We posted recently about the fantastic array of places there are to get your daily coffee fix. Even more recently, reading Hugo’s comments on the “delicious coffee and a pan au chocolat of parisian quality” at Allan’s Organic Patisserie and Boatfanatic’s review of the “totally scrummy” takeaway coffee worth detouring for at Coffee Stand, it’s clear that grabbing a cup of the strong stuff is an important part of many peoples’ day. High quality, ethically sourced beans can’t hurt, but like most things it’s about more than just the product. That’s why we were so surprised to hear about a certain multinational’s new venture - drive-through coffee.

Europe’s first drive-through Starbucks opened this week in Cardiff, seemingly designed to curb all human impulses to relax and socialise over a leisurely cup. With human interaction kept to an absolute minimum it’s time efficient, yes, but if you’re even vaguely interested in the number of miles your beans have travelled you probably won’t want to go adding tonnes of moving metal and accompanying fumes in to the equation.

If a good coffee shop is measured by good product + ambience + ethics + value for money, is Starbucks ticking all the boxes? We’re always banging on about supporting your local community shops and cafes - that’s because we believe in it so strongly - but whatever you think of the big chains, if you take the time to check out your local stomping ground for alternatives you may be pleasantly surprised. Even if you do have to leave your car by the curb.

Photo credit: Coffee Break by bitzcelt (CC License)