To be feel a little bit annoyed when they ask me if I want milk with my Americano?

[said]

Um, obviously not, hence why I've specified an "Americano". I know whose fault it is - people asking for one and then asking for "a bit of milk" as well

Only go to P3 but just wanted to shake hands with stealthpolarbear.

I too prefer instant. Spponful of Kenco rich blend in a mug with a good slosh of green top, add hot water.

And I have a perfectly good palate

If I get a coffee while I'm out I just ask for an Americano...with milk

You can see why britain went down the instant route, can't you

Right: So I only read the first page (too lazy to read the rest) - I find Americano stronger than usual black coffee. I prefer stronger coffee with some milk...... am I committing an MN crime to have Americano with milk?????

(or am I supposed to actually READ the whole thread to find out why???)

I love coffee. But it must be on the strong side.

numberfour i only read the first page too...

i work in a chain coffee shop...not starbucks! and i normally the people you dont offer milk want it and the people you do dont! its called sods law.and we know there is no milk in an americano...thats why we ask u if you want it with milk!

imo the most annoying customers are the ones who say 'ooh actually can i have it with skinny milk?' right after they watched you make it 'yes of course...no no its fine im not busy!'(smiles apologetically at queue of waiting customers)

we had more important things to think about and went to war - thus we drink instant coffee

I don't care what the customer asks for, I don't care if you want milk in your Americano/black coffee/espresso. I don't care what the customer asks for. Just to be clear on that point.

No SPB, I used to drink only instant (30+ years) but then for 5+ years I drank mostly (ie 99%) tea rather than coffee.

When I moved I found I had at least 6 lb of Kenco filter coffee so went back to drinking that for a while, then back to Kenco instant perhaps 20% of the drinks I make (80% tea).

Instant is just so much more convenient when there's an advert break in a film...

I agree with donkeyderby at 13:08. Nice thermos and a packet of digestives would solve all these problems.

I have to agree on the what-sort-of-coffee-machine thing. Cappuccino does not come from a machine where you put a mug underneath and press a button saying 'cappuccino'. It is a beautifully crafted drink and nothing less will do.

I'm a total flat white convert though, creamy milk and an extra shot of espresso. Mmmmmm

My dad, a well travelled, educated man, cannot order drinks in my favourite coffee shops. He turns into a jibbering wreck and shoves a tenner into my hand and asks me to get him a 'proper coffee if you know how'. Love it.

I want a cafetiere of coffee so I can watch it develop. I want a small jug of milk, preferably warm but not frothy. And a biscuit.

I'd also like it quickly, without fuss and without anyone asking me if I'd prefer an americano.

Frankly if anyone says 'black americano' I just think Beyonce sorry.

On most menus there is either black coffee/white coffee or just Americano. So if you want a white coffee without froth, you need an americano with milk.

The reason they ask is so they can make sure they fill your Americano without the milk right to the brim. And they can stop me spilling my Americano with milk all over my fingers.

They are being thoughtful. You are being an old grouch.

What are you going to do when you really have something to whine about, like an illness or a teabag left in your tea?

Yay, melliflououscauliflower I hereby present you with the perfect thread, just for you

I don't bother asking for an Americano - I just ask for a black coffee. And they always put milk on the side!

I don't mind though, normally someone I am with is a milky coffee freak and welcomes a bit extra.

Milky coffee makes me yak. Milky anything else - absolutely fine.

"I end up stating I want a black Americano since I have ended up with a white one (as standard) too often"

Likewise

I will never forget going to a swish cafe with my dh then boyfriend about 18 years ago and he asked for a white cappuccino, I nearly wet myself but tbf I think I fell in love with him a little bit more. Aah to be 18 again!!

YABU. I often drink Americanos with milk.
I#ll ask for this in a cafe if I only want a smll amount of cold milk and not a full blown frothy coffee/

Tis true ..if you don't take milk I will fill your black coffee Americano cup to the brim

I am LOVING this thread. I have worked as a barista/coffee server/general dogsbody for years and have heard virtually all these comments before. Especially considering I work for one of the evil ones (I'd better not say which, still officially on maternity leave) and we don't serve filter coffee, nor does our tea come in pots, the only two sizes on offer are 'regular' and 'grande'... Do you all hate me now?

Oh, and for the record, I'm the worst customer in the world. I drink a decaff, soya latte with half a shot of caramel. No foam. And if you burn my coffee (so easy to do with decaff) I will bring it back!

I always ask for a filter coffee with cold milk to avoid any confusion. Can't risk one of those god awful things made with frothy hot milk - yuck! So the filter coffee's an Americano is it?

I used to be one of the "Americano with cold milk" brigade. However, I could do the order on autopilot: "Grande Americano, not filter, takeaway cup, please, (big smile) room for cold milk, cold milk on the side, no thanks, I don't want anything to eat, no honestly that's all. Yeah, you have a great day too."

My pet hate was the constant hard sell of dried-out, tasteless cardboard food that any self-respecting chain would be ashamed to sell).

All of this is in the past tense because I discovered tea about a year ago and can't live without it. I have therefore given up on coffee shops. Don't get me started on why they charge more for a large tea than for a regular when it's one tea bag in both.

Now, if you really want a challenge, try finding somewhere that will serve you a proper pot of normal tea. As in: teapot that doesn't flood the table, PG Tips and a drop of milk on the side. Now there's a proper quest.

Are Americanos pretty weak? Having lived in the States for a while (East coast) we found that the coffee served (in hotels etc not Starbucks type places) was generally very weak and tasteless, so I always assumed that was how Americans were made. dh had to go to the DR corner shop to get Mexican coffee if he wanted anythign decently strong. I like latte or espresso if I'm paying a bundle for it (ie not somethign I could easily make at home) but woudl really prefer it if any of the chains could make a decent cup of tea. In the States that was particularly difficult, what I usually got given was a not hot enough cup of water with a tea bag, and no milk. Not good.

Any with your coffee madam/sir?

GroupieGirl - even with your clues I'm still dumb enough not to know which company you work for... Good to see we've hit tea now, and how it can so often be poor - fortunate many places provide a pot and jug of milk, else we'd have some MIF or MIL arguments here and now!

I still remember the trauma of studying in London and having to choose between dirty tasting filter coffee in the uni and tasteless, grey milky coffee in the chains outside. I thought things must have got better when I heard that you could now get a flat white, but maybe not...

Another nespresso vote here. then you can have espresso/capuccino/latte/flat white whatever, and they have a brilliant choice of coffees.