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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

What is this obsession with coffee???

201 replies

QueenofmyPrinces · 26/08/2020 08:22

MN seems to be obsessed with coffee....

Someone wants to meet up with friends....they are advised on MN to go for a coffee.

If someone is meeting a guy for a daytime date....MN suggests they go for a coffee.

If someone wants to ask a guy out but is shy....MN suggest she gently ask him out for a coffee.

I just don’t get it. Does nobody drink tea anymore?

In fact, the only time I see a cup of tea being suggested is if someone is in shock or very upset about something that has just happened....they are told to try and calm down and have a very sugary tea.

Every time I read a thread and see coffee as being the ‘drink of choice’ I feel inner rage Grin

In case you hadn’t realised, I am an avid tea drinker and I can’t even bear the smell of coffee, never mind entertain the idea of ever actually drinking it Grin

YABU : yes coffee is always mentioned on here but that’s because it should be the drink of choice.

YANBU - I have no idea why coffee is always suggested and it seems very unfair to simply brush aside the good old English cup of tea Grin

OP posts:
Soapysoap · 26/08/2020 10:47

I hate coffee. It's smelly and tastes horrid 🤣 I like tea, unsugared tea at that 😂
But I just say cuppa sooooo

LonelyFromCorona · 26/08/2020 10:47

Both tea and coffee are RANK, smelly, disgusting drinks that give you bad breath, stained teeth and make you reliant on caffeine.

I avoid all hot drinks.

DonttouchthatLarry · 26/08/2020 10:47

In my social circle we leave the choice of hot beverage unspecified and say 'let's meet for cake' Grin

VampireBill · 26/08/2020 10:53

@DonttouchthatLarry

In my social circle we leave the choice of hot beverage unspecified and say 'let's meet for cake' Grin
I'll be your friend
SillyUnMurphy · 26/08/2020 10:56

I ask my MiL if she fancies going out for coffee even though she is Irish and would rather eat her first born than deviate from a pot of tea Grin

CarrotCakeCrumbs · 26/08/2020 10:56

Coffee is life, sleep deprivation has given me a new found appreciation for all things caffeinated Grin but I think coffee shops just tend to be fairly quiet, comfortable, casual places to go and sit down and enjoy a conversation with a friend - of course you dont have drink the coffee there are other drinks available - but it's easier to say let's for a coffee rather than let's go to a coffee shop whatever your local coffee shop may be Grin

BashfulClam · 26/08/2020 10:59

Tea is rank, the smell turns my stomach and makes me heave. Coffee is lovely. I’m Scottish and note from my co-workers that it is mostly the English staff who tend to love tea.

SpangleBug · 26/08/2020 11:01

I'm Scottish and everyone I know loves tea(and most of them coffee too.) It isn't just an English thing.

Hollyhobbi · 26/08/2020 11:10

Back in the days when I worked in an office we would meet up for tea break. But out of 6 of us only two ever drank tea! My granny was a great woman for a 'tae'. There was always a pot stewing on the range. It was so thick you could nearly stand a teaspoon upright in it. Only one of my three sisters inherited a love of tea though. The rest of us love coffee. She drinks about 10 cups a day. I reckon my granny drank about 20 a day. A cuppa with every cigarette.

HerNameWasEliza · 26/08/2020 11:26

It's like getting fish and chips - really that just means getting something from the fish and chip shop. It's just a turn of phrase and YABU with your black and white categorizations for YABU!

Ugzbugz · 26/08/2020 11:27

Coffee is on of the most horrific stenches ever and makes your breath stink like shit, why you would drink it over a date is beyond me

lifesalongsong · 26/08/2020 11:36

@tootiredtothinkofanewname

YANBU to hate coffee. No one actually likes coffee. They either train themselves to like it, or disguise it with sugar and frothy milk.

But as an exclusive tea drinker, I do ask friends to 'meet for a coffee' even though I have no intention of ever drinking coffee.

Did you come to that conclusion after checking with all of the over 7 billion people on Earth?

