h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The quest is on to find decent coffee near work.

I'm going to try somewhere new every day and keep track here. It promises to be a voyage of discovery comparable only with finding the source of the River Amazon. But with less tree coverage.

As Bea's informants in a previous journal recommended, Clements today.

Coffee: 4/5. No unrequested adulterants. Nice degree of strength. Not served in a gallon bucket, and not unnecessarily diluted.

Staff: 2/3. Not really anything to complain about. Ordering was simple and straightforward with no need to repeat things a number of times.

Clientele: 2/5. Too many youngish men who look like finance ministers. Two women in their thirties who looked like normal people saved them from getting 1/5.

Music/atmosphere: 1/5. They earwormed me with Michael Jackson's "Beat It".

Other stuff: shop is oddly thin and long. Not sure about the feng shui of this joint.

9/18, but they scored highest on the coffee count, which is the most important. Not too bad!

I really, really, *really* hope you find great coffee!

I can get great coffee at just about any point on my journey to work

Germany, France, Scandinavia, and Austria are great places to be in when you want to find good coffee. I don't like Espresso, so when I was in Italy I had to settle for "American coffee" when I could get it. Cappuccino and latte will do in a pinch.

I am truly sorry to be so picky about coffee. I know there are people who can't understand my feelings toward Espresso. There may be acceptable espresso somewhere; I just haven't found it yet.

The problem is that a few times in my life I have had coffee so wonderful that everything lesser suffered by comparison after that. I'm probably unfair to perfectly find coffee, but I have a keen memory for the way things taste and smell.

You do know the finance minister is now a woman?

Well I did use the plural. Anyway, there's no contradiction between that and men dressing like her.

More men should dress as women. it'd make the world less confusing.

Drinkable coffee, or coffee which tastes like coffee, is hard enough to come by, let alone great coffee I keep getting painfully dehydrated at/during long days in hospital, the coffee from the concorse is undrinkable, since everythign got franschised out.... actaully the only drinkible coffee in teh entire place is the free stuff, but, well, I guess its only free if you are in having chemo... which probably is a bit extreme an measure to go to, just for drinkable coffee - we have found one decent cafe, not far from my house, which is quite affordible too, and does gorgeous little cake things too, kinda odd place, as its a cafew downstiars, and a Chinese restaurant upstairs and despite being on a street full of mainly chain coffee outlets, never seems to be full, the cafe at Leeds rail station, and the cafe nearest the main door at Norwich station do decent coffee, though most of the ones on Cambridge station are to be avoided thesedays, as our the ones on Bristol temple meads, parkway, and bradford stations. The tea at shieffield used to be tollerable, but not been there in ages, and the coffee was only bearable I was thinking of writing a book at one stage; a guide to coffee precurment on the rail network of the UK... but I don't seem to travel as much as I once did

"Too many youngish men who look like finance ministers" [KB]

"You do know the finance minister is now a woman?" [Beatrice]

So's Bruce Jenner. Er, Caitlyn Jenner..... And anyway, if young men want to look like women, chances are at least some of them can pull it off. But coffee is not going to have anything to do with it. Sorry

I'm a bit puzzled as to why I can't find a good cup of coffee, because my tastes are fairly simple as far as coffee goes.
- It should be composed of coffee beans and water, only.
- It should be hot enough to refresh the throat but not scald it.

Mainly, it should taste like coffee. The caffeine content is secondary.

ditto! - additionally; it should be a big enough cup/drink/volume of coffee, for it to be woth drinking, but not so massive that it takes hours to drink! - There's some truely epic coffee fails in the hospital.... =- at one point I was convinced it was my sense of taste, just vanishing! - really got worried I was in for trubble with taste, because of it; turned out, nope, not that at all... it was just utterly tasteless coffee - I've even bought coffee beans, from a big high street chain coffee shop; and made decent coffee, tasting of coffee with it, which really makes me wonder how they manage, consistantly to screw it up so damn well... - starting to think I oughta buy a thermos flask before I start my radition oo.... actually, we can probably sneak down to the decent coffee machine in the day unit... they'll not know I'm not ment to be there no more

But there are so many kinds of coffee beans, they are grown in so many different places and roasted in so many different ways. (Although I can't imagine there are that many ways to roast coffee) Then they are stored in different containers and atmospheres.

I hope you have finished your quest and can save me some time if I ever come to Belfast.

Not that I drink coffee, really, at all.

So could you also give marks for the smell of the place, perhaps? For those who drink tea....?

I'm almost minded, of late, to entirely give up drinking coffee.... it just doesn't taste right anymore.... - probably why I've become such a addict... (err, currently about 8 or 9 differnt teas, in the kitchen!) - I think I only continue drinking coffee out of a sense of duty, and ... no... really not sure why I still do... hmm... Perhaps I should just stick ot gin.... at least you know where you are with gin...

I'll try to remember to take smell on board!

I'm not too choosy about the providence of the beans - they all tend to be fine if it is made properly.

Today I was in a rush, so it was just a boring chain shop.

Coffee: 3/5. No unexpected adulterants, no unasked for milk, but slightly too diluted with water.

Staff: 2/3. Bloke had sexy tattoos (well executed, artistic sleeve). Not much banter out of him though.

Clientele: 2/5. A hipster in a flat cap lowered the tone. I'm all for flat caps, but not of they are worn "ironically". A mixture of shoppers and business types. Nothing special.

Music/atmosphere: there wasn't much of either. 1/5

Other stuff: Not a lot to add. The main reason I ever go here is that a mate works here sometimes.

8/18. Serviceable at a pinch, but not worth writing an opera about.

oo. flat cap. I m ight wear my French style one today.... err... more a burry... burie... buret, berrit... od sod it. I can't spel it, so I can't weer it tilby it ... trily err. damnit. now I can't wear my trilby either... ahh. seems I kan. May to the cafe ourselves, go, to find a coffee. probably double expresso ... epersso ... thing. or not... of course... beer. I can spell beer. and gin. safer with booze I rekon. itsl sterile for a start

hmm. now, where did I hide my flat cap... I'll not wear it ironically.... I'll wear it insanely, with my multicoloured 24 foot long worth of ribbons in my hair. it'll make a statement... I'm just not sure what, or to whom it'll make it ahh, the GP for one who I've gotta visit... maybe he can advise on where to go for a decent coffee... afterall he's from Beccles. I kid you not. reality always ends up being more weird than... unreality. I think.

I've been drinking tea the last two cups.. honey and ginger, carabien tea its... very something...

I'm regretting starting this journal now. I shoulda done a Beer Quest one instead.

"which really makes me wonder how they manage, consistantly to screw it up so damn well... " [2Legs]

They've had a lot of practice?

"But there are so many kinds of coffee beans, they are grown in so many different places and roasted in so many different ways. (Although I can't imagine there are that many ways to roast coffee) Then they are stored in different containers and atmospheres." [TC]

If you leave coffee beans or grounds out in the open air for long enough, it gets stale. The coffee you make form it will tend toward the bitter side. Fresh coffee should not taste bitter.

But, ye4s, there are *many* different kinds of coffee beans. There are also many different blends. My mother always used 8 o-clock coffee which was sold at the A&P. Then she put way too many grounds in her percolator, and the result was very strong coffee. But at least with strong coffee you can dlute it if you don't want it that strong.

"I'm regretting starting this journal now. I shoulda done a Beer Quest one instead" [KB]

I'm glad you went with coffee instead of beer. I can offer my years of experience dealing with the good, the bad, and the ugly.