Along similar lines as Starbucks, Coffee Republic and Costa, Caffe Nero is another one of the ‘trendy’ coffee houses that have been appearing in a town near you over the past few years after the explosion of the phenomena that is ‘Friends’ hit our screens. It has got to the point where every corner has a coffee house on it thus proving that there is big money in this relatively new industry.
Caffe Nero as we know it began in 1996 with 6 stores. Now, after the recent acquisition of Café Aroma, there are 106 branches in the UK expanding with approximately one new store each week. In Manchester alone there are four branches in the city centre and a newly opened one in the Trafford Centre, which until last Sunday was trading as Café Aroma.
The concept of Caffe Nero is simple: to serve great coffee. Each store follows the same company standards whether it concerns the way the drinks are made or how often a staff member checks the toilets. Unlike the American Starbucks, Caffe Nero is Italian themed. Staff members are referred to as Baristas, which roughly translates into ‘coffee expert’, and have a uniform of black trousers, a black T-shirt with the Caffe Nero logo emblazoned across the front and a black half apron. This makes them distinguishable on a hectic Saturday lunchtime but bloody stupid during the quiet Tuesday afternoons.
The coffee menu is quite standard but at Caffe Nero the drinks are cheaper and larger than in most of the competitors’ stores. What follows is the description and prices of Caffe Nero’s coffee menu.
Espresso. A shot of black coffee. Ideally the coffee should run for between 10-12 seconds and you should be able to ‘cut the crema’ (where you can make a cross in the crema that forms on top of the espresso with a pen like object and the crema instantly ‘heals’ so you cannot see the coffee underneath). The Espresso Machiato is a shot of espresso with a blob of foamed milk on the top. The Espresso Ristretto is a shot of espresso, which only runs for approximately 5 second so it is ultra strong. Single shot = £1.15 Double shot = £1.45
Americano. Two shots of coffee topped up with hot water with cold milk optional. A ‘normal’ coffee. Regular = £1.45 Grande (with an extra shot of coffee) = £1.80
Cappuccino Two shots of coffee filling 1/3 of the cup. A further 1/3 of the cup is filled with steamed milk. The last 1/3 is milk foam. This should form a domed shape rising above the cup brim. Chocolate powder is optional. Regular = £1.70 Grande = £1.95
Latte Two shots of coffee topped up with stemmed milk. There should be a finger’s width of foam to seal the drink. Regular = £1.70 Grande = £1.95
Mocha Two shots of coffee mixed with a heaped spoon of Cadbury’s drinking chocolate topped up with steamed milk. Whipped cream and chocolate powder to top are optional. Regular = £1.70 Grande = £1.95
Iced coffees, hot chocolate and teas are available, as are cans of cola, Oringina, Snapple drinks, fresh fruit juice, water and smoothies. A variety of syrups including caramel and vanilla are available to enhance any drink.
The food served in Caffe Nero consists of different pastas which will be heated in the microwave for you, bocatta sandwiches that can be toasted, soup which is again heated in the microwave, pre-packed cakes, gateaux, muffins, Italian style cantuccini biscuits and sweet and savoury pastries. None of the food is actually made on the premises. Different suppliers deliver the food in fresh and frozen forms. Again, to standardise every Caffe Nero.
Personally, I’ve never understood why people would want to pay two quid for a cuppa but that’s probably because I don’t like coffee. I am told that it is really worth paying for by coffee drinkers so I’ll take their word for it. The food on the other hand is nothing special. It is over priced for what it is and in my own experience I wouldn’t recommend the sandwiches. I would however recommend the blueberry and raspberry crumble muffin. Its meal in itself! I also like the almond torte. It’s a posh version of my favourite pudding, bakewell tart.
Places like this are unavoidable. They are used as meeting places more than anything. It has got to a point that the odd few would rather go to Caffe Nero on pay-day instead of the pub because it is so social!
The particular branch I have reviewed is Market Street in Manchester city centre.
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