'I'm on a mission to visit every Caffe Nero - I've spent £1,500 on 500 coffees'

05 July 2023 , 17:57

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Alan enjoying his coffee in Pinner

In 2014, Alan Edwards decided Caffe Nero coffee was just his cup of tea, and so he set out to visit every branch in Britain.

So far Alan, 80, has had his favourite black Americano in 489 of 641 Caffe Nero coffee shops.

He reckons to have spent £1,500 on his brews as he has travelled around the country, and is now treated as a celebrity by staff wherever he goes.

Alan, from Caterham, Surrey, who enjoys his Caffe Nero adventures with his wife Wendy, 75, said: “The branches are often close together, so we do end up drinking quite a lot of coffee. If we’ve visited a few that day we’ll just have a slice of shortbread.”

Alan started his quest in 2014, when he and Wendy went to Newcastle to see an attraction, which turned out to be closed.

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At Canary Wharf in the Docklands area of East London in 2016

Alan said: “We were really disappointed and fed up, so we decided to go into this little coffee shop. We had never heard of Caffe Nero before but, on our way out, I noticed a little customer feedback form.

“The staff told us all the cards were different, and as I’m a bit of a collector, I decided I would try to get as many different ones as I could.”

The couple now travel by public transport. Alan said: “We’ve seen places we would not have visited otherwise, and always find other things to do while we’re there, visit museums and the like. We’ll get a coffee in the station, maybe take a bus to another location once we get there.

“One weekend we managed to get in 23 stops, which was a record for us. We’re quite well known for our trips now, and I am treated like a celebrity. We won’t stop until we’ve visited every single one.”

Alan’s favourite Nero visit was in 2021, in Thirsk, North Yorks, where he got a “particularly warm welcome”.

Dan Warburton