As a child growing up in the 70's the coffee in the cupboard would be Nescafe or Maxwell house, one spoonful of coffee, some sugar if you took it, topped up with cold milk. The posh people used Gold Blend (an absolute luxury back in the day) and your nan had a jar of Mellow Bird's - Yuck, yuck yuck how did we ever drink that stuff? The epitome of good coffee was when you went to the steakhouse and a "Cona" machine was behind the counter stewing away but we loved it. I remember back in the day I bought a brand new filter coffee machine from a bootsale and I was thrilled to be able to have that posh coffee experience in my own home and how angry I was when I'd gone to the trouble of buying some filter coffee and my ex husband turned his nose up at it 'cause it didn't make the coffee hot enough! Honestly it still angers me to this day, that he'd rather pour boiling hot water over freeze dried granules from the Co-op! Coffee has come on some much in this country and whilst I only really like flat white when I go out for coffee and usually opt for tea anyway I just could not imagine being happy with the instant $hite we used to pour down our necks. I have a cafetiere and use Aldi's ground coffee which is lovely and add a bit of warm frothed milk - eat your heart out Costa's. We have a Nespresso machine in the kitchen which is predominately used by OH and in the spare bedroom that I use when I'm working early I have a Dolce Gusto machine which does all manner of drinks my favourite wake up is one of their Americano pods with a bit of coffee mate added - Gotta love coffee mate! How do you like your coffee folks?
Let's talk coffee!
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stratobuddy
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I much prefer instant coffee, made with 1/2 milk and 1/2 water and no sugar.
BUT there is a strange phenomenon.
If I mix BOILING water with cold milk in a mug and add coffee, I really dislike it and can hardly drink it.
But if I mix COLD water with cold milk in a mug, then HEAT IN THE MICROWAVE, then add the coffee, I find it delicious.
The microwave must somehow do something to it that makes it delicious.
BUT there is a strange phenomenon.
If I mix BOILING water with cold milk in a mug and add coffee, I really dislike it and can hardly drink it.
But if I mix COLD water with cold milk in a mug, then HEAT IN THE MICROWAVE, then add the coffee, I find it delicious.
The microwave must somehow do something to it that makes it delicious.
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OMG - That gives me the heebeegeebes just thinking about it. My grandparents always bought Mellow Birds and I knew it was horrendous so I'd avoid having a coffee at theirs, but one day when they'd gone to the shops they bought a jar of Nescafe 'cause the Bird's was out of stock. My grandad always called it Nescaff, anyway I was visiting them when they cracked open the Nescaff and I accepted their offer of a coffee. I was in the other room so I didn't witness them making it. They called me into the kitchen to get my coffee and handed me a cup of what looked like pale beige milk. I took a sip and said eugggh and I said I thought this would be stronger than usual. Grandad said it's "half and half" spoonful of coffee, half a cup of boiling water topped up with hot milk - seriously even at that young age (11 I'd guess) I was prepared to forgive Mellow Bird's for its awfulness. I remember sitting there watching a skin form over the top as it got even colder. I apologised sweetly but I couldn't drink it I think I'd have been sick!
Two childhood coffees I remember are Mellow Birds, as you say, and Camp Coffee, (remember when that was in glass bottles?) Anyhoo, I like filter coffee, and instant, and espresso, and cappuccino. Not keen on latte, or Mocha. I like coffee, I like milk: but not together. I like coffee and I like chocolate, but yes, you've guessed it, not together 
And I know I could have said this in your 'tea' post, but my preferred tea is Yorkshire.
And I know I could have said this in your 'tea' post, but my preferred tea is Yorkshire.maymorganlondon
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Childhood coffee:
Ringtons coffee beans, ground at home, in the percolator. Oh, the hours I’d have to spend with a fine needle pricking out the holes in the basket! Now I understand the problem was we were grinding it too fine.
Camp Coffee (that was great in cakes or for iced coffee).
Nescafé Gold Blend.
Gran went more for red top Nescafé or Maxwells House. Only occasionally would Mellow Birds be mentioned.
I always detested the taste of milk, particularly after warm quarter pints being served at primary and infants
I could only force it down when tooth-achingly cold or disguised with Nesquik or in Angel Delight.
Nowadays at home I have Kenco Millicano Original and Decaf.
Out and about I’ll either drink coffee black or with oat milk. Has to be made using a proper Italian barista machine.
Coffee should never be made with boiling water. Best to boil the kettle, then use it to make your coffee 5-10 minutes later.
Ringtons coffee beans, ground at home, in the percolator. Oh, the hours I’d have to spend with a fine needle pricking out the holes in the basket! Now I understand the problem was we were grinding it too fine.
Camp Coffee (that was great in cakes or for iced coffee).
Nescafé Gold Blend.
Gran went more for red top Nescafé or Maxwells House. Only occasionally would Mellow Birds be mentioned.
