coffee, coffee chains everywhere Options

[shedboy]

So fed up with all these coffee chains popping up everywhere, how refreshing to find a truly independent coffee shop in Wash Common.
Run by a delightful couple, all the cakes & quiches are home made as are many of the chocolates. The lemon drizzle cake is to die for & the coffee is delicious as well.
So if you are fed up with coffee chains not paying taxes etc please give this place a try.

[Blake]

I really like Starbucks and am very evangelical about the coffee it sells. That said, if a Starbucks is not available, I am happy to try something else as long as it is not Costa or somewhere downmarket with smokers outside.

[Biker1]

So fed up with all these coffee chains popping up everywhere, how refreshing to find a truly independent coffee shop in Wash Common.
Run by a delightful couple, all the cakes & quiches are home made as are many of the chocolates. The lemon drizzle cake is to die for & the coffee is delicious as well.
So if you are fed up with coffee chains not paying taxes etc please give this place a try.

Nice plug.
Is it your mum and dad?

[shedboy]

No not my Mum & Dad, just think that if something is really good folk should know about it.

[newres]

I parked outside there earlier. To be frank, I prefer the anonymity of a chain. I hate going into small independents. They always seem so desperate.

[motormad]

Especially when posting about it on a local news paper forum.

[The Hatter]

We quite like it! Makes a nice change having something like this round here. I agree with not liking to walk through the smoke haze in front of some of the town ones...ugh.

[Simon Kirby]

So fed up with all these coffee chains popping up everywhere, how refreshing to find a truly independent coffee shop in Wash Common.
Run by a delightful couple, all the cakes & quiches are home made as are many of the chocolates. The lemon drizzle cake is to die for & the coffee is delicious as well.
So if you are fed up with coffee chains not paying taxes etc please give this place a try.

I don't share your view on coffee shops in general as I think the proliferation is great, but I agree how good it is to have a coffee shop at Wash Common, and a very good coffee shop it is too, though I wish it was a bit bigger because it was completely full when I walked up there last week. Very good luck to them.

[gel]

I really like Starbucks and am very evangelical about the coffee it sells. That said, if a Starbucks is not available, I am happy to try something else as long as it is not Costa or somewhere downmarket with smokers outside.

At least Costa pay UK taxes, unlike Star~ucks who do utmost to avoid paying any, same as Caffee Nero.
Costa customers will be impressed with your comments......not.

[NWNREADER]

Pardon my ignorance, but no-one has mentioned the name or location.........

[Simon Kirby]

Pardon my ignorance, but no-one has mentioned the name or location.........

I forget the name, but it's in the parade of shops on Essex Street next to the Gun.

[Biker1]

Can someone explain to me why folks need to go to coffee shops with their astronomical prices when you can have a cup in the comfort of your own home for a few pence?
Is it the social thing?
Are they the new pub?
Whatever it is, someone hit on a goldmine!

[Andy Capp]

Can someone explain to me why folks need to go to coffee shops with their astronomical prices when you can have a cup in the comfort of your own home for a few pence?
Is it the social thing?
Are they the new pub?
Whatever it is, someone hit on a goldmine!

All of those.

[JeffG]

Can someone explain to me why folks need to go to coffee shops with their astronomical prices when you can have a cup in the comfort of your own home for a few pence?
Is it the social thing?
Are they the new pub?
Whatever it is, someone hit on a goldmine!

BIB. Maybe you have hit on something there - why go to a pub when you can drink at home? I would think similar arguments apply.

If you're out, it's nice to pop in somewhere for a coffee if it's coffee time But I don't think you'd go out just to visit a coffee shop.

[Strafin]

It's called Mocha Choc and the couple who run it are really lovely and the cakes are great. I live right here and watching the way people drive into the car park provides hours of entertainment as well.

[JeffG]

It's a really awkward entry/exit anyway, if you are using the front car park, requiring a sharper U turn than most cars are capable of.

[The Optimist]

I forget the name, but it's in the parade of shops on Essex Street next to the Gun.

Good to know Simon, thanks for that. And thanks to SB for starting the thread.

I live out of town these days but my parents are in the area so next time I'm home, I'll check it out. Anyone know if it has comfy chairs, or is it hard wooden seats throughout?

As to why a coffee shop is somewhere I go, it certainly isn't a cost-efficient thing for sure. To me it means I can get a good quality espresso drink that I can't make at home (any decent machine being quite expensive) and it's an escapism thing. Being able to sit down and read a book somewhere else can make a change to being 'stuck' in the house. So yes very similar to a pub in terms of otherwise unavailable drinks of the same quality (I do have a kegerator at home but I don't have real ale on draft ) and a social setting. Good analogy from Biker/Jeff.

[NWNREADER]

It's a really awkward entry/exit anyway, if you are using the front car park, requiring a sharper U turn than most cars are capable of.

Most cars, or most drivers?

[JeffG]

Most cars, or most drivers?

Most cars.

[Strafin]

It's funny because I see a lot of people who get round just fine, but it is an awkward turn. The main source of entertainment for me is that people drive in, and out, on the wrong sides of the road regularly. This obviously upsets the order of things somewhat. People from the rear car park technically have right of way but with no markings, they aren't always given it. And the third thing is all the old people who just clog things up and don't understand what's happening at all. These are usually the ones who's cars can't make the turn!