44.
asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that nearly three times as much coffee is drunk annually in Britain now as before the war, and that a number of tourists are expected to come to Britain from countries in which coffee is a favourite drink; and if he will take steps, by advice in his Department's advertisements or otherwise, to educate housewives, hotel keepers and others in the preparation of tolerable coffee.
I fully appreciate that coffee as prepared in this country is not to the liking of most overseas visitors. My Department has already given advice on the proper preparation of coffee in a. booklet entitled, "The A.B.C. of Cookery," and I shall be glad to take such measures as I can to circulate this advice more widely in the appropriate quarters.
Is my hon. Friend aware that the average English housewife, however admirable her other qualities, and the average English hotel are quite incapable of preparing a cup of coffee which any Frenchman or American could drink without choking, and will she intensify her educational campaign which does not seem to have been very effective so far?
Is this another example of pandering to acquired tastes?
Is the hon. Lady aware that recently in a British restaurant, some tea sold as coffee was thought by a customer to be cocoa?