Costa Coffee

 

So, the sun finally peeked its little head out of all the clouds that hover over the island of England so it was time to celebrate with some...COFFEE! My buddy studying here from Penn State, Emily, and I decided to hit the small town of Canterbury to get caffeinated and to find international calling cards for a very important interview I had coming up. But where should we go? We decided to go to one of England's coffee chains. There are 4 coffee house chains that can usually be found evenly distributed throughout England: Cafe Nero, Costa Coffee, Cafe Rouge and of course, Starbucks! Because we found Costa Coffee first, that's where we chose to go. But don't worry my friends, we will definitely visit all of them : )

We walked into the coffee shop and it instantly reminded my of a red Starbucks. It was not nearly as cozy as Patisserie Valerie but it was much, much bigger so we had plenty of room to move about. As I glanced over the menu, I was so excited to see that they had an Iced Caramel Lattes and Iced Vanilla Lattes on the menu! It was the first flavored coffee I have seen since I have been here. So for 2.40 pounds, I ordered the delicious Iced Caramel Latte you see in the picture above. The caramel used in the latte was very different than what I am used to at the Biggbys, Starbucks' and Caribou Coffees I go to at home. It was much sweeter! So if you have a sweet tooth, you're going to love it! But if maybe the usual Caramel Latte you get at home is as sweet as you like, I'd request that they not put in the usual amount.

In the mug pictured above was the Americano that Emily ordered. Fun fact about coffee in England: they charge extra for milk! There is often 2 prices. It will either say Coffee Black/Coffee White or Americano Black/Americano White. The Coffee White/Americano White is commonly a little more (10 pence or so) expensive than the black. Also, if you order Coffee Black or Americano Black then ask for milk and get a little glare or look of confusion from the barista, then you know that you're supposed to pay a little more for it.

Stay tuned...I have many more coffee tales and pictures to come!