to think serving instant coffee in a cafe is not on?

[KatyTheCleaningLady]

My Greggs is closed for remodeling all week, so I have to go elsewhere for my bacon roll and coffee.

I went into a nice looking independent cafe and ordered a bacon roll and a white coffee.

I then paid and popped over to the newsagents to pick something up while they prepared my order.

When I came back, she was making the coffee.

It was instant! She said unless someone orders a cappuccino or something like that, they serve instant coffee.

I had already paid and didn't see the point of making a fuss, so I just took it and left.

It's dreadful.

I know a lot of British people drink instant, but don't you think a cafe should have proper coffee?

Go ahead and give me a biscuit to dunk in it. I'm ready.

I think I mentioned the sad way American restaurants serve hot tea. And, I will readily say that the chocolate over here is far superior to the waxy grainy vomit that is Hershey's.

People can be mean, katy and they usually have agendas.

I'm an English journalist. Shortly after Princess Diana died I was subjected to a three-hour rant over dinner about how journalists murdered her and the English left her body all lonely-like the night before her funeral by a gay Swiss bloke who desperately wanted to shag my husband.

I remember just not knowing at all what iced tea is and having it explained to me by kind American customers, then presenting them with a pot of tea and a mug of (precious) ice.

American squirrels are fuckers, though. And American crayfish. Virus ridden badduns. Although to be fair I believe it was British people who brought them over so I bear no grudge against American actual people.

I drink instant or percolated. Depends if I can be arsed making it. If I'm in a coffee shop I normally have latte.

My favourite coffee chain is Tim Horton's, but it being a Canadian chain it's a bit too far to travel for a coffee.

I like an Assam tea. Strangely enough one of the better ones is from Lidl.

But the squirrels here are American (except in Scotland and a very few, small other places that still have red ones). How can the American squirrels here be inferior to those in the States?

Oh, (slow reader!) I see what you mean - the grey ones are 'winners' so 'better' (even if actually brought here by some silly English person). Well they aren't cuter!

(As for those Canada geese, ejected by your nasty northern cousins to flap their way across the Atlantic every year just to poo all over our lake-sides and riverbanks... oh, not what happens?)

YANBU! The same thing happened to me and I was horrified. I would drink instant at someone's house but wouldn't pay cafe prices for one. The point of instant is that you can make it yourself at work - no need to go out for it!

My husband prefers instant. I think it's just because that is what he is used to, which makes sense.

Yes, lots of people in the UK are used to instant coffee and they prefer it.

That's why I disagree with your thread title.

As long as the customer knows what they're getting and it's priced accordingly, of course they should sell instant coffee to people who like to drink it.

It's not like no-one can find a Starbucks or a Costa, we're literally tripping over them here...they've even got a Costa in my local bookshop.