’t bring myself to pay their asking prices for a tea bag and hot water.

ahh coffee shops and cafes my pet peeve,
none in my town can get to grips with milk semi skim for tea, take the bag out first and let me put the milk in. Coffee, hot full fat milk, in a jug i can add as i like.
Dont give me skimmed milk only as a choice for tea, YUCK it goes grey, and semi in coffee does not work either, but yes they have all the oat, yack, buffalo, rice, rubbish available

I miss espresso house from when we lived in Copenhagen- all over Denmark and Sweden- nice decor with sofas and large plants , clean loos and a great coffee - yes it is about £5 - but were so huge you could share one if you carried a spare drinking vessel around with you- food very good too

I don't understand why people aren't taught how to make tea.

They add boiling water into milk then let the tea bag sit here. 🤷‍♂️

In a coffee shop they should give you a pot if you are sitting down so it can brew to your own taste.

If it's to go. I always ask for milk on the side, so I end up making it myself which is kind of pointless in paying a few quid for a cuppa. However I love my tea so have to do this if I need my tea fix out and about!

Starbucks hardly even tastes of coffee to me
Nero is good, to my taste.
I'm not sure if it's countrywide or just in the SW, but if I'm meeting a friend we go to Coffee 1 which is decent.

Agree with this take, Nero is my pick of the 'everywhere' chains, you can usually get something acceptable there.

Pret's coffee is absolutely foul.

It's very strange, because I buy Starbucks French roast coffee for grinding and making myself and it's the best coffee ever. I don't know what they do to it in their stores, but it's not nice at all.

Actually, my pro tip for Costa (only option at my local train station and I take a lot of early morning trains so would drink pretty much anything with caffeine at that hour) is to size down at least one from the drink you actually want. My preferred coffee is a flat white - if you order one at Costa you'll get a large latte sized cup of hot milk which may or may not have seen a shot of espresso in its life. Ordering a cortado gets me something closer to what I actually want.

The Starbucks where I live closed down last week as no one wants to pay their stupid prices for ridiculously milky coffee.

Clearly I've too much time on my hands - just done a deep dive on the Costa website. A flat white should (traditionally) be around 150 - 160ml. According to their website, Costa's flat white is 300ml, so double the size! Their takeout cortado is 180ml, or 145ml in store - so my theory holds weight.

I don't really like coffee, I drink a boring instant coffee to wake me up when needed but I've never had a coffee that I've really enjoyed. A fancy pants Starbucks isn't better than my instant coffee at home.
I love tea however and am incredibly fussy. Most high street coffee shops cannot make decent tea! I don't understand how they can get it so wrong.

I also don't like hot chocolate so I think I'm just not destined for a coffee shop.

Star bucks because the ones I’ve been in recently have been absolutely filthy!

Coffee chain tea is horrible because the water isn't properly boiling. I find all coffee from such places revolting and I'm no foodie.

Tea is always grim in coffee shops. The water they use isn't hot enough.

The worst I've tasted was in a local leisure centre. I like Costa