Coffee should always be taken with a pinch of sugar. Its medicinal qualities are greatly exagerated. The original coffee houses were opened merely as an excuse to spend a couple of hours over a cuppa chatting over the days news and stock markets. The same goes for today. £3 a cup is quite reasonablefor whiling away the time on nothing in particular with friends. Thats why coffee houses appeal to the young who have little money to spend.
Tea is not addictive and does not make you do crazy things.

Tea for two - Me and You ?
Call us dear boy !

"You can get this from slightly more upmarket cafes, or make it yourself at home. It is a different world from what often passes for coffee. It's an awful lot nicer."

Absolutely. The ground coffee i make in cafeteria at home is orgasmic, even better than Starbucks. After drinking ground i find it hard to go back to instant. Not liking coffee after sampling instant is like trying some cheep bitter or vinegar and saying you don't like alcohol, perhaps

The instant coffee sold in supermarkets is foul. Buy fairtrade (instant, ground or beans) - it may cost a bit more, but it tastes so much nicer. And you don't need "a fancy Italian machine" - there are plenty of good inexpensive machines available now so you can make your own at home.

I do not like coffee; it gives me a headache. Tea is 100 times better, and cheaper; you can get 2 cups out of one teagbag; sometimes squeze 3.

Sun headline as coffee grounds halt: Motcha!!!
Not only loose morals and values but also a bad taste in grammar spelling and punctuation.

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Best regards for you all,

Looking forward to your visiting.

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Editor please can you suggest some more interesting things for Mark to write about such as: how long does paint take to dry?

4 finger Kit Kat, a can of Coke and some Malboro Reds for me.

The 3 best red items you can buy at any good convenience store.

The 3R's I like to call them.

To this day it baffles me why they don't prescribe it on the NHS.

Hooray for coffee! :D

I have to say, anyone who spouts the virtues of coffee, but drinks that foul 'instant' stuff is a cretinous philistine. Instant = freeze-dried. Now think about the difference in taste between a freshly picked strawberry and a freeze dried one (i.e. the type you get in some cereals). Miles apart, yes? So why would anyone think it any different for coffee?! Imagine someone saying "I really love strawberries, me, but only freeze-dried one."

Don't get me wrong, if instant's what you like, then fine, that's what you like. Go crazy. Enjoy yourself. Just don't go around telling everyone what a coffee fiend you are! You're kidding yourself.

The only coffee available on the highstreet that even approaches something vaguely passable is Nero's, at a stretch... If you're in London I suggest you try http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/. Better yet, learn to make your own.

Personally, i hate the word jobbie but i can see where the previous commenter is coming from. However, i usually find that tea or a big mac brings on my urde for a dump.

Coffee convert comment

Yes - it's addictive. I find myself driving into Gloucester two or three times a week to visit Greys, near the cross, for a cuppa. One large and a small chaser, actually. And a slice of walnut cake.

Yes it gives you a headache.

Yes you feel on top of the world.

Yes it gets you a speeding ticket with the happy happy feet driving back.

Yes it makes you dead grumpy later on.

But - oh! - I love it.

I would love to be able to drink coffee and benefit from the reputed hummingbird buzz/hum effect, but sadly it gives me the jitters and tends to amplify any feelings of anxiety I may be experiencing. Not to mention the added bonus of severe dehydration, intense headaches and a general sense of unease. This surely cannot be normal? Is there such a thing as an allergy to coffee or am I just an extreme lightweight?

Coffee is the only drink that can make a stranger break into a smile at the mere mention of it and maybe even get you a friend for life. I've met many a good new friend by chance in cafes so I know what I'm talking about.
Contrary to popular belief beer and other types of alchohol does not have this effect because by the end of the night people normally get so drunk that the next day they can't even remember their name let alone the friendly face they met in that place. And tea, juice or milkshakes just don't have that suave effect that inspires random conversation. So yes : coffee rules!

I live in Melbourne and i'm sick of hearing about coffee. it's just a warm drink. Most people have it with warm milk. Coffee flavored warm milk. I work in a cafe. the words "skinny soy, XL, mocha" make me violent. If Melbournians talked as much about social justice or prejudice as they did about coffee we would be a nice little utopia down here. Maybe if we could invent a way to harness the energy expended when talking about coffee we could lead the world in renewable energy. Alas.
Long Black

Hi Mark,

Coffee makes me need a shit.

I live in Melbourne too and greatly appreciate the quality and choice of coffee that we have here and that fact that good quality coffee is so widely available. To describe coffee as undrinkable and too bitter does suggest people aren't tasting the real thing.

A large number of people in Melbourne do take coffee very seriously. Yes, there are certainly much more important things in the world and it would be good to do more about them (merely talking about them can be a little inadequate in many cases) but a good coffee is also a damn fine way to start one's day and to get in a proper frame of mind for doing whatever it is that is deemed important in your life. I agree, there's no need to incessantly talk about it (irony appreciated) but there's plenty of time to enjoy it to the fullest.

Steer clear of Starbucks and the like and that instant stuff I refuse to even call coffee. Please don't confuse the two.

I understand (from ex-Melbournians) that there is fine coffee to be found in London but you have to be willing to travel far at times to get it. It's worth the trip.