Better latte than never.

Since lockdown began over three weeks ago the hardest part has been that we immediately had to go cold-turkey for our daily latte habit. Today during our daily exercise we stumbled across a bakery with a proper coffee machine, got two takeaways and it was absolute bliss! Just that tiny bit of normal was all we needed.

Even before lockdown it’s fair to say we are simple folk so a latte was our treat and café culture was our pastime. Why? Well it is not just the actual drinking of the coffee that for sure, I’ll try to explain…..

Of course the coffee is part of the enjoyment. Our firm favourite at the moment is straightforward large wet latte’s. One of the more simple options I think, standard grounds, not into coconut or soya milk, hardly any froth, no syrups, our only bit of ‘fuss’ is we prefer green milk but if the café uses just either blue or red, we ask the barista to do a half and half mix, purely because the amount we have wouldn’t be good for our cholesterol if each one was full fat milk. So yes that is our drink of choice, we savour each one, never get tired of the taste or smell and never used to take them for granted.

I suppose that is only one part of the ‘going out for a coffee’ experience though isn’t it. Certainly in our case this is true because we love the ‘people watching’ aspect too. Studying how we behave and interact, watching individuals in their daily lives can be fascination, not in a nosey way but just generally observing life. Some kids spend more a month on avocados than our first mortgage!

There is no ritual or reasoning as to why and where we choose on any given day. Costa, Nero, Pret A Manger, Starbucks are all on the cards in just the same way as are any of the local independents. They all have something to offer and each one has something unique to offer.

Often the barista play a large part in the establishments ‘vibe’. The way they interact with the customer, the way they deal with the queue, the way they make the various drinks can all be handled differently when you watch. It’s is also the sounds and smells of ground coffee, milk frothing, the steam, the ice crusher, paninis and pastries all play their part in creating ambiance as much as the choice of music.

Then of course the customers…there is often a few flicking phone screens, some have the headphones in, there’s a young much wrestling a pushchair through to where the high chairs are. Then we have the old guy with a newspaper, a middle aged woman reading a book, the obligatory twenty-something taking up a table and four seat just with his laptop.

Many of us love being part of café culture, we sincerely hope it will be able to resume soon.