Workhouse Coffee — Restaurant in Reading

What’s happened to this place?!

I usually make my own coffee at home but with my machine broken I’ve taken to exploring what’s on the high st and workhouse has taken a rapid decline over the past couple of months. Firstly they don’t have a house blend so I went in one day and the coffee tasted poor - when I questioned if they’d changed their coffee I was told ‘oh we change it all the time’ Whatever happened to brand Consistency? Their A* barista seems to be MIA so it’s pot luck if the person who serves you is a trained barista or not? I’ve tried several coffees- latte/flat whites etc in hope of getting something decent? The latest coffee reminded me of when my Gran used to boil milk in a pan (& burn it) and then put a tiny drop of coffee in and it doesn’t taste of much. Or the bubble fountain where if you like foam (not the creamy thick stuff) then you’ll love this! It’s bloody freezing in there too so I’ve never sat inside and opening times are as good as anyone’s guess because there’s certainly no consistency there either nor does it align with the times advertised on Google?

This obviously all comes down to the owner to rectify. Oxford Rd seems neglected whereas I can imagine that the central shop takes priority which is a shame because not everyone on Oxford road is a dunce when it comes to coffee. Unfortunately I won’t be parting with anymore experimental pennies in hope that one day I will get what I expect from this place which is a quality coffee from what should be an established independent...

The word coffee entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch koffie, borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish kahve (قهوه), borrowed in turn from the Arabic qahwah (قَهْوَة). Medieval Arab lexicographers traditionally held that the etymology of qahwah meant 'wine', given its distinctly dark color, and derived from the verb qahiya (قَهِيَ), 'to have no appetite'. The word qahwah most likely meant 'the dark one', referring to the brew or the bean; qahwah is not the name of the bean, which are known in Arabic as bunn and in Cushitic languages as būn. Semitic languages had the root qhh, "dark color", which became a natural designation for the beverage. There is no evidence that the word qahwah was named after the Ethiopian province of Kaffa (a part of where coffee originates from: Abyssinia), or any significant authority stating the opposite, or that it is traced to the Arabic quwwa ("power"). Kahve in Turkish is word borrowed from Persian word, Qahve قهوه ای, so it means something in Brown colour. Persian land or Iran was in the way of silk road and business path of coffee beans to Turkey and Europe. The terms coffee pot and coffee break originated in 1705 and 1952...

Place has potential, but staff member couldn’t understand repeatedly when I asked her for a pot of tea (and I don’t have an accent). A case of ‘Computer says no’, I think. Outside of the list of options, so not something she’d ever heard of. 😂

Always seems a bit of a raw deal when tea drinkers just get a small semi-full mug of tea rather than a pot. £2.50 for a small mug of hot water with a tea bag in it. Guess you’re paying for the environment rather than the drink though… It was hot at least though.

She possibly couldn’t hear me partly because of the R&B music blasting out from Capitol Extra at high volume, ruining the ambience of the place. You come into a coffee shop for a bit of piece and quiet, not to be assaulted by god awful music at high volume.

Thought I’d try my local coffee shop but am a bit put off to be honest. A pity as it is one of the few nice-looking coffee shops in the area. Guess I’ll have to retreat to Costa...