Office Porridges of London #2

The little things make mornings better: waking up actually feeling refreshed, getting a seat on the train or catching the connecting tube right as you arrive at the platform.That's why I've taken it upon myself to seek out the sublime in the mundane by finding London's best desk porridge to make mornings that little bit easier. 

This second entry is from Starbucks. (You can find the first one, along with the review rules here.) Judging by the wording in their branding, they set the bar very high:

That's right, *Perfect* Porridge!

On first impressions, Starbucks' offering didn't look too shabby. I choose dried fruit as a healthy topping, which made it look about as good as you'll get for porridge.

That's some seriously sexy porridge. God, I need to get out more.

Unfortunately, appearances proved to be deceiving. Now, porridge-making isn't rocket science by any means - oats, hot water or milk and toppings are all it takes for a basic, hearty breakfast - but there are a few steps in porridge-making that make or break it. The water or milk needs to be hot enough, the ratio of liquid to oats needs to be right, the mixture needs to be stirred properly and the liquid needs time to cook the oats.

In this case the oats had clearly not been mixed properly. Although the dried fruit was flavourful and sweet enough to avoid adding sugar, there were clumps of dry oats that, even when mixed into the rest, hadn't had the moisture or cooking time necessary to become porridge. It was actually rather unpleasant.

It may depend on the branch but I went back the next day and the problem was the same. In other branches, I have been served porridge that was incredibly thin. The devil is in the detail, even for simple things and 'Perfect Porridge' was a description far off the mark here. It looks like Starbucks needs to make sure it trains its staff to ensure consistency in this. Overall, it's rolling the dice depending on who's making it so I can't recommend it as a reliable start to the day.