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"Best Selling" or "Most Popular" products that don't deserve it?

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61653 HTAFC

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I remember getting a cup of tea at Leeds a while back and being thoroughly disappointed that it was that rubbish rather than the correct Yorkshire tea.

How on earth can you sell any other tea in Yorkshire?
Don't get me started on Yorkshire Tea! Over-rated rubbish trading on the name. Tetley isn't great, but their "strong" variety will do in a pinch. The correct answer to "which is the best tea?" though is Twinings Strong English Breakfast. Yorkshire is at least better than PG, I'll give you that! ;)
I think Nescafe instant coffee is the reason behind a lot of people thinking they don't like coffee.

There is a world of difference between instant and even a basic filter coffee...
There are some passable instants out there, saves having to faff about cleaning the French Press all the time. The best in my opinion is Percol Espresso Noir, which annoyingly is only stocked by Morrisons these days.
 
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yorksrob

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I think Nescafe instant coffee is the reason behind a lot of people thinking they don't like coffee.

There is a world of difference between instant and even a basic filter coffee...

To be fair, the Nescafe original is pretty foul.
 

GusB

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I think Nescafe instant coffee is the reason behind a lot of people thinking they don't like coffee.

There is a world of difference between instant and even a basic filter coffee...
I won't touch the Nescafé "original" at all and if that was the only thing on the shelf I'd make do with tea. Between the Gold Blend and supermarket equivalents, I'd prefer to go with the latter (except the Co-op's version), but my instant coffee of choice is the Colombian stuff that Aldi sells, and it's far cheaper. I do prefer filter coffee, when I can be bothered.
 

yorksrob

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Don't get me started on Yorkshire Tea! Over-rated rubbish trading on the name. Tetley isn't great, but their "strong" variety will do in a pinch. The correct answer to "which is the best tea?" though is Twinings Strong English Breakfast. Yorkshire is at least better than PG, I'll give you that! ;)

There are some passable instants out there, saves having to faff about cleaning the French Press all the time. The best in my opinion is Percol Espresso Noir, which annoyingly is only stocked by Morrisons these days.

As long as its not that Twinings Everyday floor sweepings.
 

61653 HTAFC

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John Smith’s, Boddington’s, Worthington or any beers which are labelled ‘creamflow’, plus Cold (Extra Cold) Guinness.
Is Boddingtons still available? I haven't seen it around for ages. Agree that all the "old school" bitters you mention are pretty rubbish, though I'm not sure they're very popular any longer. The mass-market cheap lagers (Carling, Fosters, Carlsberg, even Stella these days) are similarly poor. By the way I'm no ale snob, there are some decent lagers/pilsners out there (Budvar, DAB, Staropramen, Pilsner Urquell) which are much more refreshing than a Real Ale on a sunny day like today.
 

RuddA

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I once visited a tea plantation and small factory in southern India. They had multiple grades of tea and said nothing is wasted, even the small particles of tea on the floor are swept up and used. They get put into tea bags for the British market. No idea if they were joking or not. Makes no difference to me as I don't drink tea.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Also how you have to give your name rather than just a simple order number, then decipher the posh sounding menu lingo, I just want a coffee!
I quite like that aspect... back when they used to hand-write the names on the cup using a black marker I had a little game I used to play: When asked for the name I'd say "Denis, with one N" to see if what they wrote ended up looking like a different word associated with a small market town in South Yorkshire! :lol:

(For the record, my name is not Denis or Dennis)
 

RuddA

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Kellogg's cereal. It's nice, but way overpriced.

I find Aldi cereal tastes just as good and it's half the price.
A few years ago I always had Kellogg's Special K with summer berries. Got so expensive I tried some others. Waitrose own brand was both cheaper and nicer.
 

Herefordian

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My Dad's just reminded me of another one.

Newcastle Brown Ale. Absolutely vile.

A few years ago I always had Kellogg's Special K with summer berries. Got so expensive I tried some others. Waitrose own brand was both cheaper and nicer.

I like that one myself. Not worth the money now, though.

Aldi's own brand Harvest Morn Red Fruit is delicious. Only £1.15 for 375g.
 

61653 HTAFC

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My Dad's just reminded me of another one.

Newcastle Brown Ale. Absolutely vile.
I used to love the stuff in my youth, a few weeks ago I had a bottle for old times sake and I have to agree with your dad. I'm glad my palate has matured a little!
 

birchesgreen

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I used to love the stuff in my youth, a few weeks ago I had a bottle for old times sake and I have to agree with your dad. I'm glad my palate has matured a little!
Heh i had the same reaction when i bought a bottle last year (Lidl had it cheap), i can't believe i used to drink it all the time in my youth.
 

