Cheapuccino or Loadsabucks?

If the Priory treated caffeine addiction of the espresso kind, I would have VIP membership. It is my lifeblood - can’t start my day without it and don’t sleep because of it, but it is a daily transfusion that keeps me on the go.

But gone are the days of a simple jar of  'instant' in the kitchen cupboard. Coffee has gone hardcore and, as every other street corner opens new doors for a familiar coffee-king to stake his claim on the high street and campaign for popularity with loyalty cards and top up payment, I wonder....has coffee has become the latest fashion accessory?

The tasting habits of the coffee club are never-ending – from decaff to tar, with everything and anything in between.

For me, I remain a die-hard traditionalist – Americano, black, shot loaded dependent on time of day and hunger-curbing levels (with the exception of a double espresso moment when I need a quick hit).

For the more creative mocha-choca-latte-cino lovers there is no end to the caffeine cocktail lists but, as much as they are tee/tea-total, I wonder if these mocktails shouldn't possibly come with a warning of their own? ...Be warned - put away your loose change, the à-la-carte gourmet taste-trap needs some serious greens and affluence, quite possibly a bridging loan.

Gone are the days of a 50p greasy spoon instant in a polystyrene cup – a conservative double round of lattes and cappuccinos with in-store dunking cookies easily robs a crisp Ten. A quiet family Sunday continental croque-monsieur breakfast will undoubtedly double that cheque. Go designer with smoothies and frappuccinos, a couple of skinny muffins or the debt-busting great grand-daddy of coffee, the Venti with cream, and you could quite possibly pay for a week’s shopping.

So today, as I established my daily roots on the leather lounger, and flicked through Harpers Bazaar, I wondered how much I watched the coffee drinking financial downfall of the masses. Kudos to the savvy barristas for keeping the coffee shop alive – but in the face of economic down-turn, I do wonder...has the rise of café-culture survived the recession, or caused it?

'Til next time, Pandora