As the winter season gets into full swing, we’ll all be looking for something to warm us up. This is often a hot drink, but queuing in the cold can be dispiriting. Our resident Swede and cold-weather expert Mi Tyler explores the dilemma, and how it can be solved by pre-ordering.

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I pull the coat tightly around me. It’s getting chilly. The first snow fell early this year and even though it has since melted away, the cold winds tells me we are at the wrong end of Autumn.

What I need now is something to warm my bones, and I step into one of the outlets from a big multi-national coffee house. The upcoming season is reflected in the menu. There is gingerbread and cinnamon-flavoured coffee to whet the appetite, but they don’t quite get me. I also bypass my eternal favorite, the latte. The cold and damp weather calls for a cup of hot chocolate.

There is a line at the counter but it is not that bad and I get my order fairly quickly. I grab a place at the window and look out through it. It’s already dark, even though the hour is early. The rain-soaked streets reflect the lights from the store windows on the other side of the street where Christmas decorations are already being put up, now in the middle of November.

I feel the spirit of the season coming on, though it is way too early for that. In a couple of weeks the now almost empty street will be packed with people desperately chasing after that one perfect gift for that special person. I myself will be caught between the joy and the stress of the season.

I love Christmas. I love the smell, the lights, the decorations and, of course, the spirit. I don’t feel the same amount of love for the crowded streets, the even more crowded stores and the increased rhythm of my heart rushing back and forth trying to get everything finished in time for Christmas Eve.

In just a week or two this coffee shop will be full. At the same early afternoon non-rush hour it will be crowded and the line will spread all the way through the room towards the door. This means I will just take a look at it and then forget all about my desire for a short break and a hot beverage. I love hot drinks but I’m not prepared to get cold waiting for one.

What if in that situation I could just use a pre-ordering solution and pay for my desired items in an app on my phone, then just walk up to the counter, bypassing the line, to collect it? Now that would definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.

As the winter season gets into full swing, we’ll all be looking for something to warm us up. This is often a hot drink, but queuing in the cold can be dispiriting. Our resident Swede and cold-weather expert Mi Tyler explores the dilemma.

I pull the coat tightly around me. It’s getting chilly. The first snow fell early this year and even though it has since melted away, the cold winds tells me we are at the wrong end of Autumn.

What I need now is something to warm my bones, and I step into one of the outlets from a big multi-national coffee house. The upcoming season is reflected in the menu. There is gingerbread and cinnamon-flavoured coffee to whet the appetite, but they don’t quite get me. I also bypass my eternal favorite, the latte. The cold and damp weather calls for a cup of hot chocolate.

There is a line at the counter but it is not that bad and I get my order fairly quickly. I grab a place at the window and look out through it. It’s already dark, even though the hour is early. The rain-soaked streets reflect the lights from the store windows on the other side of the street where Christmas decorations are already being put up, now in the middle of November.

I feel the spirit of the season coming on, though it is way too early for that. In a couple of weeks the now almost empty street will be packed with people desperately chasing after that one perfect gift for that special person. I myself will be caught between the joy and the stress of the season.

I love Christmas. I love the smell, the lights, the decorations and, of course, the spirit. I don’t feel the same amount of love for the crowded streets, the even more crowded stores and the increased rhythm of my heart rushing back and forth trying to get everything finished in time for Christmas Eve.

In just a week or two this coffee shop will be full. At the same early afternoon non-rush hour it will be crowded and the line will spread all the way through the room towards the door. This means I will just take a look at it and then forget all about my desire for a short break and a hot beverage. I love hot drinks but I’m not prepared to get cold waiting for one.

What if in that situation I could just order and pay for my desired items in an app on my phone, then just walk up to the counter, bypassing the line, to collect it? Now that would definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.

As the winter season gets into full swing, we’ll all be looking for something to warm us up. This is often a hot drink, but queuing in the cold can be dispiriting. Our resident Swede and cold-weather expert Mi Tyler explores the dilemma.

