We decided on a "pit stop" at Leicester Forest East motorway services (M1 southbound). I was dozing off quite badly and needed caffeine. The regular coffee shop was shut. I saw a bean to cup machine panelled into the wall of the shop. "It's no good" I thought, "it's that or crash the car!".
So I sighed deeply, uttered some appropriately coffee geek-like comments about the expected quality of the coffee, put the paper espresso cup under the spout and pushed the button.
Surprises :
- The volume was reasonably correct (OK it's a bean to cup jobby, the volume's measured, but still you get used to being offered so-called espresso of 200ml in volume
- There was crema - it was a little light and no mottle, but it was crema, not artifically produced foam.
- When I tasted it, it was actually quite reasonable! Better than Charbucks for sure! I actually quite enjoyed it.
OK, this isn't a wine out of water story and I was so desperate that I might even have been happy with Charbucks, but still I was very pleasantly surprised. If this stuff had been put up against anything that any of us make ourselves it would have failed miserably but for commercial espresso from a non-specialist outlet it was nothing short of wonderful.
Eee by 'eck!