Beer versus coffee ! ! !

[standardpostage]

Recently been to a garden centre in Clitheroe Lancashire, cup of latte coffee  £3.60 

Same night went to a micro pub in Burnley Lancashire, pint of beer £3.10 

Isn't it strange how a cup of coffee can cost more than a pint of real ale 

[Blackpool Rock]

Yes that does sound like a rip off for the coffee if you can even call latte coffee as half of it is hot milk  But anyway the beer does sound like a bargain 
I'm guessing the beer was good value if they are brewing it themselves

[scutty brown]

Coffee contributes to global warming through forest clearance

Also it's very labour intensive and would be a lot more expensive if the workers got a living wage

Beer is a far better beverage morally and environmentally

[ulstersubbie]

Recently been to a garden centre in Clitheroe Lancashire, cup of latte coffee  £3.60 

Same night went to a micro pub in Burnley Lancashire, pint of beer £3.10 

Isn't it strange how a cup of coffee can cost more than a pint of real ale 

That's a decent price for a micro pub, some of them can be very expensive.

[SoapyTW]

Recently been to a garden centre in Clitheroe Lancashire, cup of latte coffee  £3.60 

Same night went to a micro pub in Burnley Lancashire, pint of beer £3.10 

Isn't it strange how a cup of coffee can cost more than a pint of real ale 

Location, location, location.... Clitheroe is lovely. Burnley is, well, Burnley

That said, £3.60 for a coffee in Lancashire is horrifyingly expensive

[Moby Dick]

Coffee has been allowed to become “trendy”
Dave Gorman did a PowerPoint presentation on this subject.

Overrated coffee shop chains popping up everywhere charging too much for coffee and overpriced fancy biscuits or “cookies”.
Find a local cafe. Pot of Tea, two cups for less than a quid plus Bacon bap or full English on the side.
Tastes so much better with a much more interesting clientele.
Support your local greasy spoon.

[finn5555]

£3.60 a pint is a pipe dream around here 😂

[standardpostage]

Yes that does sound like a rip off for the coffee if you can even call latte coffee as half of it is hot milk  But anyway the beer does sound like a bargain 
I'm guessing the beer was good value if they are brewing it themselves

Beer was nice, very tasty 

[standardpostage]

£3.60 a pint is a pipe dream around here 😂

Coffee was £3.60
Beer was £3.10
 

[standardpostage]

Location, location, location.... Clitheroe is lovely. Burnley is, well, Burnley

That said, £3.60 for a coffee in Lancashire is horrifyingly expensive

It was a fancy garden centre called Holden Clough. Everything there is expensive.
Latte in Burnley town centre, cafe called Downtown,  only £1.80 
The Mrs dragged me to the garden centre. I had no choice, I had to go 

[MLawro93]

Good coffee is an artform, but then so is beer. I enjoy both. You get what you pay for in most cases. Just avoid the standard chains and tourist traps and you'll be fine.

In terms of the environment, beer is significantly better. Coffee, is quite labour intensive and many of the good coffee places are focusing more on single origin coffee, rather than the commercial market. So you'll pay for that premium really.

[Jomoore]

Just avoid the standard chains and tourist traps and you'll be fine.

Not always good advice.  My local Spoons sells Lavazza coffee, free refills, for 99p.  It sells Ruddles Best for £1.79 a pint.  In the city (Leeds) you pay 20-30 pence more for each, but the coffee is far better than Starbucks imho, and the Ruddles is a superb real ale that in my local is always crystal clear and on top form. 

[MLawro93]

Not always good advice.  My local Spoons sells Lavazza coffee, free refills, for 99p.  It sells Ruddles Best for £1.79 a pint.  In the city (Leeds) you pay 20-30 pence more for each, but the coffee is far better than Starbucks imho, and the Ruddles is a superb real ale that in my local is always crystal clear and on top form. 

That is fair to be honest, I imagine most people will know where the value is in their local area. Might be harder to gauge if you live in a city like London though as the really good value places are overwhelmed quickly once discovered so I stay quiet about them 

[Strawberry]

As a no longer alcohol drinker here's how I consider non-alcohol drinks pricing;

Yes a non A drink may cost slightly more than it's equivalent but when I drank alcohol usually I would drink more than one, when I'm drinking sparkling water, tea, coffee I tend to stick to one.

I've paid £4 for a fizzy water in a beautiful London hotel bar, sat with people buying £16 cocktails. That drink was the only one I needed, and the venue was stunning (with musicians playing to requests).

If I'm in a pub to see a live band I may only buy one or two drinks all night, these are soft drinks. I tend to arrive hydrated and dont need to be constantly sipping - the pub aren't making much from me.

