Costa Coffee
I prefer Costa Coffee to Starbucks. This is not because of the coffee (which I haven't drunk for years), but because they make a decent hot chocolate. They use good old Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate and the result is generally excellent. (Starbucks use a sludgy over-sweetened brown glop to which they add hot milk. It's pretty foul).
One thing that slightly annoys me about Costa is the way they make such a big deal about the roots of the company; how the brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa started out as coffee roasters as far back as 1971 when women didn't have the vote and cars where powered by small children with whipping tops. Their history page completely omits any mention of a rather significant event - their take-over by the huge pizza/health-club/hotel conglomerate Whitbread plc back in 1995. Yes, it's a cynical branding exercise, and we all love those, don't we children?
Pret A Manger (another place I patronise (in a good way)) are a bit more honest, as on their web site they mention that the McDonald's Corporation owns 33% of the company. They have the following text displayed in their shops and on their web site:
Quality fresh food is our passion. We go to extraordinary lengths to avoid the obscure, chemicals, additives and preservatives common to so much of the 'prepared' and 'fast' food on the market today.
I love those quote marks. You can almost see the curled lip and the disdainful, even slightly nauseated expression that goes with them. And yet they effectively sold out to McDonald's. I like to think I would have not done the same thing, but if Ronald had offered me between £25m and £50m, I probably would have taken the money and slipped on the clown suit and the big shoes, too.
I would avoid buying from them if only they didn't make the More Than Mozzarella sandwich. It's the pine nuts. God help me, it's the pine nuts.
9:36:42 AM 
|
