Has coffee spawned a new generation?

Surreptitious

I can genuinely remember there being only Maxwell House at home growing up. Most people would be ashamed to admit drinking that now. If I had said to someone at 17, do you want to go for coffee, they wouldn't have known what I was talking about. It was all chips or a drink somewhere.
These days it's all dates for coffee, coffee with the mates etc. Drinking coffee as a teenager at the college canteen meant a fast run to the jacks as soon as possible, it was like black death in a cup. Now you have Chai Thai Mai skinnies and all this caper. Have we become Americanised in our thinking or was it an inevitable road to discovery us beginning to understand coffee?
It's a good thing if anything that people can enjoy socialising without the need for alcohol and are able to enjoy decent coffee at any given time considering the wealth of coffees available now. I think it was the 2000s before some places could offer a proper coffee and I bought my first French Press. There really has been an upsurge in the availability of good coffee, even the instant ones now are very nice.

Cupcake_Crisis

I love coffee. I'd rather meet for a coffee than for a drink.

But im an americano gal. None of this this non fat half foam triple vanilla soy mocha choco latte crap.

Tigger

I live in
Sligo
Which is as backwards as you can get and we've been drinking decent espresso since I was in college in the mid 90s
That's over 20 years ago t

The Backwards Man

Love coffee but have no time for coffee snobs

One big taespoon of Aldi instant, a stick of Maxim Mocha from Korea, mug a boiling water and a wee jap of milk and you won't go wrong for the day.

Surreptitious

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Love coffee but have no time for coffee snobs

One big taespoon of Aldi instant, a stick of Maxim Mocha from Korea, mug a boiling water and a wee jap of milk and you won't go wrong for the day.

Aldi instant is possibly a million times better than the stuff they had out twenty years ago though. I drink Millicano, it's strong and very tasty.

The_Valeyard

Cupcake_Crisis wrote: »

I love coffee. I'd rather meet for a coffee than for a drink.

But im an americano gal. None of this this non fat half foam triple vanilla soy mocha choco latte crap.

So you wouldn't like a...



venti, half-whole milk, one quarter 1%, one quarter non-fat, extra hot, split quad shots (1 1/2 shots decaf, 2 1/2 shots regular), no foam latte, with whip, 2 packets of splenda, 1 sugar in the raw, a touch of vanilla syrup and 3 short sprinkles of cinnamon

wakka12

Yes its a bit of americanisation but definitely one of the less bad ones. Coffee is a good social thing. Its just foreign chain coffee shops that are the disadvantage to this new social trend really

emo72

Just over on the North American continent. I must express my surprise at the length of queues forming outside of the Starbucks establishments. It's the poison of choice over here.

Surreptitious

I think people In Ireland hate Starbucks but their Caramel Macciatto is nice:)

Atari Jaguar

wakka12 wrote: »

Yes its a bit of americanisation but definitely one of the less bad ones. Coffee is a good social thing. Its just foreign chain coffee shops that are the disadvantage to this new social trend really

Coffee is not an American thing. I fcuking despise this ****e, "Americans drink/eat/say/do that, that's just an American thing"

Atari Jaguar

Surreptitious wrote: »

I think people In Ireland hate Starbucks but their Caramel Macciatto is nice:)

I remember going to Starbucks with a friend. Never been before, so he bought me this latte with some caramel syrup on top of the foam. That was €5. For some syrup.

Surreptitious

Atari Jaguar wrote: »

I remember going to Starbucks with a friend. Never been before, so he bought me this latte with some caramel syrup on top of the foam. That was €5. For some syrup.

They are woefully expensive but you possibly got a large one.

Jimmy Garlic

Surreptitious wrote: »

I think people In Ireland hate Starbucks but their Caramel Macciatto is nice:)

Starbucks is muck. Tim Horton's is good.

Satriale

Surreptitious wrote: »

They are woefully expensive but you possibly got a large one.

Oooooh Matron!

Peregrinus

The_Valeyard wrote: »

So you wouldn't like a...



venti, half-whole milk, one quarter 1%, one quarter non-fat, extra hot, split quad shots (1 1/2 shots decaf, 2 1/2 shots regular), no foam latte, with whip, 2 packets of splenda, 1 sugar in the raw, a touch of vanilla syrup and 3 short sprinkles of cinnamon

No, of course she wouldn't. As she says herself, she likes coffee.

