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ticklish_frogThere are three public possibilities to consume coffee while at work:
While the quantity and the quality of the coffee in all three cases are coarsely the same, the atmosphere is quite different.
Departmental coffee is machine-served, and the idea is: think about work, go grab a cup, and continue working. No excitement, and the cup itself is made out of disposable plastic.
Students' coffee is served in a proper china, with real silverware, and you are supposed to come over to a special counter to order it. Besides, one can enjoy the company of female chemistry students whilst sipping his cup.
Professors' option is also served in a proper cup, and besides, there is an extra flavour to the process itself: ordering or paying for the meal, you can ask for a coffee, and by default, you'll get not the cup itself, but rather a voucher, a colourful pice of paper which entitles you to some fresh caffeine later. After finishing the feast, one brings the voucher to the barman's attention, and exchanges it for a drink.
Which option should yours truly choose? Decisions, decisions... (my Portuguese is good enough to ask for coffee, sugar, and all that at any of the venues, so the communication trouble is not an issue)
- Departmental coffee machine (25 cents)
- Students' cafeteria (35 cents)
- Professors' cafeteria (32 cents)
While the quantity and the quality of the coffee in all three cases are coarsely the same, the atmosphere is quite different.
Departmental coffee is machine-served, and the idea is: think about work, go grab a cup, and continue working. No excitement, and the cup itself is made out of disposable plastic.
Students' coffee is served in a proper china, with real silverware, and you are supposed to come over to a special counter to order it. Besides, one can enjoy the company of female chemistry students whilst sipping his cup.
Professors' option is also served in a proper cup, and besides, there is an extra flavour to the process itself: ordering or paying for the meal, you can ask for a coffee, and by default, you'll get not the cup itself, but rather a voucher, a colourful pice of paper which entitles you to some fresh caffeine later. After finishing the feast, one brings the voucher to the barman's attention, and exchanges it for a drink.
Which option should yours truly choose? Decisions, decisions... (my Portuguese is good enough to ask for coffee, sugar, and all that at any of the venues, so the communication trouble is not an issue)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-12 10:38 am (UTC)By the way, European coffee cups are much smaller than their American counterparts. Although the coffee itself is stronger. I might agree with you that on the overall scale our coffee is cheaper, but hey you Americans are rich - I doubt anyone in Portugal would even consider buying his coffee for more than 50 eurocents.
Actually in some black districts of NYC you can get a cup of coffee for 50 cents, which is quite comparable to our 30+. So you should blame yourself because you are voluntarily paying more than you should (putting aside the fact that actual coffee producers are being ripped of by coffee chains).