Centra Frank and Honest Coffee

corcaigh1

Noticed "Frank and Honest" coffee machines popping up in centra's, pure muck and €2.50 for a regular coffee is just taking the piss...

gordongekko

Have they forced you to buy it?

whiterebel

We should just close this forum. Apparently you have to be forced to buy something for it to be a rip-off now...

Mongfinder General

whiterebel wrote: »

We should just close this forum. Apparently you have to be forced to buy something for it to be a rip-off now...

Too many tight arses in this country.

Indestructable

2.50 for a regular coffee is fairly standard now. Maybe a little more than average. Found the coffee to be okay too, although I prefer my own at home.

Allah snackbar

Have to agree with you , it's scandalous what some places charge for coffee , I buy a bottle of water for a euro instead even though I'd murder a coffee sometimes , I get a coffee in the morning on my way to work for 1.80 but during the day I'll live without it simply because it's too expensive to be buying every day . Most places convenient to motorways or major routes are 2.20 to 2.50 , how long before it hits the 3 euro mark ?

colm_mcm

Paying €1 for water instead of buying coffee isn't a great way to avoid being ripped off.

mikeoneilly

Is capitalism a rip off now?

Timberrrrrrrr

Allah snackbar wrote: »

Have to agree with you , it's scandalous what some places charge for coffee , I buy a bottle of water for a euro instead even though I'd murder a coffee sometimes , I get a coffee in the morning on my way to work for 1.80 but during the day I'll live without it simply because it's too expensive to be buying every day . Most places convenient to motorways or major routes are 2.20 to 2.50 , how long before it hits the 3 euro mark ?

Go to Starbucks and get a filter coffee (€3.10 for the large last time I was there) go back at lunchtime and get free refill on production of reciept, 2 large coffees for €1.55 each

Allah snackbar

colm_mcm wrote: »

Paying €1 for water instead of buying coffee isn't a great way to avoid being ripped off.

Most places have own brand 2 litre bottles for either 1 or 2 euro on offer , that would do me the day , a coffee would last me 10 minutes , I know what you mean by your comment but it's still a silly comparison

Allah snackbar

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Go to Starbucks and get a filter coffee (€3.10 for the large last time I was there) go back at lunchtime and get free refill on production of reciept, 2 large coffees for €1.55 each

I don't know if I'm missing out but I've never been in a Starbucks in my life

Erik Shin

Buy a flask...Make your own coffee at home... Problem solved

hungry hypno toad

Allah snackbar wrote: »

I don't know if I'm missing out but I've never been in a Starbucks in my life

I don't know if you are missing out but I've never had coffee or tea in my life.

hungry hypno toad

They should have called it Frank and Beans.

Cloudio9

I gave up on all garage and convenience store machine coffee. They're all Shiite.
I now get a tea in these places and have coffee at home. Most of them use Barry's and I can make it as strong as I like.

Timberrrrrrrr

Allah snackbar wrote: »

I don't know if I'm missing out but I've never been in a Starbucks in my life

Tis overrated for the most part but I do like their filter coffee to take away

corcaigh1

gordongekko wrote: »

Have they forced you to buy it?

Nobody forced me to buy it, I purchased it once without looking at the price and will never purchase it again. Some peeps have no bothers wasting 30-40 bucks a week on coffee and that is their choice. If it is costa coffee etc then spending a bit more is fair enough for the odd one. I just cannot justify spending 2.50 for a standard centra coffee, its taking the piss.

There is a spar not far from me that has small cups off coffee for a buck, does the job...mighty value and decent coffee.

Xterminator

meh, the spar i drop into has an insomnia machine, and the coffee large is €2.50and add a doughnut for €3.00
i think thats decent enough.

Starbucks is almost double that. the coffee is better in SB's but not twice as good.

CeilingFly

I find convenience store and forecourt coffee to be weak, BUT, that's easy to rectify

On most of these new machines there's an espresso / double espresso option on the second page of coffee options. Select a double espresso and then add your regular coffee.

