We all have our own preferences, whether that be the best lecture theatres (The Exhibition Centre) or the best place to cry (SLB in the evening). But the one area where quality must never be compromised is coffee.
Maybe I’ve just gotten used to it, but I really rate the coffee vending machines across campus. Where else could you get a coffee AND soup fix for less than a return on the 66 into town?
However, not all coffee machines are made equally. I couldn’t even count the number on one hand of the times I have made my coffee selection and paid for a drink that never dispenses. Sometimes these machines give you an automatic refund, but other times they take your money and leave you dry (and un-caffeinated!)
There is also a huge disparity between the amount machines charge in different locations. There seems to be a preference for STEM subjects, with the science buildings offering cheaper prices than anywhere else on campus. The cost of a latte, cappuccino, or hot chocolate from a vending machine in Biology and Physics is just a pound. Compare this to £2.50 on the ground floor of the Morrell library for the same sized cup and you begin to see the issue.
Vanbrugh nucleus, Fairhurst library, and the Spring Lane Building all come in at £1.20 and use the exact same machines as Biology and Physics. These are all central study locations on campus which are used by students across departments and levels of study. This disparity in prices exploits desperate students.
Similarly, these machines are often far away from the most popular study spots, with the machine in Spring Lane being three floors down from the Salters’ Learning Suit. Not only are the University robbing us an extra 20p – they also make us work for it!
Prices in Nisa on Market Square range from £2.40 to £2.70, which I would have expected considering other prices in the store. Then there’s Berrick Saul Building whose machine either permanently have an ‘out of order’ sign stuck to them, or which take your money only to result in a ‘vending error’.
There is not the option of using a reusable cup with the coffee vending machines, which is not the most environmentally friendly approach. Venues such as The Library Cafe which sells Costa Coffee and The Kitchen at Alcuin charge 20p for the use of single-use cups, which is a step in the right direction.
The YorCup is a fantastic initiative, I’m not going to second-guess the considerable impact it has had on the environment. But something doesn’t sit right with me about the rubber seal and how many other mouths have touched it. Campus needs more options when it comes to sustainability, such as using your own reusable cup with the coffee machines.
There is the option of picking up a white or black plastic lid from the coffee machine, which isn’t very sustainable. However, without using one of these you are likely to scald yourself from spilling the hot contents. Anybody who has bought a coffee from these machines will know how hot these cups can get. While I understand the reason for not offering a sleeve for the coffee to reduce unnecessary waste, these can easily be made from cardboard, which is widely recyclable. Providing plastic covers but no sleeve makes no sense.
Take it from a seasoned late-night, early-morning campus dweller fuelled by coffee; the science buildings have the best coffee.