Costa Coffee

Costa came along in 2009, and was received by some protest by some members of the small town community who felt uncomfortable with a big chain coming to town (see:
). But since I’ve come along, Costa has done very well, and seems to be busy from opening to closing (around 630, which is in line with the brutal hours everywhere in this small town). Mornings feature an abnormal number of moms meeting up with their babies and strollers in tow.
Only within the last year did they introduce free wireless internet, which is what has brought me in. During my study/​writer retreats to Whitstable, I stay in a cottage with no internet or TV, so I am otherwise cut off from the world. So for a few hours each morning, I sit with my coffee and pre-​made and then heated sandwich and use their glorious wifi, which is actually pretty fast too. The staff are very nice and never make me feel uncomfortable for loitering. After awhile they started to recognize me and what I like to order (the flat white) But the coffee itself is consistent with Costa standards, which is to say appalling. I usually have their flat white, which is passable. Don’t ever have their cappuccino. Whitstable has a ton of great coffee places, and you can do better than Costa if that is your goal. But if wifi and comfort is your aim, then you can’t find much better than Costa on the main road in Whitstable.