Why is a brilliant coffee house like a brilliant pub?

I am a pub person, I just really like pubs. I suppose the crucial thing is what the beer is like… I don’t just mean do I like it, (although obviously I wouldn’t drink it if I didn’t like it!) I mean is it good beer, is it well and properly kept, is it well and properly poured/served? The beer has to smell enticing, have a good flavour with a long finish, so it doesn’t just vanish as though you’d never drunk it, and it’s also quite nice if it has a pleasing colour. As a beer lover I want to know that my beer has been properly and lovingly made from the best ingredients, chosen to compliment each other and the water which is used, I want it to be cared for and loved by the brewer as well as the drinker.

Well, it’s exactly the same with coffee; I want coffee which has first of all is made from great beans, beans which have been lovingly grown, nurtured, picked and prepared, beans which have been roasted just the right amount and freshly ground to ensure a delicious cup every time. I want the coffee to be properly prepared by someone who knows what they are doing, and I want my coffee to smell enticing as I lift my cup, coffee which is glossy and dark and shiny and inviting. I want a full flavour with depth and I want a long flavour which stays.

It’s also nice in a pub and in a coffee house to have guest beers/coffees as well as the regular brew. It’s nice to have other things so I could have cider/wine/spirits/soft drinks etc. or tea/milk shakes/juices etc. if I wanted something different for a change. Food and snacks that are as good as the beer/coffee are really important… what’s the point of soggy sandwiches or dry cakes?

I want to go to a place which has atmosphere, I want a place with friendly, helpful, nice staff who are good at their jobs and enjoy what they are doing, people behind the counter/bar who look pleased to see me and pleased to serve me what I want. It’s nice to walk into a place with other people sitting around enjoying their refreshments, people who come regularly because it’s a great place to come and a great place to meet friends. It’s good to be comfortable, to have different places to sit and different things to sit on, to have interesting things on the walls…

I could go on and on for some time, but I get you probably understand now why when I want a coffee I go to The Coffee House, and when I want a pub I go to the Dolphin!