You've go to hand it to the coffee production industry then to make fortunes from something no one likes

The80sweregreat · 26/08/2020 11:46

I don't like coffee , but my sons and my dh love it and will buy the weird combos on offer which are quite expensive and all style over substance.
Coffee shops have done a number on people and it's worked. Good marketing really plus it's quick for a take out too. Tea is much more faff generally and that isn't good if your in a rush to work or whatever.

cardibach · 26/08/2020 11:55

How people can drink those sugar laden ' shot' coffees or ' mocha chocca skinny what its' is beyond me
While I’m not certain, @The80sweregreat , I’m going to guess that it’s because of this weird thing whereby different people have different likes and dislikes...

alfagirl73 · 26/08/2020 12:10

I can't say for sure as haven't done research but I wouldn't be surprised if the phrase (and it is just a turn of phrase) evolved from the fact you're going to a Cafe - which is French for coffee...

Personally I like both tea and coffee but I prefer coffee - no one "trained" me to like it - I fell in love with the smell of it when my grandmother drank it. She let me have a sip of hers when I was probably about 7 or 8 and I LOVED it. My mum asked the doctor about it (this was 40 years ago) - he said it was fine to have very milky coffee. So that was that - over the years I increased the strength to "stand your spoon up in it" coffee - and I love it.

cardibach · 26/08/2020 12:27

Coffee shops have done a number on people and it's worked
I’m not intending to look like I’m stalking/picking on you @The80sweregreat but you seem to have weird inability to accept people actually like coffee and coffee related drinks. It’s not a number, maybe, but rather a service people actually want...
I agree with you about the 80s though.

QuitMoaning · 26/08/2020 12:29

In working circles it is go for a coffee which means a relaxed catchup over a hot drink or choice. I am a tea drinker although am fussy so usually order coffee when in a coffee shop (not a huge fan of coffee so don’t care if it is awful but bad tea ruins my day).

Same as when someone at work says “who wants a quick pint today?” We all know we don’t have to drink pints of something but it is still quicker than saying “who wants a quick pint of lager or ale, or a gin and tonic, or a large Or small glass of wine, or a soda and lime juice, or a Diet Coke today?”

Not something to bother my day to be honest, I know i have the ability to choose what I want to drink

CandyLeBonBon · 26/08/2020 12:41

Yanbu. I'm an avid tea drinker too

TheSoapyFrog · 26/08/2020 12:57

I hate coffee. I also hate tea.
I think it should go:
Someone wants to meet up with friends....they should go for a drink at the pub.

If someone is meeting a guy for a daytime date....they should go for a drink at the pub.

If someone wants to ask a guy out but is shy, she should invite him to the pub for a drink.

SantaClaritaDiet · 26/08/2020 12:58

What else can you say?

I use it a lot at work too, it's clear it's not an invitation for diner, it's not a seedy invitation for more, it's more casual than a meeting room.

What do you suggest people do instead of a coffee shop? Meet in a park? That would be weird.

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/08/2020 13:46

Someone wants to meet up with friends....they should go for a drink at the pub.
I don't particularly like pubs. I'm not tee total but prefer a gin and tonic at home. If I do have to go to a pub I'll often ask for tea or coffee. I would never ever arrange to meet friends at a pub.

The80sweregreat · 26/08/2020 14:00

It's just good marketing is all I'm saying!

My own sons have bought into the whole ' coffee on the go 'thing ! It's good that businesses are thriving because of it and people love it. I just think they are overpriced and over hyped but I don't go in them so I shouldn't moan about them , it's true! Plus tea in there isn't nice either.

JoeCalFuckingZaghe · 26/08/2020 14:13

No one actually likes coffee. They either train themselves to like it, or disguise it with sugar and frothy milk.
Same goes for tea drinkers, but I'd bet there are more people that drink black coffee than drink black tea.

Cuppa is an awful word as is brew.

If someone ever asked me out for a coffee my instant response would be, “I don’t like coffee.”
I'd never ask you to do anything again as I couldn't be arsed with someone so pedantic tbh.

SapphireSeptember · 26/08/2020 15:15

@thecatsthecats

Agreed. I can buy a box of fairly fancy teabags (or loose leaf tea) for the price of a Stabucks. That'll last me a week. (Jars of coffee aren't that expensive either.) What I won't be doing is buying a coffee/hot chocolate/tea latte every bloody day! I buy one a few times a month (if that.) It's a treat, not an everyday occurrence.

DappledThings · 26/08/2020 15:15

No one actually likes coffee. They ... train themselves to like it

Are the two things mutually exclusive? I did indeed train myself to like coffee. And olives. And beer. Because I wanted to enjoy these grown up things and now I do like them all very much.