"Starbucks. Coffee for people who don't like coffee."

Arghus

Coffee often is like manna from heaven first thing in the morning. I often wonder about people who say they don't like it. Who can walk past a cafe and smell that beautiful stink and say to themselves that it isn't for them?

I stick to The Americanos myself. Anything else doesn't have enough in it or is too decadent and closer to a sugary dessert than a good honest cup.

I'm not too sure about coffee snobbery though. Of course everyone wants to drink good stuff and not black tar, but I've had many a killer cup straight out of the spluttering nozzles of petrol station coffee machines that would put a lot of more expensive and lovingly assembled ones to shame. Watch out - there's many a bull**** artist about.

Ted111

Don't you people see?
What's happening to us.
Don't you see what's happening here?
Your drinking coffee and staying awake. And reading and commenting in a thread about drinking coffee. Making you think about coffee. Drinking more of it. Can't sleep. Reading more about it. Drinking more. Must deperculate.

aaronjumper

All hail the latte.

Outlaw Pete

I like Cappuccinos made with coconut milk.

Don't judge me.

Cupcake_Crisis

The_Valeyard wrote: »

So you wouldn't like a...



venti, half-whole milk, one quarter 1%, one quarter non-fat, extra hot, split quad shots (1 1/2 shots decaf, 2 1/2 shots regular), no foam latte, with whip, 2 packets of splenda, 1 sugar in the raw, a touch of vanilla syrup and 3 short sprinkles of cinnamon

Just an americano with room for milk. Please. Jesus. If it's a long day ahead an extra shot of espresso. If you put sugar in it I'll slap you.

KERSPLAT!

I just like tea

BrianG23

Here I am sitting here wondering what the hell am I supposed to do while sitting here in my bed and wondering what I can do that doesn't involve alcohol!

I prefer Insomnia to Starbucks.

Richard Hillman

emo72 wrote: »

Just over on the North American continent. I must express my surprise at the length of queues forming outside of the Starbucks establishments. It's the poison of choice over here.

Trivia: Starbucks only opened their first cafe in Italy in 2016.


They hadn't bothered previously because they knew Italians wouldn't like their coffee. I'm not sure how it is doing now.

I usually go to a café at least twice a day. It's 11.15am and I've already been to two.

It's a healthy thing for people to socialise without alcohol and I wouldn't say it's an American thing really. If anything, it makes me think of Europe.

Socialising in cafés feels European whereas sitting and getting some work done feels American. Stereotypes and all that.

Cupcake_Crisis

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Trivia: Starbucks only opened their first cafe in Italy in 2016.


They hadn't bothered previously because they knew Italians wouldn't like their coffee. I'm not sure how it is doing now.

I have to say I'm not a fan of Starbucks. Given the choice between tims and Starbucks.... tims every time. Cheaper and nicer. Still crap, but nicer. I miss Costa Coffee

ceadaoin.

I like coffee. Need a cup every morning or I'm good for nothing. Everywhere here serves decent strong stuff, even if it's just made with a filter and served from a jug. Could never go back to drinking instant. It's muck TBH.

I was on a school field trip with my daughter a while ago and was queuing up for snacks. The kids behind me were discussing at length what type of coffee they were getting and where has the best. They could only have been about 11 or 12. That wouldn't have happened in my day i tell ya!

Peregrinus

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Trivia: Starbucks only opened their first cafe in Italy in 2016.

They hadn't bothered previously because they knew Italians wouldn't like their coffee. I'm not sure how it is doing now.

Remains to be seen, since the one Italian store they have announced - in Milan - has yet to open. Further branches are planned later, but no locations have been announced, and I suspect much will depend on how the first store fares.

