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Original poster

Take-away coffee

203 replies

OnTheRoll · 31/08/2023 08:48

Had a late night working util 1am, then was up at 7am to drop off DD to the train station and looking at a very busy day ahead. There is a Costa at our train station, I hadn't had any breakfast and for a few seconds I contemplated getting myself a coffee - to pick me up and to spare the effort of making one at home. I love take-away coffee, it always feels like a treat. Then I remembered that this coffee would now be in the region of £4.50. And decided that for this money, I can wait until I get home and make one there.
If this take-away coffee had been £3.00-ish like before I would not think twice. I can still afford it technically but just can't justify this cost for a cup of hot drink.
I wonder if coffee chains will feel the impact or if there are still enough customers paying these prices?

OP posts:
HoliHormonalTigerLillyTheSecond · 31/08/2023 13:55

Takeaway everything!
I WFH and used to go out for lunch / coffee all the time. Not anymore.

You'd think the reduction in the number of people eating out because the prices are so bloody crazy, would negate the price hikes at some point!

Went to the VERY basic cafe in a local park with my kid the other day and ordered a panini a jacket pot and 3 small bottles of water - it was over £20. Ridiculous! Totally ridiculous! I won't be doing that again.

HoliHormonalTigerLillyTheSecond · 31/08/2023 13:57

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 31/08/2023 12:49

£4.50 for coffee?!! WTF 😳

We've just recently been to Italy where a very good cup is about €1.50. Costa are having our pants down!! Not even proper coffee either.

My friend ordered a double G&T in a pub the other week. It was £14!!! Ffs.

mondaytosunday · 31/08/2023 14:03

I occasionally take my daughter to an independent cafe, I get a mocha, she a hit chocolate and a cinnamon roll. It's lessthan once a month though.
Going to McDonald's for a regular coffee? No way. I do have a latte machine at home, but I go out for the ambiance (not a takeaway) and change of scene from my wfh desk, and as I say, only once a month or so.

DailyDriver · 31/08/2023 14:16

An independent can’t offer me a coffee at £1.29 and generally aren’t open at 6:30am where I can just sit undisturbed for twenty minutes on a morning. They don’t give me a free coffee every month or so either.

Yes, none of the independent coffee shops local to me open before 9am!

RosemaryDill · 31/08/2023 14:21

Meeting a friend over coffee in a cafe is fine but I've never bought takeaway coffee. I could afford it and I'm not frugal in everything but it's always seemed a step too far to buy coffee on the go. I like to sit down with a drink and if I was on my way home or to work I would just make one when I got there.

CrabbiesGingerBeer · 31/08/2023 14:36

I buy a coffee if I’m working away from home and also away from my main office. Some places have fresh milk, kettle, teabags etc., some have long life milk and a hot water dispenser, some have nothing.

If I can, I get a coffee between the train and the office so I can have a guaranteed 15 minutes peace and quiet with a drink before I start work.

caringcarer · 31/08/2023 14:37

MrsSkylerWhite · 31/08/2023 08:50

Maccies coffee is consistently nice. £1.19 I think?

I like this too.

crumpetsryummy · 31/08/2023 14:47

Yesterday 2 regular lattes, a piece of carrot cake and a dougnut thing for dad in cafe nerro was £14, ridiculous!

caringcarer · 31/08/2023 15:09

OldTinHat · 31/08/2023 09:26

I go to my local Wetherspoons with a book or headphones and a downloaded film if I fancy a hot drink out. Unlimited refills for £1.50 on tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

If you buy a breakfast the hot drink is only 99p.

beguilingeyes · 31/08/2023 15:13

There's a relatively new coffee chain in London called Black Sheep Coffee. I usually bring tea to work in a vacuum cup but left it at home one morning and bought a medium latte. £4.79!!! I was horrified.

NeedTheSeaside · 31/08/2023 15:16

Skinnermarink · 31/08/2023 08:53

£1.29 now! Was 99p at the start of the year. It’s usually pretty decent, though.

Costa coffee is horrible.

Edited
Show quote history

I must be one of a very few who can't/won't drink McD's coffee. Bleurgh.

I'm finding that it's virtually impossible to get a latte I'm enjoying now, untrained staff I'm guessing.

I've bought a new machine for home, it's been a learning curve & it's not always 'amazing', but it is always at least as good as bought latte.

I'll still buy a drink of some kind when I want to sit & be around oriole, watch the world go by, but not just because I want a coffee if I could go home, because mine is invariably nicer 🫢

specialsauce · 31/08/2023 15:17

I never usually get takeaway coffee but I needed a boost midway through a 5 hour drive today and the only option was Costa. The menu said 3.75 for the smallest (called 'tall') cappuccino, they charged me 3.80 at the till though and they couldn't explain why an extra 5p had been added on. The coffee was horrible and very bitter. I added 4 sugars and it was still bitter. I drank a third of it and couldn't stomach the rest. Rubbish price, rubbish coffee.

theresnolimits · 31/08/2023 15:28

I must be missing these nearly £5 coffees. Flat White in Costa is £3.45 and a similar price in all the independent coffee shops near me (commuter belt Bucks). Granted it used to be pre Covid about £2.25 but I understand all the extra energy bills, staffing costs, raw materials have made a difference in those 3 years. Plus what else can you get for £3.50 that gives you 10/15 mins pleasure - even more of a bargain if you sit in?

Now if you were talking about alcohol prices, I'd be more on board. £9.50 for a small glass of wine in our local gastropub. A drink before a meal for two of us (wine/beer) and a drink with the meal and it's £30 - nearly as much as the meal. We simply never go out for a drink any more and I can't see how pubs think they will carry on.

