For some reason I think of it as an older concept. Now Starbucks and coffee chains are popular.
Seinfeld on instant coffee https://youtu.be/uDrh5pujB9I?si=VdlVEREjMTNd2Bs7
Highlighting carlcook’s advice:
dissolve in cold water, ONLY THEN add hot water. The rationale behind it is that aromatics evaporate too quickly when the instant powder is infused with too/boiling hot water.
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I get the worst nausea whenever I drink something from a k cup machine. Nobody ever cleans their machine and the ingredients are questionable.
Yum, hot infected plastic
Ha, true in essence. But in practice that’s a big machine. So does it taste different?Actually now that I think about it, those still have grinds. Instant coffee is supposed to dissolve completely, right?
It still brews hot water through coffee grinds unlike instant which is mixed in and dissolved.
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Instant coffee is actually freeze dried and yes should dissolve completely, while grinds will never just disappear in the water.
But then there’s that.
A couple of weeks ago we went abroad and asked a friend of mine to watch our apartment because I had flowers that needed pollinating. In exchange he could stay at the apartment. Since he’s a Ukrainian refugee who has to share a room with a questionable dude he gladly took me up on that offer.
Now, we are coffee snobs, my husband’s youtube history is full of James Hoffmann. So we have a manual espresso press at home, a hand filter, a french press, two moka pots, and a senseo pad machine (for guests; our filter machine just broke).
When we came home, we found a can of instant coffee. Jacobs, to be precise, and everything in Ukrainian. Dude brought his instant coffee to our coffee infested place. Knowing that he has been here for a while and drinks a lot of coffee, I asked him how did this can last him so long. He got it imported. He freaking imported Ukrainian Jacobs instant coffee into Germany.
And then we start reading the can’s text a bit more profoundly. It is a mix of normal instant coffee, i.e. freeze dried, with a bit of finely ground coffee mixed in. It does not dissolve completely. It takes ages for the grind to settle to the bottom. I don’t know who thought this was a good idea. I don’t know what the purpose is supposed to be. But they advertise it heavily on the package.
Also, I tried a cup and it does taste like shit but to each their own.
Tldr: instant coffee usually is freeze dried coffee that will dissolve completely but there are some unholy products designed by questionable people that contain real grind coffee for no reason.
mmm…tastes like home. Sometimes you just want a Hershey’s bar.
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Can you elaborate ?
It’s supposed to be pressurised hot water through grinds, like espresso.
Nespresso machines are definitely pressurized and temp controlled. Keurig, less so.
I read something somewhere once (great source, right?) regarding Keurig temps, and they weren’t consistent or optimal. And the pressure is more like a hose with an attachment as opposed to a pressure washer.
Some K cups will empty out when you use them, too. From what I’ve run into, that’s typically the fancy flavor ones. But some are just coffee grounds that get a suboptimal water flow at suboptimal temps going through them.
Someone can correct me on what I’m remembering though.
Starbucks tried to modernize it with these little packets a few years back, under the name “Via”. The older brands still exist too, such as Nescafé, which, as a Nestle product, I assume is made from the blood of indigenous people.
The production actually is pretty cool really. They basically brew giant vats of coffee and then freeze dry it into a powder that can be easily rehydrated.
That actually made me like insta coffee a tiny bit more just for being so cool
i bet the blood of indigenous people would taste better… not that im condoning such an aberration.
When you drink the coffee, you can really taste the iron deficiency.
Nestle employees taking notes furiously
The biggest difference is that starbucks via doesn’t start with awful coffee.
Starbucks isn’t good coffee compared to some fancy pants third wave coffee, but It’s not nescafe either.
Freeze drying and rehydrating might not do anything to hurt coffee flavor, but it’s not going to make bad coffee suddenly taste good.
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Via was godly for festival mornings.
I imagine there are tons of office workers, mechanics, construction workers, etc. who are drinking instant because it’s impractical or impossible to have a coffee machine at work or in the field. I believe the vast majority of coffee vending machines also use instant coffee behind the scenes, so everyone who’s ever gotten a cup of highway rest stop coffee was most likely drinking instant at least once. Ditto with the “cappuccino” machines at every convenience store and gas station on earth.