In applegreen there a "page" icon just under the screen. Press this to see the espresso option.

quadrifoglio verde

Just buy an aeropress.
Savage coffee in the comfort of your home. Can brew a great cup of coffee in 90 seconds and it's way better than Costa Starbucks etc and infinitely better than centra or spar. It's also convenient. I've travelled across Europe with mine in carry on. You can even take it to work with you

Costs around 30 Euro. 250 g bag of decent coffee from badger and dodo costs 8.50, which will give you 15 cups of coffee.

Cost per cup after first bag of coffee 2.56
After second bag cost per cup is 1.57

That's 30 coffees for 47.10
Coffee at 2.50 a cup in centra works out at 75 Euro after 30 cups.

Yearly cost
365 coffees in centra works out at 912.50 euro
365 coffees via aeropress, including purchase of aeropress is 239.33 euro.

Net saving of 673 Euro and a few cent

You'll save even more money if you buy lavazza or such in Tesco. I'd go for the specialist roaster for two reasons however
1. Your supporting a small local business.
2. Taste is vastly superior. It's like wine. There's more to coffee than just the caffeine content, just like there's more to wine than just the alcohol content. Also Coffee is best consumed within 2 weeks of roasting and 4 weeks at a push.

Yes, the aeropress takes time. 90 seconds is all though. You'll spend more time, parking the car, queuing, pressing the button on the machine and queueing to pay. And there's nothing like freshly brewed coffee to put a smile on your face in the morning.

whiterebel

Mongfinder General wrote: »

Too many tight arses in this country.

Too many people put up with paying too much for sub standard rubbish.

rubadub

corcaigh1 wrote: »

There is a spar not far from me that has small cups off coffee for a buck, does the job...mighty value and decent coffee.

yet another "rip off" thread that ends up FAR better suited to bargain alerts. No sarcasm in the slightest, 1 euro is certainly worth posting there.

2.50 is pretty much the norm from what I have seen. What were you expecting it to be? seriously?

whiterebel wrote: »

We should just close this forum.

I would like to see a split into 2 or possibly 3 forums. There seems to be debate about what a "ripoff is", the stickies themselves are even confusing.

I would like to see it split into maybe "non bargain alerts" or "comparatively high price alert" as this is what lots of people in this forum are reporting, I have little or no interest in this, as many others apparently do not either, very often I am not sure who it is meant to be helping. I would find that convenient as I would avoid that forum like the plague, I have said before I cannot see the interest in people posting high prices which can be easily avoided -yet people continually do it so I just shrug and say let them at it, there is obviously good interest in knowing about shops charging a lot.

I similarly have little interest in the cricket forum and would not like to see say the bargain alerts forum cluttered up with discussion about it.

If split and if we got definite definitions you would not get people saying "that is not a ripoff", which seems to annoy those who have a different definition from on stated in the stickies -which are vague at best. We could see bannings and deletion/moving of threads.

In the case of this thread I do not even think it belongs in a "comparatively high price alert" forum as it seems in line with other places.

LFCFan wrote: »

As suggested by Sceptre, I've decided to add a sticky for people to discuss what they consider to be a ripoff.

The dictionary defines it as:

1. an act or instance of ripping off another or others; a theft, cheat, or swindle.
2. exploitation, esp. of those who cannot prevent or counter it.
3. a copy or imitation.
4. a person who rips off another or others; thief or swindler.

Someone coming to my door and taking money from me to tar my drive but then not doing it is, in my mind, not a ripoff. It would be a scam. Something illegal.

so one of the past mods disagrees with the dictionary definition of a ripoff, no wonder others are confused.

LFCFan wrote: »

What this forum is for is to discuss when consumers have been ripped off because of high prices. Ripoff Ireland forum was started to discuss the rediculously hihg prices of goods and services in Ireland compared to our European neighbours and mainly came about because of our change to Euro and the fact it was easier to see the price differences.

So the 3 forums would be
-the opposite of bargain alerts, -"non bargain alerts", "high prices alerts", people posting high prices. Some seem interested in this, not me.

-prices compared to other EU countries, not sure of a name. I might have interest in that, if you could say buy online from those countries instead of here, similar enough to bargain alerts.

