I am neither young nor professional, but I'll tell you when and why I use coffee shops - to meet friends in a pleasant environment and to have the sort of coffee I can't easily make a home. To say you could just as easily have a coffee at home is like saying: why go to the chip shop when you can just make fish fingers and oven chips at home?

As it happens, since I work from home, I have bought a Gaggia machine and can make a very decent latte, cappuccino and even a flat white when the milk co-operates (it's surprisingly tricky). To make these coffees at home you need to invest in a decent machine, have room to keep it and be prepared to learn the skills required. And making more than one decent cup at a time is impossible because I like my coffee with three shots of espresso. So, if I want to have coffee with friends, I go to a coffee shop.