I always detested the taste of milk, particularly after warm quarter pints being served at primary and infants
I could only force it down when tooth-achingly cold or disguised with Nesquik or in Angel Delight.
Nowadays at home I have Kenco Millicano Original and Decaf.
Out and about I’ll either drink coffee black or with oat milk. Has to be made using a proper Italian barista machine.
Coffee should never be made with boiling water. Best to boil the kettle, then use it to make your coffee 5-10 minutes later.
Growing up in the 80s, my mother would buy whatever was the cheapest. Some weeks she would buy Maxwell House, other weeks she would buy original Nescafe, but then during the 90s she stared drinking only Necafe Gold Blend. My mum didn't like milk, so her coffee would be borderline black, but myself, teaspoon of coffee, top it with water and a count of 1, 2, 3 as I poured the milk, to make the perfect cup for me.
I used to buy Nescafe myself, but the price went up to £5 per jar. I would only buy it when it was on sale. I then started buying supermarket own blend gold for a good few years, until I started getting bad headaches from too much caffeine. I now drink Tesco decaff gold, Asda rich roast decaf instant, or Morrisons gold decaf, although not that often because it's only a 100g jar and nearly as much as the 200g jars from Asda and Tesco.
I used to buy Nescafe myself, but the price went up to £5 per jar. I would only buy it when it was on sale. I then started buying supermarket own blend gold for a good few years, until I started getting bad headaches from too much caffeine. I now drink Tesco decaff gold, Asda rich roast decaf instant, or Morrisons gold decaf, although not that often because it's only a 100g jar and nearly as much as the 200g jars from Asda and Tesco.
stratobuddy
Registered Shopper
I never have coffee while out because they use the hot water and milk method.
Decaf cappuccino with foam on top, sprinkled with sweetened powdered cocoa for me every mid morning.
You can get some decent decafs these days and you can’t tell the difference in taste. If I have coffee close to bedtime that’s what I opt for.
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My granny had a cup of Camp coffee every night. My mum liked Bird's Mellow.
I bought a gusto machine, even though I would only drink one cup a day. I buy once a week a roll from Pret a Manger and the man there said those pods for coffee machines are cheap coffee. To be honest, I now buy sachets of Starbucks cinnamon dolce and only have one a few times a week.
The cleaning of the gusto is a nuance, having to clean. I really don't like the jar coffee, the last time I bought a jar it went solid, I had it so long.
I bought a gusto machine, even though I would only drink one cup a day. I buy once a week a roll from Pret a Manger and the man there said those pods for coffee machines are cheap coffee. To be honest, I now buy sachets of Starbucks cinnamon dolce and only have one a few times a week.
The cleaning of the gusto is a nuance, having to clean. I really don't like the jar coffee, the last time I bought a jar it went solid, I had it so long.
Back in the early 80's I ran away to London and got married. We had no money, lived in a bedsit and even though we had jobs we were pretty limited in what we could buy in the way of groceries. Camp coffee was what we bought and it was pretty awful lol, but you live within your means. I believe we did eventually get to the Mellow Birds price range .
These days I like a cappuccino if I'm out, otherwise it's a Kenco instant in the house. I only have one coffee a day in the morning. We do have a coffee machine for ground beans but it's a bit of a faff to be honest and we hardly use it. I know, lazy mare
CC
.These days I like a cappuccino if I'm out, otherwise it's a Kenco instant in the house. I only have one coffee a day in the morning. We do have a coffee machine for ground beans but it's a bit of a faff to be honest and we hardly use it. I know, lazy mare
CC
I remember back in the day round my boyfriends house committing the crime of shaking the bottle of milk first - he wanted the cream for his coffee - Now that’s a blast from the past, a bottle of milk with a layer of cream on top! If I’ve got some cream in the fridge I’m not averse to pouring a little in my coffee but good old Coffee mate is my go to (unless I’m making a cappuccino ) I couldn’t be without it. With Dolce Gusto I have found the quality of the “black” coffees pretty good, strong and flavoursome with a decent crema, however the ready made latte/cappuccino type coffees aren’t that great. I’ll buy them if they’re going really cheap in staff shopping cause the box is damaged it would be rude not to, they are about drinkable!
