British Expatriate Network

Simple question - why isn't coffee thought of as food, but a cup-a-soup is? I mean, some soups are just liquid - and some people chug the coffee down.

Slow news day Mr. B? -?

My mum used to use tea as a food substitute - but then she did have 3 sugars in it o

From the American Heritage Dictionary:

NOUN: 1. Material, usually of plant or animal origin, that contains or consists of essential body nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life.

With that definition soup would fit and coffee wouldn't, unless you put as much milk in it as I do, whereby it crosses over to the other side anyway.

You'd probably like the Oxford Dictionary definition better:

noun [C or U]
something that people and animals eat, or plants absorb, to keep them alive.

Coffee would seem to fit for alot of us by that standard...lol.

Coffee is food. I survive on it at the office.

It is in our break room. If you scrape the half inch of solidified brown stuff from the bottom of the coffee pot and spoon it into a bowl, add some sugar and whipped cream, you've just made yourself a fun dessert!

Coffee certainly produces energy and maintains life )