Original poster
OnTheRoll · 31/08/2023 15:31

SisterAgatha · 31/08/2023 10:02

Also mine is £3.50 and it’s zone 1 central London so £4.50 is outrageous. Was it a coffee or some cream dessert coffee thing with all the business?

Nothing fancy really. My go-to coffee is large latte with coconut milk (it's sweet without sugar) and it is about £4.50. If a seasonal drink (Pumpkin Spice or something) it's closer to £5 and more.

OP posts:
bluebellart · 31/08/2023 15:33

@NeedTheSeaside I also can't stand McD's coffee. Or Costa, Pret, etc. The only large chain coffee that's vaguely drinkable to me is Nero (even then they are not great!)

I still buy it though because I'm a caffiene addict 😂 There are a few independents near me that make good, fresh coffee. I don't mind paying £4 for that but resent paying it at Costa.

NorthWestThree · 31/08/2023 15:35

I have a pret subscription for £30 a month. I get at least 5 coffees a week, and when I'm busy with work (my job involves a lot of travelling around) it can be 10 a week.

bluebellart · 31/08/2023 15:36

@theresnolimits The most basic latte is usually about £3.50 but if you want a larger size and/ or any kind of non-dairy milk it quickly becomes a fiver.

hylian · 31/08/2023 15:38

beguilingeyes · 31/08/2023 15:13

There's a relatively new coffee chain in London called Black Sheep Coffee. I usually bring tea to work in a vacuum cup but left it at home one morning and bought a medium latte. £4.79!!! I was horrified.

I know. I bought a caramel latte and a croissant at Pret recently and it came to over £8. I paid with a tenner and had to check with the cashier that they had given me the correct change, I was so shocked.

purplecorkheart · 31/08/2023 15:46

There seems to be a significant drop in takeaway coffees in the town where I live, even the ones from the Supermarkets. I did pick up a takeaway coffee this lunch time but from a place that does not charge the earth.

Our nearby Costas seem to have had a drop in customers both in store and takeaway. Before it was always quite hard to get a table all the time. Now it is very easy to get a table and the only customers seem to be people on their laptop who only buy a tea but spends hours there.

NeedTheSeaside · 31/08/2023 15:53

bluebellart · 31/08/2023 15:33

@NeedTheSeaside I also can't stand McD's coffee. Or Costa, Pret, etc. The only large chain coffee that's vaguely drinkable to me is Nero (even then they are not great!)

I still buy it though because I'm a caffiene addict 😂 There are a few independents near me that make good, fresh coffee. I don't mind paying £4 for that but resent paying it at Costa.

@bluebellart

yeah, between my old coffee machine dying and me finally cracking & buying the new one (I decided I needed to go caffeine free, only because I didn't like feeling I needed it!! I decided I could live with depending on it & I'll cope in any situation where I can't get it!). I tried everywhere and I mean everywhere locally and only found one place and one young woman who made coffee I actually enjoyed, not just endured for the caffeine

im not thrilled at £4 per cup (I'm a minimum 2 cup person 😫) but if it was really good coffee I'd probably still be buying it! Not so bad in the week, but was annoying me needing to go out at weekends etc to get it!).

my latte art is improving as my microform has improved, but I don't really care as long as it tastes good! And I don't have to leave the house to get it.

I've had fun with researching and buying various gadgets & trying lots of beans. It's a fairly harmless hobby !

Beautiful3 · 31/08/2023 16:02

£4.50 for a coffee is crazy, I wouldn't pay that either.

SecretShambles · 31/08/2023 16:07

I used to be an absolute addict for takeaway coffee but even I balk at some of the prices now.

I tend to get a meal deal with a Jimmy's iced coffee now for £4 Inc sarnie and drink but when winter rolls around and I want something warm, iced coffee may not do it

coxesorangepippin · 31/08/2023 16:11

I buy a takeaway coffee once every two weeks. It's about £3 which is enough tbh

It just feels like exploitation

MrsWombat · 31/08/2023 16:36

I budget for one Starbucks coffee a week, and that's only because DS has an activity over the road and I need somewhere to sit. I use the wifi, get points (so an occasional freebie), sneak a biscuit in, and also use a gift voucher which I get from work at a discount so feel I'm getting my £3.25's worth.

I am also a Mcdonalds coffee fan. It's a nice coffee for the price. I recently found that Cafe Nero does 25% off if you have a Meerkat code. I try to avoid the high street generally but that is where I head when needed.

I am very glad the terrible soft-play coffee days are over. I try and take a travel mug or thermos with me normally when out and about.

Skinnermarink · 31/08/2023 16:41

MrsWombat · 31/08/2023 16:36

I budget for one Starbucks coffee a week, and that's only because DS has an activity over the road and I need somewhere to sit. I use the wifi, get points (so an occasional freebie), sneak a biscuit in, and also use a gift voucher which I get from work at a discount so feel I'm getting my £3.25's worth.

I am also a Mcdonalds coffee fan. It's a nice coffee for the price. I recently found that Cafe Nero does 25% off if you have a Meerkat code. I try to avoid the high street generally but that is where I head when needed.

I am very glad the terrible soft-play coffee days are over. I try and take a travel mug or thermos with me normally when out and about.

😆 I had to suffer a soft play coffee today! It was ‘only’ £2, leisure centre place, but he said the machine couldn’t make a black coffee so he’d do it on the ‘other’ machine in the back. It was so obviously just jar instant coffee 😩😂

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