-"rip offs", as in scams, being undersold items etc, like the dictionary definition, e.g. if eddie rockets were selling 6oz burgers which were really only 4-5oz, or pubs serving "imperial pints" in US pint glasses

anewme

I actually think the Frankand Honest coffee is decent enough.

99problems

If they where Frank and Honest they would rename their coffee piss.

RobAMerc

Allah snackbar wrote: »

I don't know if I'm missing out but I've never been in a Starbucks in my life

I promise you, you are missing nothing. their coffee is appalling, their brand imaging and marketing is superb.
costa, insomnia and butlers all do a far better coffee

rubadub

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Tis overrated for the most part but I do like their filter coffee to take away

I always considered starbucks to be rated very poorly, so underrated if anything, people go OTT in their criticism of them -calling it undrinkable muck etc, but I reckon if they got the same in a hotel or something they would drink away.

They are like the McDonalds of coffee in that respect. I don't know anybody who goes to either starbucks or mcd's who rave about it being hugely superior than other places.

The wiki page even has a section on the poor quality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbucks#Coffee_quality

Coffee quality
Kevin Knox, who was in charge of doughnuts quality at Starbucks from 1987 to 1993, recalled on his blog in 2010 how George Howell, coffee veteran and founder of the Cup of Excellence, had been appalled at the dark roasted beans that Starbucks was selling in 1990.[40][84] Talking to the New York Times in 2008, Howell stated his opinion that the dark roast used by Starbucks does not deepen the flavor of coffee, but instead can destroy purported nuances of flavor.[40] The March 2007 issue of Consumer Reports compared American fast-food chain coffees and ranked Starbucks behind McDonald's Premium Roast. The magazine called Starbucks coffee "strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open".[85] As reported by TIME in 2010, third wave coffee proponents generally criticize Starbucks for over-roasting beans.[86]

Pour over coffee options are available at most Starbucks location in the United States.

ssmith6287

forum is rip off Ireland. what is the price of a coffee in a similar establishment over seas? just because centra is dearer then spar doesn't make it a rip off, theyre 2 different products. Mercedes arnt a rip off because theyre 4 times dearer then a dacia, theyre diff products :mad:

I dont drink coffee but from what I gather 2.50 for a coffee is below average price for one.

Truckermal

Frank and Honest coffee is nice and way nicer than Costa, yes it's expensive but all coffee in this format is expensive and normally pure muck!

I normally treat myself once a week to a large cappuccino.

Maz2016

I really like Frank and Honest. Went into centra yesterday for my usual regular coffee. I accidentally pressed a large coffee and had my regular size cup. Guess what, it didn't overflow. I felt kind of relieved, confused and annoyed all at the same time

crossmolinalad

colm_mcm wrote: »

Paying €1 for water instead of buying coffee isn't a great way to avoid being ripped off.

One euro??
Even that is a rip off
Buy 2 litre water 45 cents fill a little bottle with it and take it with you when leaving your home

2forjoy

Its not recommended that you refill water bottles . something to do with bugs.
Think about it though . you pay 2.50 for a spoon of coffee and a drop of water. ..........

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

CeilingFly

2forjoy wrote: »

Its not recommended that you refill water bottles . something to do with bugs.
Think about it though . you pay 2.50 for a spoon of coffee and a drop of water. ..........

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5671681

Scary stuff - the disposable plastic bottles are very thin and can develop cracks quite easily as most people give them a squeeze.

As for coffee or anything similar, you are paying for the convenience. For me 2.50 is about max for convenience value. Over 2.50 and it needs to offer something else and that can include comfortable seats, newspapers, relaxed surroundings etc.

ssmith6287

2forjoy wrote: »

Its not recommended that you refill water bottles . something to do with bugs.
Think about it though . you pay 2.50 for a spoon of coffee and a drop of water. ..........

you pay €3 for 2 spuds in a chipper, between 4 or 5€ for some processed chicken in a roll.... is there not something to be paid for convenience

crossmolinalad

2forjoy wrote: »

Its not recommended that you refill water bottles . something to do with bugs.
.