I carry instant coffee with me when I’m camping, because I can’t be bothered to have to carry and more importantly clean any kind of coffee gadget.
Look into an Aeropress.
It’d work comfortably in camping or office situations. Not as easy as instant coffee but much, much better.
I’ve seen 'em and I’ve used them in the past. They’re a fine solution, but they still require cleaning and a couple of satchels of Taster’s Choice or whatever is easier on the KP and also much smaller than a giant coffee syringe. Showing up at the pay-for-pitch in the station wagon is one thing, but usually all my stuff needs to either fit in my panniers or my backback.
There are guys I’ve hiked with who have them, though. To each their own.
I’m with you on this one, too. I prefer my jet boil and instant coffee (or matcha) compared to an Aeropress.
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I interpret your mention of pre-ground beans as an item that is bought, but if you need fresh coffee on the go you can just pre-grind them for yourself and take them with you.
I personally have an electric coffee grinder so my pour over is done in about five minutes, then I let it cool and take it with me in a thermos. Though I also only drink 1, max 2 coffees a day.
When I was using mine in office I used the little bags of pre-ground. But I also enjoyed the routine of making the coffee and explaining it to any curious onlookers.
Vacuum insulated hot drink containers are a thing, and work very well. That’s what field workers use. Who has time or a device to boil water?
Every coffee vending machine I have ever used ground the coffee while you wait. Cappuccino machines are definitely a mix, though.
I just brew in my French press after dinner, pour some into a thermos after it’s done, and store the rest in my French press in my fridge. The next day, I pour more into my thermos. I feel even old coffee tastes better than instant, but I understand that’s my opinion.
It’s all I drink. But I only drink coffee for the caffeine, it all tastes like shit. If I want to enjoy it I have a cup of tea.
Put a little salt in it! It helps a lot especially with the cheaper brands.
The link literally has “joke” in it so I’m not sure if I should be taking this seriously.
A tiny pinch of salt actually dulls the sharpness of a bitter coffee. Something something chemical reactions when salt mixes with coffee. Try it. It’s great!
Based on experimenting with flavours but not this particular one yet, it doesn’t hurt to try. Balancing the different flavour groups is an easy way to elevate meals (well, easy once you’ve calibrated your taste to be able to figure out what’s “missing”).
Just tried it and I’d say it’s a positive difference, though I didn’t spend much time searching for the “right” amount. With salt, I find it’s better to err on the side of too little. Things tend to be ok with too little salt and yuck with too much.
It’s for real. But make it a small pinch. You don’t actually want to taste salt.
You do you I guess but… surely a good cup of proper coffee tastes less-shit and has more caffeine?
I drink both instant and real.
I drink french-press rocket fuel in the morning, a strong cap at lunchtime on office days, and I wouldn’t compromise on either.
But afternoons at home, or in the evening… I dunno, it’s just too much drama. I want something in the background that isn’t going to make any demands on my attention. It’s the equivalent of watching garbage TV at the end of a long day. You don’t want hard-hitting incisive social commentary, you just want a couple episodes of Ow, My Balls.
I’ve found a brand that doesn’t taste like toner; it’s not real coffee, just Brown Drink. But it’s entirely acceptable Brown Drink, and it does what I need it for.
What brand is it?
https://huckleberryroasters.com/collections/frontpage/products/huck-instant-blue-orchid
That is legitimately good instant coffee. Given the price, I’d hope so. I take that camping.
It’s Australian, so probably not much use to you, but this
You’re right, I can’t even access the site outside of Australia. However, if I’m ever in Australia - I’ll look it up!
Huh, that’s fucked up. Why the hell would a cheap-ass supermarket geoblock?
I’m not in Australia and I’m able to access it!
Fwiw, it’s the equivalent to store brand premium instant coffee granules. Costco, walmart or aldi may have something similar.
Oh hey, hay čxʷ q̓ə for the reply! That’s good to know what the equivalent quality is. I juuuust discovered a good, high quality instant coffee that is decent. It’s called Davidoff. Pricey at anywhere from $15 - $20(!) CAD for 100g.
