Brits Are Choosing Coffee Shops Based on How Hot the Barista Is

Britain is really into coffee right now. We're going to cupping lessons and abandoning ancestral tea-drinking rituals. Our students would rather drink cold brew piccolo lattes than cheap booze, for God's sake.

A new survey commissioned by water filter company Brita explores this growing national obsession with coffee and apparently, it could be based on something even shallower than #latteart Instagram likes.

Discovering that 80 percent of participants buy coffee out at least once a week, the researchers asked what they looked for when choosing a cafe or coffee shop. The majority said they wanted a place that would allow them to "wind down" with a cup o' Joe or meet with friends.

So far, so normal. But as The Publican's Morning Advertiser reports, a pretty hefty 20 percent of those questioned said they would choose where to drink coffee based on the attractiveness of the person serving them. They even admitted to having a crush on their barista.

Maybe Britain isn't a nation of coffee lovers after all. Maybe we're spending so much money on lattes because we're actually all loitering around the stirrers until our favourite Pret server's shift starts or trying to catch the eye of that hot bearded barista while he cleans the milk steamer.

The remaining respondents said that they looked for places that would allow them to sit, drink coffee, and "people watch." It's beginning to sound like Britain's coffee drinkers may lack real human interaction outside of "To drink here or take away?" exchanges.

The survey also grouped coffee drinkers into three categories: the "shoppers" who look for "quiet and comfortable experiences," the "take-a-breakers" wanting a caffeinated interlude in their daily routine, and "socialisers" who go for coffee to meet friends and "value friendly staff." So they're your barista creepers, then.

University of Edinburgh interaction analyst and lead researcher on the study Eric Laurier explained: "For each group, it's the little things that make the offering tailored to them personally. It makes a concept feel like the right place for them and somewhere to return to."

Unsurprisingly the survey also found that among shoppers, take-a-breakers, and socialisers, bad coffee is equally frowned upon. Laurier described it as "a sure-fire way of ensuring your customers never return" and added that the survey's results are advice for coffee shop bosses "on finding the right balance between service, intimacy, and atmosphere."

After all, even a barista who looks like Ryan Gosling can't make up for a watery macchiato.