To wonder why Costa is so popular?

[Pumpkinsspiceandallthingsnice]

I don't go in all that often but it always looks so cosy through the window.

Every time I do go in I can never get a clean table let alone a decent seat. There never seem to be enough staff to clear the tables. The cakes are always quite dry and not worth the money at all.

Yet it's always so busy.

I like milky coffee so it suits me. You can ask for different blends and extra shots if you want it stronger.

I don't really like proper coffee. I'm a chai latte or carmel latte person. I also like instant coffee and make it with half a cup of milk at home so warm milk flavoured coffee suits me down to the ground 😂

Yes, but it's still bizarre that there are people like me, who enjoy really simple basic black coffee, who can't drink the primary product in an outlet that markets and brands itself as a coffee outlet first and foremost, because the product they produce is diabolically poor.

In most other 'specialised' retailers this would lead to your business keeling over dead in days, which is the baffling thing about why they remain popular and viable.

I like their coffee. Their sausage bap used to be lovely until they started using horrible sweet brioche buns.

I’m not a coffee person- tea lover here- but the iced chai lattes are delish there. And although overpriced for what they are, their bean and cheese toastier are right up my street (my dog also loves them!).

Ours is always clean and warm!

I meet a friend in our local one in an industrial estate every 5/6 weeks. We have a coffee. I get nice offers and rewards.

For me I like it because it has the best soya milk!

Costa - Coffee is mediocre. Always dingy and poorly maintained too. Would far rather go to Pret or Nero, if going to a chain. I don’t like Starbucks either.

Costa, Nero, Starbucks...all the same really.

Overpriced inedible food and foul drinks.

I do enjoy a Costa coffee occasionally. Went into my local one last week and walked back out again. Absolutely fuck all toasties and cake wise. Went to a lovely independent cafe down the road instead and had a lovely pumpkin spice latte, biscoff cheesecake and a cheese and onion toastie

Convenience.

They might be more popular because there are more of them. A small town or suburb is more likely to have a Cost than a Nero. Retail parks and suburbs are more likely to have Costa than other chains.
Wlso I think it tries to appeal to a broader group of different types and ages.
I don’t like their coffee or most of the cakes but I like the tiffin.

Yes, but it's still bizarre that there are people like me, who enjoy really simple basic black coffee, who can't drink the primary product in an outlet that markets and brands itself as a coffee outlet first and foremost, because the product they produce is diabolically poor.

In most other 'specialised' retailers this would lead to your business keeling over dead in days, which is the baffling thing about why they remain popular and viable.

I don't think that's true at all - in every market I can think of off the top of my head (restaurants, cars, cheese, wine, clothes, books, films) a connoisseur of those things would say that the market leader/biggest selling products were crap to the point they wouldn't want to buy/consume them. There's basically always a trade-off between mass market and quality.

I took a trip back home recently & I could not get a basic coffee with cream anywhere, one place did offer up squirty cream😀 is that just not a thing there?
Cream with coffee is definitely not a thing here. Not in a normal coffee. I don't know what goes in a frappucino thingy, never had one. But if you want a basic white coffee that's going to be with milk, not cream.

I prefer their coffee to Starbucks or Cafe Nero (which I find too bitter to my taste). Our town has two Costa cafes, both have friendly staff.
The lemon muffin is my favourite treat, and my younger DS enjoys their sandwiches, like ham and cheese toastie. Biscotti are not too shabby either.

The coffee is ok, but they seem to have put their prices up on that. I usually just get Americano. I can't justify it as often but If I'm going to pay that much for coffee I'd rather support someone independent.

I’ve always detested Costa coffee, it tastes terrible, definitely similar to those cheap Tassimo things.

Black Sheep Coffee is wonderful I love that place and most independent coffee shops do really nice coffee too. Do love a Starbucks PSL though, not gonna lie 😋😂

I tend to use independents these days. However I sometimes go in Costa in the summer as it's the only cafe in our town that is air conditioned.
I don't eat the cake but agree with a pp that the chocolate twists are pretty good.

I go to coffee shops now and again to do a bit of work - I avoid Costa because it's always filthy (crumbs and gunk all over the tables) uncomfortable, and really noisy.

My local Costa is pretty decent. I can always get a table. Sometimes the tables are clean, other times, they have cups left on them.
I’ve had the same experience in the independent coffee shops too.

I don’t actually like my coffee too strong & I’m no coffee mistro, so Costa suits my taste just fine, same with Starbucks.

Some of us like different things. I would chose chain over independent every time as I like certainty. I don’t drink coffee, but I like their hot chocolate and adore their muffins. I also like my occasional freebies with the app. So yes, Costa is for me.

We have several local Costas as well as excellent indie places. The reason I sometimes choose Costa is ..

Very spacious and lots of clean tables and we can stay for ages. Dd likes to draw and it's a relaxed environment on a Sat morning
Consistency in food - in other places nearby, the cakes vary every day, sometimes there's almost nothing left, or only vegan things left, and the quality is very unpredictable. So if you go in looking for coffee and cake, it's a gamble.
For DC - free babycino so it works out cheaper or similar to other places (obvs I buy my own drink and food for at least one of us)

I wouldn't have lunch at a Costa out of choice but often go with the DC for elevenses, maybe 1-2 times a month.

Out of the chains, I prefer Caffe Nero, but unfortunately there isn't one in the areas I usually go to. I still wouldn't choose to have lunch at a chain as I'd go to a proper cafe with fresh food.

It's pretty much the only coffee shop in town so we've no choice but to go there (not that I do much at all). It's very average but it's one of the only places to meet up for a drink (and I don't always fancy hosting at home.)

I feel awful saying this but there's no atmosphere either. The staff are miserable, and they frequently run out of actual coffee for our town it's surviving because there's no other choice really!

The coffee is vile and reminds me of hospitals. I don’t understand the costalove

25 years ago, as a student, Costa, Starbucks and Nero and the like used to be a treat. They were aspirational, the American Dream, I can afford to go out for a coffee every day and walk everywhere with a branded mug in my hand. These days they’re ten a penny, at every motorway services, the quality has fallen and the prices have increased. Much prefer quirky independents now.

The independents in my area open quite short hours. One doesn’t have good extraction and does hot food so leave smelling of food like a cafe.

Filter coffee is 99p. So works fine for me.