Coffee shop musings
It has been far too long since I have written on here. The last blog I posted was about Megxit and in the modern world of 24-hour rolling news nobody cares about that anymore except Piers Morgan.
It has been a busy old start to this month; I've moved house, turned 33 and finally updated all my professional hardware.
So it is that I now find myself in a moment's peace, sat with a cup of coffee in Reigate. In fact, I have slightly betrayed my own principles with the aim of making sure I am giving everyone a fair shout, so I am sat in the Starbucks which has recently opened. Have no fear, it is as rubbish as you might expect.
A while ago I wrote about my new favourite coffee spot in Reigate, Canakin. It is a lovely little independent spot at the far end of the High Street. But Reigate has a fairly busy coffee culture and the town has recently been graced with the arrival of one of the industry's heavyweights. Starbucks moved in a few weeks ago. It is just down from Canakin and just up from Caffé Nero, which was previously the town's biggest hitter in the caffeine category.
So, in the spirit of fairness, while S is working, I thought I would give the new kid on the block a shot. And it's naff. The décor is as dull and flatpack as you might expect, the coffee is bland and the staff are imbued with the sort of ennui you only find in multinational machines.
The trouble with places like this is they know they are familiar and so they do not have to try. If you are bothering to spend money on coffee it seems foolish to spend it on something which is either cheaply-sourced or cheaply-made. Or both. If you want a lukewarm cup of lightly flavoured and coloured water then you can easily create that in the comfort of your own home with some bargain store instant granules. If you are going out and paying for the experience then treat yourself. Go on, you are worth it.
I am sure I had a point when I started here. Oh yes, artisans and independents need our help as customers, but they - like everyone else - have to earn it. So when they do, when they provide something better in experience, quality or satisfaction, realise that is what you are paying for. The chains don't deserve support just on the basis of name recognition.
On which note, I am off to get a decent coffee. This tepid water is putting my teeth on edge.
Main image from Engin Akyurt on Pixabay