Pret "unlimited" coffee

That's a pretty good deal for a high street chain. Just a shame one isn't close enough for me to take advantage of it and it's not my favourite high street coffee chain either

Now if Cafe Nero or Department of Coffee and Social affairs (which have recently closed and I am gutted about) did this, I'd be all over it.
 
Junglist said:
That's a pretty good deal for a high street chain. Just a shame one isn't close enough for me to take advantage of it and it's not my favourite high street coffee chain either

Now if Cafe Nero or Department of Coffee and Social affairs (which have recently closed and I am gutted about) did this, I'd be all over it.
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Nero is naff, now if Greggs, Starbucks or Costa did it I'd jump.

I live in Media City there is a pret just down the road, gets me out on a morning for a short walk, and in town I work near Piccadilly station so 3 min walk to a Pret, so mega convenient for me.
 
willhub said:
Nero is naff, now if Greggs, Starbucks or Costa did it I'd jump.

I live in Media City there is a pret just down the road, gets me out on a morning for a short walk, and in town I work near Piccadilly station so 3 min walk to a Pret, so mega convenient for me.
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You say Nero is naff then proceed to list probably the worst high street coffee chains. Gregg's is fine because you can get a steak bake and the coffee is cheap so it's gravy to the food.

Starbucks is burnt trash, no idea why anyone would go there out of choice. Doesn't matter which country I go to, Starbucks always gives trash coffee. I don't think I've ever once thought "Oh my, this Starbucks was nice". It's always my last, last choice. I'd even take a McDonalds coffee over Starbucks.
Costa is a bit better but they seem hell bent on giving you milk with a dash of coffee. Why on earth their flat white comes the size of a small latte will forever infuriate me and when I do fancy a bigger drink, like a latte, I have to request for an extra shot because otherwise it's coffee flavoured milk.

I'm still reeling that you think Starbucks is better than the Nero. I almost feel personally insulted.
 
Since I got a coffee machine at home (3 years ago) I very rarely buy coffee on-the-go (couple of times a year, maybe).

I can see how tempting this would be if you have a local Pret on route though.
 
Yaayuh! said:
Since I got a coffee machine at home (3 years ago) I very rarely buy coffee on-the-go (couple of times a year, maybe).

I can see how tempting this would be if you have a local Pret on route though.
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I'm hoping that'll be the case for us too. Looking forward to finding the right beans for myself

Coffee whilst a lovely thing is an expensive drink
 
Skeptic said:
I’m no stranger to their shores, but was just trying to work out the logistics of 6 coffees a day, for a month, for £14.

I make that 180 coffees for £14.

I think the recommended ratio is 30g/500ml for most things (e.g. French Press). Let’s assume a cup is 250ml, so 2 per pot or 15g per cup.

15 grams x 6 coffees per day = a daily use of 90g coffee per day, times 30 days in a month = 2.7kg of coffee required per month.

2.7kg of coffee for £14.

So, either the poster has an amazing source, my maths is wrong, or I’m going to the wrong places.
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I buy the 1kg bags of Lavazza Qualita Rossa - sure it isn't up there with some of the "premium" stuff, but I far prefer it to the watered down diarrhoea the high street chains sell.

4 espressos a day for me, 2 for my other half

In terms of quantity - I don't know exactly the weight I'm using, I put the beans in the machine, push the button, and out it comes :D, a quick google suggests 7-9g for an espresso shot, so that's 42-54g/day. Ignoring weekends when we tend to get slightly more sleep (and so need less coffee :p) that does work out at ~1kg/month

Can't remember exactly when the last time I bought a bag was, but I'm pretty sure it was at least a month ago.
 
builder22 said:
You’d get sick of them....even if you regularly buy 2-3 coffees a day you’d feel obliged to go to Pret and would get bored of them
That’s my thought anyway :
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Doubt it, plenty of people drink tea or coffee every day or multiple times a day in work. If you’ve got a pret near work and/or the coffee in the office isn’t great then could be worthwhile.

I mean otherwise coffee shops are generally a huge rip off.
 
Haggisman said:
I buy the 1kg bags of Lavazza Qualita Rossa - sure it isn't up there with some of the "premium" stuff, but I far prefer it to the watered down diarrhoea the high street chains sell.

4 espressos a day for me, 2 for my other half

In terms of quantity - I don't know exactly the weight I'm using, I put the beans in the machine, push the button, and out it comes :D, a quick google suggests 7-9g for an espresso shot, so that's 42-54g/day. Ignoring weekends when we tend to get slightly more sleep (and so need less coffee :p) that does work out at ~1kg/month

Can't remember exactly when the last time I bought a bag was, but I'm pretty sure it was at least a month ago.
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Asda coffee beans are surprisingly nice for the money, had the italian beans a few times now and only £4 for 500g.

Some of the fancier beans people go on about taste awful to me.
 
dowie said:
Doubt it, plenty of people drink tea or coffee every day or multiple times a day in work. If you’ve got a pret near work and/or the coffee in the office isn’t great then could be worthwhile.