That's a blast from my past! I remember, probably in the 60's, milk bottles on the doorstep in winter - the ones with the foil tops with holly printed on them - and the birds had pecked them open and got all the cream. I used to shout "mum, the birds have got the milk" and my harassed mum (with 3 small kids) pouring a bit down the sink so we didn't get poisoned
.CC
OMG yes and not only the birds pecking the lids, if it was a really cold winter and you didn't get to the doorstep quick enough you'd often be met with bottles of milk that had iced up and burst through the lids. I remember that you could actually buy a lidded milk crate to prevent these sort of things happening but ours didn't. I remember it had a little dial on the front to tell the milkman what we wanted. When I came to where I live now many many years later, we decided to have our milk delivered, it was still a thing in the early 2000's but sadly we had to stop because nine times out of ten our orange juice or milk would be stolen because we live in a terrace and of course the doorstep is exposed to all and sundry passing by, this never happened in the suburbia of my youth!That's a blast from my past! I remember, probably in the 60's, milk bottles on the doorstep in winter - the ones with the foil tops with holly printed on them - and the birds had pecked them open and got all the cream. I used to shout "mum, the birds have got the milk" and my harassed mum (with 3 small kids) pouring a bit down the sink so we didn't get poisoned
CC
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We never had coffee in the house when I was growing up in the 70s. I remember my friend's mum used to have Camp Coffee in her cupboard, it looked very exotic to me!
Only started drinking coffee when I started travelling abroad, I didn't expect to get tea in cafes. Started with cappuccinos, then lattes and now I'm onto flat whites. I love my coffee shop coffees but they're expensive so will only have one a week. I used to have one every day in my previous job but I save my money now.
I'm not keen on instant coffee so I've got a Tassimo coffee machine. You can get Costa and Kenko pods. Kenko flat white pods cost £4.50 for 8 drinks in Sainsburys which is good value. Nearest I can get to a coffee shop coffee. I have about 3 of these a week but tea is my main drink.
Only started drinking coffee when I started travelling abroad, I didn't expect to get tea in cafes. Started with cappuccinos, then lattes and now I'm onto flat whites. I love my coffee shop coffees but they're expensive so will only have one a week. I used to have one every day in my previous job but I save my money now.
I'm not keen on instant coffee so I've got a Tassimo coffee machine. You can get Costa and Kenko pods. Kenko flat white pods cost £4.50 for 8 drinks in Sainsburys which is good value. Nearest I can get to a coffee shop coffee. I have about 3 of these a week but tea is my main drink.
madaunty
Quietly, Very Confused
I also use Coffee Mate, but hasn’t it got ruddy expensive?! Granted, I only use a level teaspoon at a time, which is just as well.
Used to just have instant coffee, but bought a Tassimo machine about 3 years ago and have the pods (plain Americano XL) delivered on a subscribe and save from Amazon.
As a matter of interest, do the Costa pods give you a brew that's anything like you'd buy in Costa? I've got a Dolce Gusto and the only brand I've seen in the shops for it was a Starbucks Cinammon/some kind of nut latte and it was disgusting. I'd never tried it in Starbucks so I couldn't compare, but I do like the idea of having a branded latte/cappuccino for my Dolce Gusto to see how they compare, 'cause let's face it how good would it be to be able to fill your travel mug with "the real thing" for a fraction of the price, or to enjoy it at home. The own brand milky/frothy made by Nescafe for the Dolce Gusto machine are ok, but bear no resemblance to what you'd get in a coffee shop. I'm not thinking of trading my Dolce Gusto for a Tassimo 'cause I'm pretty happy with it, just interested.
It's a funny thing, but sometimes when I make a cup of tea or cup of coffee, it tastes so much better than last time I made it. Same coffee, same tea, same water, etc. but the taste is so much better. And sometimes, I'll make a lousy cup of tea. I don't know why when everything is the same.
Battiola73
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Ever since I was a young child, we always had a percolator to make coffee from ground coffee. This was back in the 1950s. I remember when I first tried instant coffee how unlike coffee actually tasted. If I’m visiting friends and they offer me coffee or tea, I always opt for tea unless I know that they have a proper coffee machine.
I used to have a Dolce gusto coffee machine that used pods but they’ve got so expensive and the environmental damage the pods caused, when it gave up the ghost I decided not to buy another .
I’d been recommended an Aeropress by a friend. So I bought one about two years ago it makes coffee just how I want. I also have a milk heater/frother. I buy my coffee beans, (caffeinated and decaf) from a local roaster and grind them myself.
I’m toying with the idea of buying a beans to coffee machine but they’re very pricey.
I used to have a Dolce gusto coffee machine that used pods but they’ve got so expensive and the environmental damage the pods caused, when it gave up the ghost I decided not to buy another .
I’d been recommended an Aeropress by a friend. So I bought one about two years ago it makes coffee just how I want. I also have a milk heater/frother. I buy my coffee beans, (caffeinated and decaf) from a local roaster and grind them myself.
I’m toying with the idea of buying a beans to coffee machine but they’re very pricey.
I find that whatever the time of day I'll make a decent cup of tea, but coffee is a bit more touch and go. With my morning coffee when I'm working I've been known to put in too much coffee mate so it's a bit weaker than I'd like but I usually get it right. However, I've made ground coffee with frothed milk that would give Costa a run for its money, but I've made it again, same coffee, same milk, same froth and it's been mediocre...perhaps it's down to the freshness of the coffee even though I keep it in an airtight container when it's opened.