Ok may not always be somewhere as salubrious as the London venue but the principle is the same. I'm not downing several or many, followed by alcohol fuelled kebabs, or whatever. And the cost of my drinking was more than the price BUT a normal drinker only having one may differ in opinion.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Red Lion in Grantchester a few weeks ago four beers, lagers, and a couple of cokes £36 quid IIRC!...

[ulstersubbie]

Not always good advice.  My local Spoons sells Lavazza coffee, free refills, for 99p.  It sells Ruddles Best for £1.79 a pint.  In the city (Leeds) you pay 20-30 pence more for each, but the coffee is far better than Starbucks imho, and the Ruddles is a superb real ale that in my local is always crystal clear and on top form. 

The Lavazza is freaking awful, I stick to the tea in spoons. Leeds city centre used to be relatively cheap years ago but you need a bloody mortgage for a night out now. I used to drink in Beckett's Bank in Leeds, a pretty decent spoons from what I remember.

[RedKettle]

As a no longer alcohol drinker here's how I consider non-alcohol drinks pricing;

Yes a non A drink may cost slightly more than it's equivalent but when I drank alcohol usually I would drink more than one, when I'm drinking sparkling water, tea, coffee I tend to stick to one.

I've paid £4 for a fizzy water in a beautiful London hotel bar, sat with people buying £16 cocktails. That drink was the only one I needed, and the venue was stunning (with musicians playing to requests).

If I'm in a pub to see a live band I may only buy one or two drinks all night, these are soft drinks. I tend to arrive hydrated and dont need to be constantly sipping - the pub aren't making much from me.

Ok may not always be somewhere as salubrious as the London venue but the principle is the same. I'm not downing several or many, followed by alcohol fuelled kebabs, or whatever. And the cost of my drinking was more than the price BUT a normal drinker only having one may differ in opinion.

You are spot on to look beyond the price of the actual drink.  For coffee i am often working in a coffee shop in say London and say 3.60 is not a bad price for a desk in the warmth with WiFi etc.

[Strawberry]

You are spot on to look beyond the price of the actual drink.  For coffee i am often working in a coffee shop in say London and say 3.60 is not a bad price for a desk in the warmth with WiFi etc.

13 years ago showing a romantic partner around the south Lakes, cars queueing to park in Bowness, I took him to a pub away from the tourist area. We sat outside looking down a beautiful but quiet valley sharing a £3 or £4 orange juice, I joked we were paying for solitude as well as the view. The price in Bowness was probably the same, plus the parking charge could have easily doubled it. Up here of course I am guessing different factors may be at play including sheer inaccessibility.

[scutty brown]

13 years ago showing a romantic partner around the south Lakes, cars queueing to park in Bowness, I took him to a pub away from the tourist area. We sat outside looking down a beautiful but quiet valley sharing a £3 or £4 orange juice, I joked we were paying for solitude as well as the view. The price in Bowness was probably the same, plus the parking charge could have easily doubled it. Up here of course I am guessing different factors may be at play including sheer inaccessibility.

Masons at Strawberry Bank by any chance?

[WASA38]

Red Lion in Grantchester a few weeks ago four beers, lagers, and a couple of cokes £36 quid IIRC!...

Always has been a rip-off tourist trap. Blue Ball Inn might be a better bet next time.

[Ali Katt]

Coffee contributes to global warming through forest clearance

Also it's very labour intensive and would be a lot more expensive if the workers got a living wage

Beer is a far better beverage morally and environmentally

I half agree. You can buy fairtrade coffee and from a farm were it names the origin. The downside for the consumer is they are twice the price, but it is well worth supporting local coffee roasters.

[Moby Dick]

We sat outside looking down a beautiful but quiet valley sharing a £3 or £4 orange juice.

Couldn’t you afford one each, or did they have no clean glasses? 

[Ali Katt]

There are a lot of rip offs in coffee. An americano were people pay £1 extra for hot water (tip: buy a long black if it is the same price).

Starbucks has a deliberately burnt taste, but I always think they are underextracted.

Just because someone is barista trained don't presume they can make good coffee. Sadly unlike a point there are far more variables, the amount of water during extraction being the main one. Also for great coffee look for cortado or red eye or the similar obscure beverages on the menu. Stuff like flat white are relatively easy to make.

In reality don't get me wrong Lavazza as mentioned do great coffee, but coffee is underpriced if anything about £25-30 a bag is the going rate ethically. However, beer is vastly overpriced due to taxes especially of it is over 5%. Even something like Landlord costs over £100 a barrel.