Coffee on campus

I was going to dazzle you all with a review of a restaurant this week but seeing the almost prolific response we received to our coffee article last week I thought I would join in with the conversation. It seems when it comes to our caffeinated sustenance we all have rather exacting standards and I would not expect anything less than that from any true coffee aficionado.

One of our readers mentioned the wonderfully phallic handheld espresso maker for those of us who refuse to drink anything that is not up to our calibre. At £100 it is not cheap but definitely ensures long term satisfaction. Given that the major problem with coffee on campus seemed to be connected to technique, do it yourself may be the only way for those who have certain needs.

Now that all the clearly unintentional punning is over, we can return to the issues. The only consensus seems to be a fair amount of contention over whether the coffee on campus is quite as terrible as Thomas McFadden thinks it is. Sorry Tom, the cheapness seems to make more than a few people feel some leeway is allowed with the end product; and that a little bitterness now and again is good for the soul. The key, it seems, is get yourself a good base product in an Americano or Espresso (SCR, EEE, SAF or Chemistry Café) and then add your own milk. If you are drinking Lattés then you are on your own but I suspect the majority of you are not the ones that care anyway. There was also some chat around the Felix office that College is not responsible for roasting its own beans (shocker!); it is whoever they source it from who is screwing up.

On another note, we generally give College catering a lot of flack here but last week’s article has had many come out of the woodwork in praise of café staff and their coffee making prowess. It seems individuals have their own favourite baristas and though they do not know their names they are incredibly grateful.

Someone mentioned the dreaded coffee machine in the back of the SAF as a cheap alternative and I could not disagree more, I spent a whole day of lectures staring at that dire concoction of water and sludge realising that there really was a limit to my caffeine problem. However as far as I am concerned I would much rather drink a mediocre cup of joe in College than milky, frothy, bland tasting, and arrogantly priced branding that is Starbucks Coffee. Except if I want an Iced Caramel Macchicato because everyone knows that is a dessert.