There are other American-style coffee shops in Italy, selling spiced and flavoured low-strength coffees ("novelty coffee") along with American bakery rather than Italian pasticceria. So there is a niche for them. You find them particularly in tourist areas - tourists like them because they know what to expect - but Italians also patronise them to some extent, in much the way that they will adopt Halloween, or cheesecake, or popcorn as amusing exotic novelties. Interestingly, the American-style coffee shops in Italy tend not to sell take-away coffee; drinking coffee in the street out of a cardboard cup through a plastic nozzle is, apparently, a step too far even for the more culturally adventurous Italians.

JupiterKid

Yep, coffee has indeed spawned a new generation. They're called Hipsters.

I'm a tea man myself. Coffee just has too much caffeine for me - it makes me edgy and jittery. Decaf coffee for me. A nice decaf Americano is lovely.

Starbucks is muck.

gramar

'I'm not a person until I've had my coffee'...One of the most annoying phrases to have emerged in the last 20 years.

Shenshen

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

I just like tea

Same here. Coffee makes me vomit.

Unfortunately, it's very hard now to get a decent cup of tea anywhere, and they've started charging a bloody fortune for them, too.

fixXxer

Surreptitious wrote: »

I think people In Ireland hate Starbucks but their Caramel Macciatto is nice:)

Butlers do a nicer one and you get a chocolate sweet too

Surreptitious

fixxxer wrote: »

Butlers do a nicer one and you get a chocolate sweet too

That's true. They do a lovely white chocolate skinny mocha as well.

Paddy Porter

For me the "Coffee Revolution" was seeing loads of 20/30 something women in long black coats hurrying along to somewhere in the IFSC clutching a take away coffee.

I'm sure there was plenty of coffee in whatever office they were going to but the notion of "grabbing a coffee" was beginning to take hold.

The coffee shops began to big up their products "served by skilled Baristas" who in reality were Emma and Jane with a few Hours training.

Worst of all were the knobs who infested Starbucks with their lappys and earpeices spending hours using the free wi-fi.

But hey that's marketing for you -- put about a certain mystique and faux sophistication around a very mundane product and Paddy and Mary will pony up a few extra shillings.

They are doing the same thing with "craft" beer.........

jimmy blevins

Drinking coffee makes me think of Italy or france whiling drinking overpriced muck out of paper cups, USA.

Paddy Porter

jimmy blevins wrote: »

Drinking coffee makes me think of Italy or france whiling drinking overpriced muck out of paper cups, USA.

Eh ? I think you need a coffee mate ?

Penny Tration

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

I like Cappuccinos made with coconut milk.

Don't judge me.

I fcuking hate when people order those. Coconut milk is almost impossible to froth it just turns into bubbles.

Dr Crayfish

It's nice to have a coffee out from time to time. Do yourself a favour though, I used to buy one every day, just an americano, now I just make some in a cafetière in the office. You save about €600 a year and the coffee is nicer and you're not creating rubbish every day for the landfills. No matter how skilled the bloody barista no one should be buying one of these every day, that's a gym membership or your internet paid for monthly if you give it up.

jester77

Just brew your own.

Nothing like walking into the kitchen to the smell of freshly ground beans to give you a morning lift.

I heat up my siphon, watch the magic and coffee is ready in no time, tastes better than what most cafes would sell you. I got an advent calendar last month with different beans from around the world behind each door. The variety out there is amazing.

Giblet

I'm in Portugal a lot, and those boyos know their coffee.
50c for an espresso pretty much anywhere you go, and 9/10 it's amazing!

The coffee revolution here has been going on for quite some time. Craft beers are undergoing a similar revolution in hearts and minds of the people. While there can be a lot of pretentiousness that goes along with it, a rising tide raises all boats as they say, and the quality and variety has improved immensely.

The biggest issue I see is the premium attached to it, whereas in Europe, coffee is cheap as chips, €3 coffee is the norm, and it's still rising. It's still water guys.

meeeeh

I'm an espresso drinker since Iwas very young, wasn't born in Ireland. It's still about 50/50 if you will get something decent or complete muck. That being said I find current coffee trends a bit pretentious. I drink a lot of coffee (about 5 espressos per day) but I find current thrends of buying only organic, artisan blended and locally roasted beans completely over the top. I'm probably just not sophisticated enough although half of those coffee drinkers strike me as someone who did not drink coffee before, then did a course on coffee because it seemed as a cool subject and then started pontificating about blends and which type of coffee brings put the flavour most.

