Workhouse Coffee Company

Lovely independent coffee shop, nicely designed inside for seating and watching people go by. Food looks nice (didn't have any) and coffee was excellent. Staff inside (probably owner, didn't ask) was super attentive and talkative, made to feel welcome. Nice to have at this end of Reading. 4 star only because they charge the 50p "tax" on those who don't consume dairy (I had oat today). If they stop the charge it's an easy 5 star. And until they do I'm bound by my own rules to not visit again!

I absolutely love visiting your coffee shop! The warm and inviting atmosphere makes it the perfect spot to start our day. The baristas are friendly and knowledgeable, creating the most delightful coffee drinks. I can’t wait to come back for more delicious coffee and a relaxing time. Definitely better quality and taste of coffee than in other coffee shops like Costa … etc. Keep up the fantastic work!

The word coffee entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch koffie, borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish kahve (قهوه), borrowed in turn from the Arabic qahwah (قَهْوَة). Medieval Arab lexicographers traditionally held that the etymology of qahwah meant 'wine', given its distinctly dark color, and derived from the verb qahiya (قَهِيَ), 'to have no appetite'. The word qahwah most likely meant 'the dark one', referring to the brew or the bean; qahwah is not the name of the bean, which are known in Arabic as bunn and in Cushitic languages as būn. Semitic languages had the root qhh, "dark color", which became a natural designation for the beverage. There is no evidence that the word qahwah was named after the Ethiopian province of Kaffa (a part of where coffee originates from: Abyssinia), or any significant authority stating the opposite, or that it is traced to the Arabic quwwa ("power"). Kahve in Turkish is word borrowed from Persian word, Qahve قهوه ای, so it means something in Brown colour. Persian land or Iran was in the way of silk road and business path of coffee beans to Turkey and Europe. The terms coffee pot and coffee break originated in 1705 and 1952 respectively.