Grecian 1998

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Strongbow / Wrongbow. Vile stuff. That said, whilst it dominates across much of the country as the draft 'cider' offering, it's been fairly comprehensively been kicked out of most of the Westcountry by Thatchers Gold. Except in Cornwall, where 6% Rattler is normally the offering. Possible that Stowford Press is big in Herefordshire and Aspalls in Suffolk, but I haven't spend enough time there to judge. Probably have Magners to thank for changing the image of cider so some folk from beyond the Westcountry and the Marches drink it.

Ciders themselves are a very diverse breed, from fizzy mass market brands to flat room temperature scrumpy which gives you a six pack due to your stomach clenching every time you consume it, to halfway houses such as Old Rosie, but most pubs only seem to have one draft cider on tap. Shame it's often Strongbow.

Regarding lager, it does annoy me that what is considered premium lager over here is just considered lager abroad. Quite tricky to find Budweiser, Carling or Fosters in Germany - what a shame. Germany seems to have a very regionalised setup when it comes to lager.
 

Herefordian

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I used to love the stuff in my youth, a few weeks ago I had a bottle for old times sake and I have to agree with your dad. I'm glad my palate has matured a little!

Heh i had the same reaction when i bought a bottle last year (Lidl had it cheap), i can't believe i used to drink it all the time in my youth.

I tried it once about twenty years ago. The aftertaste was worse than the drink itself.

My Dad did warn me beforehand, but there we go. :)
 

Thirteen

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I'm surprised that PG Tips is the most popular tea brand, I always assumed it was Tetley.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Strongbow / Wrongbow. Vile stuff. That said, whilst it dominates across much of the country as the draft 'cider' offering, it's been fairly comprehensively been kicked out of most of the Westcountry by Thatchers Gold. Except in Cornwall, where 6% Rattler is normally the offering. Possible that Stowford Press is big in Herefordshire and Aspalls in Suffolk, but I haven't spend enough time there to judge. Probably have Magners to thank for changing the image of cider so some folk from beyond the Westcountry and the Marches drink it.

Ciders themselves are a very diverse breed, from fizzy mass market brands to flat room temperature scrumpy which gives you a six pack due to your stomach clenching every time you consume it, to halfway houses such as Old Rosie, but most pubs only seem to have one draft cider on tap. Shame it's often Strongbow.

Regarding lager, it does annoy me that what is considered premium lager over here is just considered lager abroad. Quite tricky to find Budweiser, Carling or Fosters in Germany - what a shame. Germany seems to have a very regionalised setup when it comes to lager.
I always used to use the term "Wrongbow" to refer to the Aldi/Lidl knock-off versions of Strongbow, as the packaging was clearly designed to mimic the branded version. Though I do have my suspicion that it was actually just white-label Strongbow as it maintained the old 5.3%abv for a few months after Strongbow reduced to 5%. These days I don't touch anything that comes from Bulmers (including Magners) because it all tastes the same and none of it is very nice. I've also cut down on cider due to the sugar content, though I'll occasionally treat myself to a bottle or three of Weston's or preferably Sheppy's- though the latter isn't that common up North.
 

py_megapixel

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Don't get me started on Yorkshire Tea! Over-rated rubbish trading on the name. Tetley isn't great, but their "strong" variety will do in a pinch. The correct answer to "which is the best tea?" though is Twinings Strong English Breakfast. Yorkshire is at least better than PG, I'll give you that!
Yorkshire Tea is fine. So is Tetley. So is Twinings. So are, dare I say, the supermarket own brands. It's a drink you make by pouring hot water on a bag full of leaves. Life's too short to worry about whose name was written on the packet.

Is there any product which embodies the word "over-hyped" better than Yorkshire Tea?
 

Bletchleyite

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Don't get me started on Yorkshire Tea! Over-rated rubbish trading on the name. Tetley isn't great, but their "strong" variety will do in a pinch. The correct answer to "which is the best tea?" though is Twinings Strong English Breakfast. Yorkshire is at least better than PG, I'll give you that! ;)

I have had that Twinings one and wasn't a fan, it has an odd liquoricey tang.
 