I’m trying to avoid Nestle products on principle, and I find the Tim Horton’s original blend way too high acidity/bitterness but it’s okay in a pinch.
I’ll take a look at more of the big box stores you mentioned.
Same. French press for work, instant for home where I don’t know how long I can keep a given activity going.
It’s a bit more common in the UK. Everybody’s got 230v electric kettles practically in every room (/s) so having coffee that just takes hot water has extra appeal. I’m also lead to believe that their instant coffee is a bit better quality than what is common in the US.
this is so odd for me to read. instant coffee is treated like literal dirt over here. so the idea theres a good kind of drinkable dirt sounds hilarious.
90% of what I “know” about England is from panel shows. It’s a small and warped window.
UK here, and yeah, this is my experience.
I’ll drink instant most days (right now in fact) and proper coffee when we have guests or if I’m not pushed for time.
Quality of instant varies wildly, but there’s at least a few versions that are very decent indeed IMO.
I love coffee. I am a coffee snob. Instant coffee is easy to pack and travel with. If you have access to hot water it’s still coffee which is better than nothing. If you don’t have access to hot water then it’s a tastier caffeine pill.
When camping, never otherwise.
I do. Almost always. And there are three main reasons for it.
(A) Hassle free prep. Hot water and stirrer, bam!
(B) No waste/by-products (e.g. filter, brewed coffee granules residue, blah blah) - so much less carbon footprint.© A cup of instant coffee has slightly less caffeine content than the same cup of freshly brewed coffee. Good for me, because I have been a caffeine-addict, and trying to cut down now.
So I always try to go for Freeze-dried instant coffee ( especially Colombian, like Juan Valdez ), and not the Spray-dried shit.
Edit : I thank max and the OP for enlightening me about the instant coffee manufacture process. It surely appear that Instant coffee has a lot more environmental impact than simple ground coffee because of more processes involved. I have always consumed instant coffee, but were totally ignorant on this part. Dumb of me.
Thanks to the people directing me to the right way, and I will strike out my second point above.
There is waste and byproduct, just not in your kitchen. Look into the manufacturing process. There are still beans that are roasted, ground, brewed and discarded.
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so much less carbon footprint.
Bad news for you.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894723015243
Instant coffee has >2 times higher impacts and costs than ground coffee.
Based on the functional unit of 1 tonne of coffee produced, instant coffee has higher impacts and costs than ground coffee for both system boundaries because it requires double the amount of green coffee beans and 7–11 times more energy.
Really bad news, and so ignorant of me. Thanks for the enlightenment btw !
(B) No waste/by-products (e.g. filter, brewed coffee granules residue, blah blah) - so much less carbon footprint.
Not sure how you come to this conclusion. The waste is the same (if not more), just ends up somewhere else. Also, you’re adding a whole extra process (freeze drying) requiring extra energy, and water needs to be boiled twice (during brewing and at home).
For me instant coffee is for backpacking, because when you’re busting your ass on the trail for a few days literally anything you can eat or drink tastes amazing
One of the best feelings in the world is a morning hike up the mountains, reaching a stopping soot and boiling some hot water for some tea/coffee.
I was recently on holiday where most of the other guests in our hotel were 50-70 year old Germans.
The breakfast buffet at our hotel had a large scale coffee maker which could do some surprisingly good freshly ground coffee. What it could also do is spit instant coffee into your mug and pour hot water on top.
In two weeks I never saw someone (other than me) draw anything but fucking instant coffee from that thing.
But why??
If only I knew…
I do. What’s the problem with it?
It’s too fast! Where you goin at that speed?
Absolutely!
It’s portable, stores well, takes nothing more than a mug and hot water to make, and takes no longer to make than it does to heat the water.
Sure, I prefer good drip coffee or an espresso-based drink, but I travel a lot and often hotel room coffee sucks. Sometimes a decent insta-coffee works great to get you out the door.
I like drinking really good coffee as much as I can, but I do not look down on a cup of instant from time to time. I have a jar at home for if I run out, and it’s often the only option while traveling.
Coffee is coffee, and I like coffee.
Yeah, I have low standards
