Part II. Food and Drink. Cultural Sketches

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British coffee lovers want instant results

By Sarah Womack

DRINKING instant coffee may be seen as sacrilegious on the Continent, but it is the most popular type of coffee for the less fussy British.

For us, the more sophisticated ground coffee – favoured throughout the rest of Europe – is just a hassle.

Research into the coffee drinking habits of Europeans concluded that the British have too hectic a lifestyle to find time to make “proper coffee”.

While more than two in five of us (44 per cent) drink instant, a mere six per cent of Germans, 11 per cent of French and 18 per cent of Spanish coffee drinkers will touch it.

Freshly ground coffee is far more popular with our European neighbours – particularly with Germans, who prefer it even to beer. Sixty-two per cent of Germans drink only ground coffee and refuse to contemplate a cup of instant.

Forty per cent of French people and 32 per cent of Spanish will only drink fresh ground coffee, compared with three per cent of Britons, according to the report by Mintel, the consumer analysts.

 

(from The Daily Telegraph)

 

Notes

Newspaper headlines often contain ‘play on words’. Consider the use of the word ‘instant’ in the given headline. On the one hand, instant means ‘immediate, happening without any delay’ such as instant result / access / success; on the other hand, it is ‘food or drink that is dried, usually in the form of a powder’ such as instant coffee / soup / potato.

Cultural note: Many people consider instant food and drinks to be of poor quality and often make excuses when offering them:

Would you like a coffee? I’m afraid I’ve only got instant.

the Continent – Europe, especially western Europe but not including the British Isles

 

 

Vocabulary

sacrilegious adj.: Muslims consider it sacrilegious to wear shoes inside a mosque. / It would be a sacrilegious act to put a neon sign on that beautiful old building.

Sacrilege n.

fussy adj. (=not easily satisfied): All my children are fussy eaters. / He’s so fussy about the house – everything has to be absolutely perfect. / “Red wine or white? ” – “I’m not fussy – either would be lovely.”

Fussiness n.

sophisticated adj.: I don’t suppose I have any books that would suit your sophisticated tastes. / I think a more sophisticated approach is needed to solve this problem.

sophistication n.: Her sophistication is evident from the way she dresses.

hassle n.: It was such a hassle trying to get my bank account changed that I nearly gave up. / I should have taken it back to the shop but I just didn’t think it was worth all the hassle.