I pull the coat tightly around me. It’s getting chilly. The first snow fell early this year and even though it has since melted away, the cold winds tells me we are at the wrong end of Autumn.

What I need now is something to warm my bones, and I step into one of the outlets from a big multi-national coffee house. The upcoming season is reflected in the menu. There is gingerbread and cinnamon-flavoured coffee to whet the appetite, but they don’t quite get me. I also bypass my eternal favorite, the latte. The cold and damp weather calls for a cup of hot chocolate.

There is a line at the counter but it is not that bad and I get my order fairly quickly. I grab a place at the window and look out through it. It’s already dark, even though the hour is early. The rain-soaked streets reflect the lights from the store windows on the other side of the street where Christmas decorations are already being put up, now in the middle of November.

I feel the spirit of the season coming on, though it is way too early for that. In a couple of weeks the now almost empty street will be packed with people desperately chasing after that one perfect gift for that special person. I myself will be caught between the joy and the stress of the season.

I love Christmas. I love the smell, the lights, the decorations and, of course, the spirit. I don’t feel the same amount of love for the crowded streets, the even more crowded stores and the increased rhythm of my heart rushing back and forth trying to get everything finished in time for Christmas Eve.

In just a week or two this coffee shop will be full. At the same early afternoon non-rush hour it will be crowded and the line will spread all the way through the room towards the door. This means I will just take a look at it and then forget all about my desire for a short break and a hot beverage. I love hot drinks but I’m not prepared to get cold waiting for one.

What if in that situation I could just order and pay for my desired items in an app on my phone, then just walk up to the counter, bypassing the line, to collect it? Now that would definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.

Jag drar kappan tätare omkring mig. Den första snön föll tidigt i år och även om den nu har smällt bort skvallrar de kalla vindarna om att vi är i fel ända av hösten.

Vad som behövs nu är något som värmer på djupet och jag kliver in i ett kafé som tillhör en av de stora kaffekedjorna. Den stundande högtiden avspeglas i menyn. Det finns kaffe med såväl pepparkaks- som kanelsmak, men det är inte det som riktigt lockar mig. Jag ögnar även förbi min eviga favorit, latten. Det kalla och fuktiga vädret kräver en kopp varm choklad.

Det är kö vid kassan men det är inte så farligt och jag får min beställning ganska snabbt. Jag tar mig en plats vid fönstret och ser ut genom glaset. Det är redan mörkt även om timmen ännu inte har hunnit bli sen. Den regnvåta gatan utanför reflekterar ljuset från butiksfönstren på andra sidan gatan. Där håller man redan på att sätta upp juldekorationerna, trots att vi bara passerat mitten av november.

Jag känner julstämningen komma över mig även om jag vet att det är alldeles för tidigt för det. Om bara ett par veckor kommer den nu nästan tomma gatan vara full med folk som desperat jagar den där perfekta presenten för den där speciella någon och jag själv kommer att vara fast någonstans emellan högtidens glädje och stress.

Jag älskar julen. Jag älskar lukten, ljusen, dekorationerna och naturligtvis stämningen. Jag känner inte samma kärlek till överbefolkade gator, ännu mer överbefolkade affärer och den kraftigt ökade takten på mitt hjärtas slag medan jag rusar fram och tillbaka medan jag försöker få allting klart i tid till julafton.

Inom bara en vecka eller två kommer vartenda kafé, där det nu finns gott om utrymme, att vara överfullt vid samma tidiga ickerusningstid. Kön kommer att sträcka sig hela vägen ut mot dörren vilket betyder att jag själv kommer att ta en en titt och sedan strunta i mitt sug efter en paus och varm dryck.

Tänk om jag i den situationen bara kunde ha beställt och betalat för det jag ville ha från menyn i en app i min telefon, då kunde jag bara ha gått förbi kön och fram till disken för att hämta min redan färdigställda beställning. Det hade verkligen satt mig i den rätta julstämningen.