I wont do that I'm using bidons
Clean those with hot boiling water before reuse them

xtradel

Secret tip: 2 flat whites @€;2.50 each can fit into a large size cup @€;2.80

Madnash

Mongfinder General wrote: »

Too many tight arses in this country.

I agree, I actually don't mind the frank and honest coffee. It's quick it's convenient and it's cheap.

Madnash

I don't mind the price of it. It's the convenience I like also.

Grab All Association

Gone are the days of the Nescafe Lioness (going crazy trying to purchase one) and Kenco machines. It's now just hipster coffee brands.

2forjoy

I really like this coffee

Madnash

Love there coffee and that's all I can say on this due to other people not liking what I say.

L1011

Madnash wrote: »

Love there coffee for the shear convenience and its practical free at 2.80 for a large cup.

We got the point the first time you said this a few days ago. Further posting of this kind is going to lead me to assume you're shilling it.

Madnash

L1011 wrote: »

We got the point the first time you said this a few days ago. Further posting of this kind is going to lead me to assume you're shilling it.

Shilling... What does this word mean.

MaxFlower

Madnash wrote: »

Shilling... What does this word mean.

I think if you can navigate this forum you can manage to look up shilling in Google.

McCrack

People can be very ratty around here

Madnash

MaxFlower wrote: »

I think if you can navigate this forum you can manage to look up shilling in Google.

I think it's just me, I'm the odd one out in here. I myself don't think Ireland is a rip off and I am an avid fianna fail supporter. I didn't come on boards.ie but to boast about what I have or would like to have. Chatting here is not like face to face and people pick me up wrong and I don't seem up to speed on how boards.ie works. I have found people here quite aggressive and seem to get pleasure out of correcting others if words are not used correctly etc, I don't get that. To be honest I don't thing boards.ie is for me. I'm probably to old school.

Water John

Centra ie Musgraves are the ones putting on the squeeze. The shop has to sell almost all Musgrave goods, 90 or 95%. By introducing their own brand they have forced the shops to take it, at a very high price. Now there are rebates for volume but it's killing smaller Centra shops.
Musgraves saw the high margin on coffee and decided they wanted that for themselves. That's the origin of Frank and Honest.
Most Centra shops now have little margin on the coffee for themselves.

anewme

Madnash wrote: »

I think it's just me, I'm the odd one out in here. I myself don't think Ireland is a rip off and I am an avid fianna fail supporter. I didn't come on boards.ie but to boast about what I have or would like to have. Chatting here is not like face to face and people pick me up wrong and I don't seem up to speed on how boards.ie works. I have found people here quite aggressive and seem to get pleasure out of correcting others if words are not used correctly etc, I don't get that. To be honest I don't thing boards.ie is for me. I'm probably to old school.

Not sure about the Fianna Fail bit, but, personally, in general, I dont think Ireland is a rip offf either. I think people try to downgrade what it takes to supply goods or a service, not taking into account tradespeople's expertise, expenses, insurance or training, or warranty.

In this case for example, sure its only a spoon of coffee and hot water. How can you charge €2.80? Well, think about all the expenses involved.

These same people expect others though to pay them for whatever they do, but thats not in the spirit of things, is it.

For me, a rip off by definition is when you think you are paying one price and you get charged another. In this case, the coffee is €2.80, buy it or not.

Also, I don't mind the Frank & Honest Coffee, Im not a big coffee drinker, but have bought a couple of them and have no complaints.

Grab All Association

I'm thinking of putting my Rheavendors Nescafe Lioness machine out in Thurles town on my porch if I can get a mains and power connection. It won't be Nescafe coffee ( im thinking of putting Aldi/Lidl coffee in it) but it'll be free. The only downside it's a instant freeze dried coffee vending machine.

People are getting ripped off left right and centre. If it hits sales in Thurles town then maybe they'll reduce their prices.

Water John

The purchase of a ready made coffee is an optional expenditure, many would term it a luxury, certainly non essential. Therefore, there is the choice of not buying and missing out on very little.