I mean otherwise coffee shops are generally a huge rip off.
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Yes , it is actually quite a good deal if you work in a city and regularly have at least 1 takeaway coffee every day anyway.

Shame it is Pret. I have found their coffee to not be as nice as Nero/Costa.
 
Haggisman said:
I buy the 1kg bags of Lavazza Qualita Rossa - sure it isn't up there with some of the "premium" stuff, but I far prefer it to the watered down diarrhoea the high street chains sell.

4 espressos a day for me, 2 for my other half

In terms of quantity - I don't know exactly the weight I'm using, I put the beans in the machine, push the button, and out it comes :D, a quick google suggests 7-9g for an espresso shot, so that's 42-54g/day. Ignoring weekends when we tend to get slightly more sleep (and so need less coffee :p) that does work out at ~1kg/month

Can't remember exactly when the last time I bought a bag was, but I'm pretty sure it was at least a month ago.
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1 kg = 110 shots = 55 coffees (standard coffee is 2 shots pretty much anywhere including pret, the fact you like yours to be weak skews the numbers :p ) = 26p per actual coffee.
 
dowie said:
Doubt it, plenty of people drink tea or coffee every day or multiple times a day in work. If you’ve got a pret near work and/or the coffee in the office isn’t great then could be worthwhile.

I mean otherwise coffee shops are generally a huge rip off.
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What amazes me the most is that very very good coffee shops that use decent coffee beans etc, don't charge any more than the likes of Pret/Costa/Starbucks that are using ~£10-12 a kg (to a consumer) beans. The stuff in a specialist shop would cost you £25-30 a kg (to a consumer). Considerably better value, and much better coffee!

My beans are circa £25 a kg, my grinder doses Australian 24g double shots, meaning a home-made double shot coffee costs circa 60p a go for me. Add milk and we're probably not far off a quid cost to make a decent latte in reality, so you're paying 100% mark-up for someone else having to have all the gear employee etc. not THAT terrible really!
 
It's not about competing with decent coffee, or good coffee made at home. It's about Pret trying to grab customers from their direct competition like McDonalds, Costa, Starbucks, etc. and then tie you to their shops rather than you going elsewhere. Coffee as a service.
 
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Steampunk said:
It's not about competing with decent coffee, or good coffee made at home. It's about Pret trying to grab customers from their direct competion like McDonalds, Costa, Starbucks, etc. and then tie you to their shops rather than you going elsewhere. Coffee as a service.
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Yup! If you are in town and knows you have access to “free” coffee on the highstreet you are not going to head to Starbucks or Costa as you feel like you are tied to Pret.

This is a decent deal for people who work near one, or even walk pass one on the commute to work.
 
rG-tom said:
What amazes me the most is that very very good coffee shops that use decent coffee beans etc, don't charge any more than the likes of Pret/Costa/Starbucks that are using ~£10-12 a kg (to a consumer) beans. The stuff in a specialist shop would cost you £25-30 a kg (to a consumer). Considerably better value, and much better coffee!

My beans are circa £25 a kg, my grinder doses Australian 24g double shots, meaning a home-made double shot coffee costs circa 60p a go for me. Add milk and we're probably not far off a quid cost to make a decent latte in reality, so you're paying 100% mark-up for someone else having to have all the gear employee etc. not THAT terrible really!
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You were doing so well up until the part you turn it into a coffee flavoured milkshake;)
 
Malevolence said:
I had to Google what a 'pret' is. Apparently it's some sort of hipster coffee/sandwich setup. Nearest one to me is over 40 miles away, oh well....
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It’s in all the big cities and airports, I’ve even been to the one in Hong Kong. They are more a sandwich shop, posh Gregg’s if you like.
 
rG-tom said:
What amazes me the most is that very very good coffee shops that use decent coffee beans etc, don't charge any more than the likes of Pret/Costa/Starbucks that are using ~£10-12 a kg (to a consumer) beans. The stuff in a specialist shop would cost you £25-30 a kg (to a consumer). Considerably better value, and much better coffee!
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I guess they have to - I mean there is already a huge mark up in the standard prices and making better coffee is perhaps part of their edge over known brands. I mean they no doubt do attract some customers who care about that in particular but perhaps also need to attract regular passing trade and customers who just want a "proper" coffee... as in better than instant from the office kitchen, but don't particularly care beyond that whether the beans are special or not... so pricing it higher than Starbucks (which lets face it is already expensive for what it is) would put off those customers... perhaps they retain some of them too when they note in general that the coffee is really good, without necessarily being overly concerned about specifics re: what beans are used etc.. just - that indy place makes good coffee... and charges about the going rate for proper coffee.
 
Malevolence said:
I had to Google what a 'pret' is.
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it was all over the forum for the allergy death - no ?


Maybe you can WFPH , but , not sure what jobs people have where they could make multiple trips to a coffee shop during the day ?
in a previous job without works coffee&tea-making, it was easier to take a prep'd flask with you to work,
equally we had a sandwich lady who came everyday with your pre-ordered request, usually al-desco
 
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