Wake up and smell the coffee

by Annabel Bevan
National Website of Wales

IT'S OFFICIAL; we are no longer a nation of tea drinkers. This I know as, apart from the fact Starbucks has arrived in my hometown of Swansea - which, of course, is an indication that Wales' second city has also 'arrived' - my local greasy spoon is now the proud owner of a state-of-the-art coffee machine and, as such, has erected a shiny Italianate sign to say so.

The notion that any 'man on the street' worth his salt thinks that a cappuccino is a specialist breed of small dog and should be kept in the realm of the ladies who lunch brigade is, judging by the number of builders bums remaining on seats at this little eatery, a misnomer.

Freshly ground Fair Trade beans, frothy lattes and mind-bending espressos are it seems, even for us Brits, now a way of life.

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