Waitrose coffee is free no more

Life will never be the same again: from Tuesday 15th September customers at Waitrose will be required to buy an item before getting their hands on a hot drink.

As Bristol is dominated mainly by white, middle-class students, it is only fitting that our staple source of energy is coffee rather than Coca-Cola.

This is thanks mainly to the Triangle’s Waitrose, who, until now, doled it out for free as soon as you applied for a myWaitrose card. However, our favourite food-store won’t be continuing their philanthropic scheme – now they’ll require you to actually buy something in return for a caffeine fix. The cheek of it!

On my way to lectures, or during a four-hour rehearsal, I’d pop into Waitrose to get a cappuccino. Though their coffee is by no means of the best quality and their inability to refill the sweetener tray really pissed me off, each trip to Waitrose genuinely helped get me through the day.

Not only was I provided with a (mediocre) shot of caffeine, it was also free, no strings attached. Sure, there was always a queue, but who doesn’t like standing by the counter, admiring both freshly-baked buns and three-day-old birthday cake?

The very place where mornings start and dreams come true

A friend told me that he was made to pay for a product before receiving his dose of coffee, which I thought was odd because only the day before I had been to my local Waitrose (in London) and had been provided with a free cuppa no problem. Horrified, I hurried to the Triangle in search of the truth.

Entering the shop, I noticed that Waitrose were working on a revamp, the lights were an eerie white rather than the familiar warm amber, and the products had been re-organised. I felt uneasy: I wasn’t greeting an old friend, but his evil twin brother.

When I reached the counter I thought I’d get straight to the point, so I asked the guy next to the coffee machine about the rumours. He nodded sadly and told me that you’d only receive a hot drink when purchasing a product from the counter. He let me get a cup of tea with my card, but from next Tuesday it seems the rules will be more stringent.

Ye Olde Waitrose Coffee

It’s the end of an era for all of us, but at least the freshers won’t know what they missed. Sure, the abrogation of free drinks is understandable, perhaps this way, Bristol’s finest Waitrose will actually start making some sort of profit.

It’s not exactly a welcome change for us, and it might even cause some to change allegiance to Costa, or even worse, Starbucks, and others to give up on attending lectures altogether for fear of falling asleep, but it’s a valid one.

As for now, Waitrose, we forgive you, but we certainly don’t trust you.