Amos

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Don't get me started on Yorkshire Tea! Over-rated rubbish trading on the name. Tetley isn't great, but their "strong" variety will do in a pinch. The correct answer to "which is the best tea?" though is Twinings Strong English Breakfast. Yorkshire is at least better than PG, I'll give you that! ;)
There is a company called jing that do an excellent breakfast tea.It’s bloomin’ expensive though.
 

birchesgreen

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I don't like PG Tips, seems a bit weak, and never got the hype over Yorkshire, i tend to only drink Twinings or Waitrose Assam. Lidl's isn't that bad either.
 

Thirteen

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I like Starbucks but I don't drink any of their hot drinks aside from the occasional hot chocolate although I now get a free hot drink from Greggs because I have O2 priority and it's not great by any stretch but it's free so can't complain.

In terms of soft drinks, I've tried supermarket cola and it's not as good as Coca Cola or Pepsi.
 

61653 HTAFC

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I like Starbucks but I don't drink any of their hot drinks aside from the occasional hot chocolate although I now get a free hot drink from Greggs because I have O2 priority and it's not great by any stretch but it's free so can't complain.

In terms of soft drinks, I've tried supermarket cola and it's not as good as Coca Cola or Pepsi.
Greggs deserves it's own entry on this thread now that you mention it. Pound Bakery is cheaper and better, as are the vast majority of local independents.

Away from food, both Tesla and Apple for their insistence on proprietary standards.
 

Russel

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In terms of soft drinks, I've tried supermarket cola and it's not as good as Coca Cola or Pepsi.

I do like Pepsi Max but it's around £2 for 2 litre bottle now so I've been trying some of the supermarket own brands, so far I've found the Lidl Xtra Cola to be the best, the flavour is pretty good but it's not quite as fizzy, but I don't mind that actually, it's only 45p a bottle too.

The worst has to be Sainsburys or Tesco diet cola, you may as well drink sparkling water.
 

E27007

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Kellogg's cereal. It's nice, but way overpriced.

I find Aldi cereal tastes just as good and it's half the price.
Lidl too, also Lidl mature cheese, Lidl soups or baked beans , Lidl Deluxe cake, all far better to my palate than the Heinz or mainstream brands, and the price is less too.
 

Bantamzen

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Away from food, both Tesla and Apple for their insistence on proprietary standards.
I don't drive so can't comment on Tesla. Apple on the other hand, it has long since gone from being bespoke high end, high price tech, to bog standard, high price tech. They live purely on their image alone these days.
 

Mcr Warrior

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Tetley didn't have the PG Chimps advertising them.
However, wasn't Tetley's offering endorsed/voiced by actor Brian Glover (the wannabe 'Bobby Charlton' sports master in the 1969 feature film "Kes"?)
 

yorksrob

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However, wasn't Tetley's offering endorsed/voiced by actor Brian Glover (the wannabe 'Bobby Charlton' school master in the 1969 feature film "Kes"?)

Possibly. But not as memorable as "you hum it, I'll play it" :lol:
 

52290

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Is Boddingtons still available? I haven't seen it around for ages. Agree that all the "old school" bitters you mention are pretty rubbish, though I'm not sure they're very popular any longer. The mass-market cheap lagers (Carling, Fosters, Carlsberg, even Stella these days) are similarly poor. By the way I'm no ale snob, there are some decent lagers/pilsners out there (Budvar, DAB, Staropramen, Pilsner Urquell) which are much more refreshing than a Real Ale on a sunny day like today
Something called Boddingtons is still available but it bears no resemblance to the Boddingtons of old that was brewed at the Strangeways brewery in Manchester. Today it is an all keg beer brewed , I think, at the Inbev brewery at Samlesbury near Preston.
If you want a refreshing cask ale for a summers day, here in the North West there's Holt's Two Hoots, Lees MPA, Thwaites Gold, Moorhouses Blonde Witch and a whole host of golden ales from smaller breweries usually served at a coolish temperature without the added, burp inducing, gas of a continental sounding lager which has probably been brewed in this country.
 

gg1

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Don't get me started on Yorkshire Tea! Over-rated rubbish trading on the name. Tetley isn't great, but their "strong" variety will do in a pinch. The correct answer to "which is the best tea?" though is Twinings Strong English Breakfast.
Agree with pretty much every word of that, though for favourite tea I'm torn between Twining Strong English Breakfast and Twinings Assam.


Yorkshire is at least better than PG, I'll give you that! ;)
Similarly PG tips is better than Typhoo, although that's a little like saying a class 143 is better than a 142.

If you want a nice, tasty bit of cheddar Lidl do two in their regional ranges (a Scottish one in a blue packet and a Welsh one in red) that are excellent
I haven't tried either of those but might have to give them a go.
 
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