The Definitive Ranking Of Coffee Chains, From Worst To Best.

This. Is. Final.

9. Coffee Republic.

Dave Cooksey / Flickr: saturdave

Let's be honest, unless you're really desperate for a caffeine fix you're not going to Coffee Republic are you? The coffee's always burnt, the tables are heinously sticky and Norah Jones is the only artist on their soundtrack. No, thanks.

8. BB's

Lance / Flickr: degilbo_on_flickr

BB's coffee is passable, if a little on the weak side. The problem is that BB's is always populated by screaming children who'll inevitably spill milk on your work clothes and laugh as you tell them off.

7. Pumpkin.

Dominica Williamson / Flickr: ecogeographer

Dominica Williamson / Flickr: ecogeographer

If it's 11pm, you're stuck at Crewe station for 40 minutes and it's the middle of winter, a coffee from Pumpkin is the best thing in the world. In any other situation, it's a distinctly average beverage.

6. Starbucks.

Kris A / Flickr: webgrl

If this were a list of coffee flavoured milkshakes, Starbucks would be the clear winner. But it's not. And while Starbucks' filter coffee is fine, it's served in buckets instead of mugs. So you have to be really strong to drink there. They also make you pay for newspapers, which is a bit mean.

5. Apostròphe

Suzie Depingu / Flickr: suziedepingu

If it's just plain coffee you're after, Apostròphe, with its rogue punctuation, is actually quite good. But it's the fancy stuff that lets them down. Like their chai tea latte, which tastes like dirty milk.

4. AMT Coffee.

Morten Just / Flickr: mortenjust

You're probably never going to visit an AMT Coffee outside of a train station, but when you're about to embark upon an early commute, there's nothing better than getting hold of one of AMT Coffee's not-quite-paper-not-quite-plastic cups.

3. Costa.

Jamie Henderson / Flickr: xelcise

Their cups are unnecessarily fancy (since when did a coffee cup not just sit in the centre of its saucer?) but the taste of Costa's coffee more than makes up for it. Plus you get free papers there AND their sandwiches are served on normal, non-French, bread. The dream.

2. Caffè Ritazza.

Nadir Hashimi / Flickr: nadircruise

Another train station favourite. Though their decor may leave a lot to be desired, Ritazza coffee is delicious. Plus, there's loads of variety: and not just of the milky faux-coffee stuff.

1. Caffè Nero.

Gurprasad Kaur / Flickr: gurprasad_kaur

A clear winner. The coffee is delicious, the cups are a good size, newspapers are free and you can help yourself to unlimited water as you linger for hours on end. What more could you want?