The Wizard is off to Scotland

[JSFMACLJR]

Ok then chaps, a semi serious question. Is the coffee over here that much different than the stuff over there? Of course, if our coffee is that bad there is always whisky to drink.

Good morning Jock,

When we have stayed in Scotland we have found the coffee to be perfectly adequate, no better or no worse than what we find in the US. Perhaps it has to do with the quality of the establishments we frequent. When in Scotland we make our base at the Knipoch Hotel outside of Oban and the coffee is excellent. Same with our favourite place in Glasgow (One Devonshire Gardens-Hotel du Vin). Travelling around, the coffee various from place to place, as you would expect and as you find here in the US. The worse coffee was on the Cal-Mac ferries, but then the bacon butties make up for it. The coffee at friends' homes is no different than what we get here, because our friends buy good coffee and know how to make it.

Of course, the whisky beats the coffee any day!

[Old Hippie]

Is the coffee over here that much different than the stuff over there?

Well...the coffee I get here is green coffee and I roast my own. I've been told that makes me a coffee snob. I just like roaster smoke.

The real difference lies in whether someone knows how to make coffee. I'm not much of a tea person, but I've learnt a bit about making proper tea because my wife doesn't drink coffee. She has learned how to make good coffee.

I recall that hotel staff usually know how to make coffee, though I am also reminded of the famous comment: "If this is tea, please bring me some coffee. If this is coffee, please bring me some tea."

:ootd:

[fluter]

By and large, one gets better coffee in Britain than in the States, because it is brewed by the cup. The downside is that it's purchased by the cup. I could spend more on my coffee than on my wife's ale, but it was good coffee.

B&B's almost always make it with a French press, and it's quite tasty. Elsewhere it will be drip or "filter coffee" and likewise good.

Only once in 6 excursions, did I get instant coffee. This was at lunch in an out of the way pub---it was not in Scotland, for the record! I should have been sharp enough to ask before I ordered on that occasion.

[SteveB]

It has been some time since I visited the U.K. While I was there tea was the more popular beverage, and is usually prepared in the U.K. far better than most establishments in the states. I did note that several publicans advised the customer that the pub did not specialize in coffee and they might prefer the tea. The worst coffee award was for the carriageway sandwich shops. The stuff made used motor oil smell tasty. There was no Starbucks or similar chain shops back then.
Way back in time, I was stationed on temporary duty with the R.A.F. in a rural area. As I would be there for a while, and I was a coffee junkie at the time, I simply rang up a coffee dealer in London, got the price and posted a few notes to him and my local pub's landlord shortly received a tin of my favourite coffee. It was always placed by me at afternoon tea. This routine worked great for the six months I was there. This also built a friendship that for over three decades resulted in regular correspondence across the puddle.
In the the areas frequented by tourists, coffee was more available than in the areas that were frequented by the locals only for the most part.
I only wish Steve the opportunity to sample some of the Scot culture and enjoy the best blended teas in the World.

Slainte

[BEEDEE]

He should be back today! Yea - my new kilt should be ready to ship!!

WELCOME BACK, STEVE!!!

Brian

[The Wizard of BC]

Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, Bobbie and I arrived back home yesterday evening. The flight back left us totally worn out after over 36 hours of only short cat naps on the plane, the ferry and the bus.

I am now working on getting all the photos loaded into photobucket so I can begin to post them for you.

To all the X Markers we met on the trip, Robertson & Emma, Chas, Acaig, Cessna152Towser, JiminaK, and of course Hamish, thank you for making this a truly wonderful experience.

Please look for my "What I did on my summer vacation thread".

[pdcorlis]

Oh - this is going to be great!

[Kiltman]

Stay up all night and get them posted. We want to see pictures!

[ThistleDown]

Welcome home, Bobby and Steve. Ships in the night. I leave tomorrow evening for my summer at home, much abbreviated by necessity this year, as you know. I'm looking forward to time in early October, when I'm back, when we can swap tales; long ones, requiring many pipes With Macman and Big Mikey, of course.