[ferretchucker]

Having moved to London some 8 months ago, I've been exposed to "coffee culture" for the first time in my life and quite frankly I just don't know what I make of it all. Won't lie, this thread's a bit of a strange one - just some excerpts from my daily ponderings, nothing profound.

Perhaps one of the first things that baffled me was the pricing - I know I'm in a Capital City, but £3 (what, roughly $5?) for a single drink seems baffling...I still pay it, and this is perhaps the strangest thing - how quickly we've all accepted this.

Onwards we move to cliché city - the writers. Those solitary figures who sit for sometimes hours at a time writing on their laptops and periodically ordering a drink. We've all heard the jokes and teasing aimed at these chaps. Whilst I now think it's a self perpetuating phenomenon (they go because it's well known that that's where they go), where did it start? What advantage does an overpriced busy public space have over ones own home for the creative process?

Then the oversaturation of the market. Starbucks may be the most famous, but quite frankly (in England at least), the streets are just as full of Prets, Costas, Lavazzas and Caffé Neros. Besides subtle differences in price and one or two menu differences, these places all seem pretty identical in both product and aesthetic. Whilst I understand that there are a lot of people to feed, but just...well, just how do all these competing shops stay afloat?


Again, these are nothing more than my idle walking-to-class ruminations but I need answer, goddammit!