OldGoat

Surreptitious wrote: »

If I had said to someone at 17, do you want to go for coffee, they wouldn't have known what I was talking about.

Pft! Bewley's Cafe, established circa 1900. I have been meeting people in there for coffee since the 70's.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I'm not a big coffee drinker. The smell can sometimes make me nauseous and I wouldn't be mad on drinking it because I believe it plays havoc with ones skin. I may be a little sensitive to caffeine too (possibly because I'm not used to it) because when I drink it, my hands shake and my eyes feel like they're stretched in my head. Not to mention it gives people awful bad breath. If I meet someone for coffee I'll generally just order a mint tea.

Maximus Alexander

I've been drinking coffee since I was a nipper, but true enough back in the day it was from a jar of instant Maxwell House in the press. The 'coffee culture' that has taken hold has been a godsend in that regard as it's become easier and easier to get your hands on a decent cup. Even the filter coffee machines at work are a stark improvement over what I grew up with, and now I've got a little machine at home that gives me a delicious espresso in about 30 seconds.

What a time to be alive...

Billy86

I wouldn't call it becoming Americanised, more that it's just an overall change in culture. I was listening to a US-based podcast a few months ago where they were actually talking about this very same thing, how over there a coffee used to mean a 50c-$1 cheap cup of hot caffeine in a paper cut 20-25 years ago whereas now its all this fancy carry on. I cant get people being into that, I love how much variety we have for food now that we used to not have, but apart from the odd mocha (because chocolate, damnit!) or espresso if I'm a zombie at 8am (hate the taste of the stuff, but it gets the job done) I'm more that happy with a jar of the €2 instant stuff from down in Aldi.

The Canadians have the right idea with Tim Hortons (massive, massive chain over there), $3.35 for about a pint of coffee and a good sized muffin in the morning.

Boom_Bap

I love me a cup of joe so I'm delighted with all the options these days.
I love having a bit of time to sit in a cafe and watch the world go by drinking a nice cup of coffee.

Hesh's Umpire

Giblet wrote: »

I'm in Portugal a lot, and those boyos know their coffee.
50c for an espresso pretty much anywhere you go, and 9/10 it's amazing!

I hear you. I visit Portugal as often as I can afford.
The coffee out there is amazing. Incredibly cheap too.

Dr Crayfish

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

I hear you. I visit Portugal as often as I can afford.
The coffee out there is amazing. Incredibly cheap too.

I love the branding of that Sicla stuff with the woman dancing

dudara

I quite like Maxwell House and the like. I suppose it the nostalgia factor, or the fact that it's a childhood taste.

I must admit that I don't like the current trends in coffee roasting. The lighter roasts that are in vogue have a flavour that I don't personally like. I find it hard to describe and I avoid a lot of the "hipster" coffee places for that reason. If I do go to any of them, I usually have a heavily milky coffee to manage the taste.

Give me a properly strong espresso made in a bar in Italy, and I'm happy out

Grayson

OldGoat wrote: »

Pft! Bewley's Cafe, established circa 1900. I have been meeting people in there for coffee since the 70's.

If you lived outside grafton st then you didn't have that opportunity.

Growing up in the midlands I can't think of many coffee shops in my home town. There were a couple of cafes in the shopping centres but that was it. Your coffee was limited to the manky drip coffee that they had. Quite often it was instant coffee that was made in bulk and kept in a large burker. I can't remember seeing an espresso machine until years later.

It's not just coffee though. If you went into a place for food there were sandwiches and rolls. We had fairy cakes rather than muffins or cupcakes. Selections of teas didn't exist.
The variety of food and drink on offer has increased massively in the last 20 years.

Tabnabs

While I like the coffee culture that has emerged in Ireland, I can't help but feel that we've missed a trick in not providing good quality brewed coffee. With practically every coffee drink available being espresso based, sometimes it's hard to beat a big mug of filter coffee enjoyed slowly and with good company. What the American's refer to as a 'cup of joe'.

beggars_bush

Go to Vancouver.

every second person walking around with a coffee cup

you haven't lived until you've had a 'shot in the dark'