Bumped into this store today in Edinburgh.
I never knew that the easy group was giving this a shot (sorry!)
Apparently this is the first store in Scotland, and the company has enormous and fast expansion plans.
Anyone tried it? Comments......
Expect prices to go up anytime you actually want a coffee, to pay for a seat if you want to sit down to drink it and to be charged more if you bring your briefcase in. Also expect your coffee to be late, and cold, the service shit, and the staff to be rude and probably also orange. And for the venue to be miles out of town.
Got to stick with brand values!
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^^Your not a fan then^^
I thought it was fine for a quick coffee. Looked into the franchise just out of curiosity as I thought the concept was a good one.
What's the concept?Originally Posted by bomberman
What is this - a heart? Is coffee good for your heart?
Scotland has the first Tim Hortons as well. Not sure how Easy coffee will compare price/quality wise to normal high street chains or even McDonalds coffee which I think is nice at the price point.
I know brands are offering a consistent product; whether its consistently good is a different matter. I appreciate this can be hit-and-miss but my local café do a very decent latte for £1.70 for a cup or £1.95 for a mug. I like supporting independents too, their coffee is better than Starbucks or Costa and around £1 cheaper so its a win-win. Trouble is that there are plenty of cafes out there doing an instant in a mug for a quid. I often think I should set up as a coffee shop it probably costs less than 50p to make a good coffee so 400% profit can't be bad, I know you have your set-up and on-costs but if you have a reasonable footfall it's easy money.
1) Sign up to myWaitrose [free]
2) Pop in to Waitrose every day, select purchase [banana 19p, cream crackers 49p, big chocolate cookie that's three quid in Starbucks is 50p-you don't have to have the organically-fed Malayan goat's cheese rubbed loin of free-roaming venison with hand-cracked pepper and oregano jus]
3) Select coffee from black [Americano], cappuccino, latte [using the same machines as McDonalds, different beans I'm sure, fresh semi-skimmed available gratis]
4) Make purchase, coffee is free.
Granted it requires access to a Waitrose, but still...
Starbucks sell coffee? I didn't know that. I thought they did overpriced bucket sized lukewarm milk shakes for kidults who hadn't been weaned yet
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Sounds great.
I knew the answer to my own question but decided to try the
Waitrose branch finder:
"Your nearest branch is:There are no Waitrose branches within 100 miles of the postcode entered. Please either try another postcode or search by branch name."
I tried a "coffee" from Starbucks once.
Well, that's what they told me it was
Agree, over priced muck.I tried a "coffee" from Starbucks once.
Well, that's what they told me it was
Cheap and drinkable coffee.
Rather than expensive coffee in a poncey coffee shop.
p.s. I have even more reason to hate Starbucks - they opened round the corner from us in Berlin and consequently scared off one of our potential partners.
Somebody once said to me that, "The drinks in Starbucks are fine, apart from their coffee!"
I guess that an awful lot of their sales are indeed non-coffee?!
The rot sets in.
p.s. I have even more reason to hate Starbucks - they opened round the corner from us in Berlin and consequently scared off one of our potential partners.
We had none and then suddenly Nero, Costa and Starbucks.
I have to admit, Nero's small cappuccino and Costa's cortado aren't too bad, but I shudder walking past Starbucks.
I was surprised how bad the coffee is in South America, Starbucks might do well there. Interestingly, there are few or none in Italy.
I used to go to Germany regularly on business, although I haven't been for some time now. I thought German coffee interesting, strong and served with a pot of Carnation type evaporated milk. Gave me chronic stomach reflux.
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Last edited by BillyCasper; 24th August 2017 at 16:36.
Nothing wrong with expensive coffee in nice surroundings if the coffee is excellent.
Cost is only a factor in the absence of value.
My apologies. I thought there was a concept behind it that wasn't obvious.
when you buy your own beans and work out how much a decent cup of coffee costs you'll be amazed at the markup
its normal in spain and portugal for a quick coffee to cost anything from 60p to £1 - and they still make money
I have never had coffee from a starbucks, but have from costa and nero but only because Amex had an offer on that
Last edited by Xantiagib; 25th August 2017 at 08:13.
Found a flyer
We will be in Edinburgh tomorrow, so may go and give it a try.
Agreed, would pretty much add most of the other high street 'coffee' chains to this list
I did a business school study (vs smoothies) years ago and I think I got 9p as raw materials but probably more like 20p now.
You have to remember in the UK they are not cafes as in Spain or Italy but effectively drop in centres for people with nothing much to do who spend hours (and pounds on cake etc) using the WiFi talking etc. while their children get bored.
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YUM!!!!!!!
It's the length of the electrical cable I need when I am out and about that has always defeated me in regards to making my own.
Plenty of charging points, fast and free wifi.
However, the coffee comes out of a machine, and the parts put together by the chap on the till.
As the Mrs says, "No barista here!"
Coffee is alright, but Costa and Caffè Nero vastly superior.
If you choose to visit the one in Edinburgh, it is directly opposite Haymarket station.
The whole experience here is great, with the actual coffee the weak link!
Next coffee will be from the guaranteed excellent Valvona & Crolla.
That recipe has a place in the market - for sure!
I drink around 5 cups a day at home, all made with my Gaggia bean-to-cup machine. I can't fault it.
But - although Easy Coffee will undoubtedly be a success (and may bring down the prices slightly in Starbucks/Costa/Nero etc) - those 'cafes' will still proliferate because they have become part of the "cafe-culture" that people wish to be seen - doing.
Look at the number of people who have a coffee walking to work. It's all part of giving the illusion of being "busy-business" so have to grab a coffee on the go....
Same applies to bottles of water - You would think people were crossing the Serengeti, rather than walking down the high street.
Will try out Tim Hortons, though - as I have tried their pre-ground coffee and found it to be nothing special, so would like to see what all the fuss is about.
The ambiance, decor, and stunning view are out of this world...The whole experience here is great
Couldn't agree more - always makes me smile to see people with their paper cup walking about as if it were some kind of trophy.
Waitrose are looking at introducing a qualifying minimum spend between £5-£10 due to people abusing it as above and complaints from local coffee houses who say it isn't fair business practice and forces a scenario in which they can't compete.
Yup,
The one in Canary Wharf is swamped every day with 1000s of bank staff, many of whom seem to have multiple MyWaitrose cards.
I'm not sure how the employers feel about their staff wiring for 20 minutes for a mediocre 'free' coffee, I know I wouldn't be happy.
Rob
You would hope people who work for a bank in Canary Wharf have figured out the whole time vs money thing by now.
I know Starbucks is hated by a lot but I can order and pay for my coffee from the app then just swing by and grab it. That wins every day of the week for me.
That sounds great, although as you allude to, shame it is Starbucks!
Upon further discussion with the Mrs re easy Coffee, she enjoyed it!
This isn't a compliment really, as she only enjoys weak coffee e.g. McDs and Starbucks.
I would sum up it as cheap and cheerful, but not particularly tasty.
I read a novel (John Connolly's "Bad Men" if you're interested) where one character explains "It's not supposed to taste like coffee, you can get coffee anywhere. It's supposed to taste like Starbucks, which you can only get in Starbucks". Seems reasonable ;)I tried a "coffee" from Starbucks once.
Well, that's what they told me it was
It certainly is popular amongst those who like it, so I guess that it works for them?!
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