To ask for a refund for cold coffee

[Poorqualityequalsfewercustomers]

Disclaimer: I love my coffee hot to the point where if it’s not burning my mouth, I don’t like it. This means I only go to a few coffee shops that I know will give me what I want.

My local coffee shop is clearly struggling. They have raised prices and shrunk the size of the takeaway cups. Six years ago it was £3.00 for a cappuccino now it’s £4.20, which is expensive but it’s a local business so I have tried to keep supporting.

However, they have also started switching their coffee machine on later in the morning which means it’s not fully heated when they open their doors.

I arrive at doors opening at 8 and then take DC to school and walk the dogs before I log on to work. I can’t go after the dog walk/drop off. Several times recently my coffee has been less than hot (to me), but probably still drinkable to most people. But I haven’t enjoyed it and have mentioned it wasn’t very hot, which is how I know about them not switching the machine on until later as they told me that was likely why and they would switch it on earlier again. However yesterday my coffee was cold. And I do mean cold - the milk was fridge temperature - not just not warm. I grimaced but bared with it. But the same thing happened today, so I asked for a new one. I was served a new one right away with lots of apologies. But the new one was also cold so I asked for a refund.

I’ve already told myself I won’t go back as £4.20 is far too much for a cold coffee which I think is mostly down to their turning the machine on later. I also won’t be going at weekends with DC anymore as I’m unwilling to spend so much for something I don’t enjoy
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But I’m just wondering what others would have done in my place. They seemed really upset I wasn’t happy and even more so when I asked for a refund and I know they are really struggling. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re gone within the year as every time they have raised prices they seem to have lost the morning ‘regulars.’ But I don’t think it’s unreasonable when you’re paying for something to expect to be given what you want (and more importantly, what you have always had).

Just wondering if others would have done the same? WIBU to ask for a second cup and then a refund? At what point would others stop supporting a local business to try and help it stay open?

Nescafe just doesn't compare to real coffee though. It is true however that you can get a bag gf ground or beans from somewhere like Morrisons for about £3.

Having said that, as I said earlier, if you want a proper cappuccino or flat white or whatever, made well with the right proportions and techniques, you're not going to get that at home (unless you're a barista with a professional machine). That's why I treat myself about once a week to a professionally made coffee out.
The rest of the time I'm happy with my Morrisons ground and a cafetière, and I drink it black, so there are no milk issues.

It's not up to you (or any of the other huffers talking about ISAs and things on here) to police what people spend their money on. Not to mention not the point of the thread.

4.20 isn't a huge amount to some people. Not everyone is penny pinching, and is happy to spend money on things.

Assuming people who don't spend £4.20 on a coffee because they're penny pinching is horrible and judgemental.

It’s a discussion forum. OP’s starter for 10 is about hot Vs cold coffee and asking for a refund, but it’s inevitably going to expand into “£4.20? I use a single grain of Lidl off-brand instant in a second-hand thermos I’ve had since 1965 with warm water from the tap, and anyone who doesn’t is a profligate last-days-of-Rome hound”. Otherwise it would dwindle at 3-4 pages and we’d all lose interest.

Personally my takeaway (no pun intended) is astonishment at spending £4.20 before the school gates, so you have to juggle hot (well, not in this case) liquid, dogs and children – and all their PE kits and water bottles and book bags and dioramas and mufti day tombola donations etc – among the school gate bedlam. To me that would be paying nearly a fiver to add stress to my life; I wouldn’t even bring one from home in that scenario. I’d pay £4.20 daily to avoid it.

If you’re a well trained barista, the correct temperature to serve coffee is so that you can drink it comfortably and immediately, no waiting for it to cool enough so you don’t scald yourself. This is how the Italians do it, and it’s the best way for tasting the flavour properly too.
It’s not the coffee machine that’s the issue here. It will be set to remain at a constant optimal temperature, for perfect tasting coffee, and only takes a couple of minutes so reach that temperature once switched on in the morning. Remember - there’s only a small volume of espresso versus milk in a cappuccino, so if you want it hotter just ask for it ‘extra hot’ when you order. They will then steam the milk a little longer than normal, increasing it’s temperature and therefore making your coffee hotter.
If you want it absolutely nuclear, they can do that too, but once you’ve scorched the milk and burnt the sugars in it, your coffee will smell like baby sick, and not taste pleasant. Your choice !

Thing is, I don't think it is inevitable. People could just, I dunno, not judge other people's spending or how they like their coffee.
Crazy idea I know.

How can steam not be 'as hot '? If it's not steam then it's water. If the steam wand wasn't hot enough then it would just be adding water to the milk, and every coffee machine I've come across (quite a lot) until the machine has primed ready to produce the steam, the steam wand doesn't work at all.

Sounds to me like the steam wand is broken tbh and they have been firing warm water into the milk, but in all honesty you should be able to feel through the jug that the milk isn't getting hot, and if it doesn't get hot it doesn't create different textures, froth or foam.

I mean I've had a brain fart before where I've steamed a jug of milk of 2 I have ready, done the espresso then poured the cold milk one into the coffee instead and served it 🙈 but I've not done it twice in a row, and may God forgive me for my heinous crime!

I would have asked for a hot replacement, not a refund.

Did you not read the post? This is exactly what she did and the new one was also cold. How long would you have stood there for?

But the point is that he used to get his coffee that hot so they have been selling it previously

Its a shame, I also like to support local but not if they're repeatedly crap. Had a similar situation in and independent near me where the barista tried to humiliate me when I asked for a long black with side of milk (he said only Americanos could have milk in them. Absolutely incorrect btw) and served me a drink i didn't ask for. So I've never been back.

They can't expect good custom if the service is subpar. 4 quid for a coffee is not insignificant. I would vote with my feet.

Buy your own coffee machine, a proper one, we did and it’s a game changer. Delonghi Eletta Explore in this house, cost something like £850, expensive but in the few months we’ve had it we’ve already saved that and more on not buying nearly as many takeaway coffees.

A coffee machine will not make it "hot" for exactly the same reason. She can absolutely ask for a refund for cold coffee, but equally if she wants very hot coffee she will have to specially ask for it as it will not normally come that way.

The OP's very first post says, 'I love my coffee hot to the point where if it’s not burning my mouth, I don’t like it. This means I only go to a few coffee shops that I know will give me what I want.' Which very clearly suggests that this cafe has at least in the past made it hot enough for her.

Isn't a long black just the Antipodean term for an Americano? He sounds like a tit – and, more to the point, wrong. What did he serve you?

I sound like a bit of a bellend tbh, but there is a slight difference. And it's more in the texture of the drink, which is why I prefer the long black.

For a long black the espresso is poured into the hot water and so preserves the crema, it is thicker. An Americano adds hot water to espresso for a lighter, milder taste, it's more watery.

They have both on their menu so he knew there was a difference, but decided to be a dick cos I'd asked for milk. Weird.

Legally coffee shops are supposed to sell kids hot drinks at 55 degrees, adult hot drinks at 65 degrees and adults extra hot drinks at 70-75 degrees. The milk “burns” at temperatures over 75 hence coffee shops not serving hotter than the milk manufacturer’s recommendation.

Yanbu to ask for a replacement then a refund. Yanbu to not return because it doesn’t suit you to drink cold coffee.

I didn't know that. It's useful to know; I sometimes want just black coffee when I'm out, but I don't like an Americano – I find them too thin (at home I drink cafetière coffee). So now I can ask for a long black and know it'll have that bit more texture!

I would have asked them to warm it

If you like your coffee that hot get an Americano with side steamed milk

you and the several other posters on this thread without any reading comprehension 🙄

SHE DID!