Costa Lotta

M'colleage and I refer to a well-known chain of coffee shop as today's blog entry title. It shouldn't take you too long to work out which one we're talking about. To be fair, they seem to be no more expensive than their competitors, though have their own slant on the products they purvey.

You also see them at the larger train stations, too. Their prices are no different here to on the high street or in shopping precincts. However, diversifying from his usual expert Fares & Service Analysis in RAIL magazine, Barry Doe offers genuine advice to those who do like to have a cuppa while travelling by train:

"In the past I have extolled the benefits of a Bite card. As a reminder, a Bite card is free, available by completing a form from national station outlets or by clicking here. It gives 20% off food and drink at most outlets, [to be found at large train stations] including Upper Crust, The Pastry Shop and Pumpkin. That's an excellent discount. And cards are not dated, so it's not just a promotion. However, 'Pumpkin' goes one stage further. It has its own loyalty card, and every time you buy any hot drink you get a stamp.


"Once you have four stamps the card is completed, and the next drink is free. Not so widely known is that this is valid in conjunction with a Bite card. So a £2[!!!!!!] coffee is down to £1.60 anyway, and four cost £6.40, giving a fifth free. Hence the overall discount is 36% - effectively meaning Pumpkin is offering a 'drinks railcard'."

Or just take one of these with you.....