Which Instant Coffee?

nhn asks: "Being a caffeine-addict, I feel quite miserable not having my favourite coffee, every morning. I can't walk to Starbucks/Gloria Jeans, while I'm at work, since there is an instant coffee machine available (and I dislike filtered coffee). For the record: I hate Nescafe, it simply sucks." What must you drink, after your dreams have evaporated into the waking world? What types of coffee would you recommend to a seasoned coffee afficionado...or even your garden variety caffeine addict?

"Given:

• I'm a fulltime developer.
• I like very strong coffee, my usual cup is espresso machiato.
• My coffee-style: French, or Italian as a second choice.
• I need coffee to keep myself awake for at least 8 hours (you know how it feels like when you have to debug thousand lines of code, don't you?)
• I drink coffee first for the taste, then the caffein, not the other way around."

Comments

Instant Goodness

[richie2000]

My mum and sister went to India a year ago and brought back some Nescafe from there. I dunno what the exact difference between that and the regular European Nescafe is, but it's definitely something. Different blend of beans, maybe. Anyway, I take a mug, fill it with milk, stick in the microwave on nuke for two minutes, add a teaspoon of the black stuff and two to three lumps of raw sugar. Enjoy. It's not really coffee, but it tastes great. It's like liquid candy. Besides, it's the sugar that keeps me going, not the caffeine.

From the man who brought you Star Trek Tea.

All instant coffee is Wrong and Bad ...

[Louis Guerin]

... especially when it comes to flavour. My advice: give up the idea of actually drinking coffee and buy something with a strong secondary flavour - hazelnut, caramel, mocha/chocolate, whiskey if your boss will believe you're not a terminal alcoholic ... and learn to love the decent coffee when you do get a chance to drink it. Though if you really do consider Starbucks a decent coffee, your taste is probably all in your arse anyhow.

In Korea, where I live, an espresso costs about US$4, it's invariably poorly made and sometimes artificially sweetened. 99% of Koreans drink coffee from a sachet - with milk powder and sugar pre-mixed, just add water. It's horrible shite, but if you put 3 or so in a cup, you can gag it down because it's sweet. Whatever you end up drinking, consider yourself lucky you're not here.

L

Instant Coffee that bad?

[mabster]

I hear a lot from the US about how bad instant coffee is. Is Australian instant coffee different or something? Most of the time I prefer it to brewed coffee.
Either is fine by me. I like Nescafe Gold, or any of the Moccona varieties. Brewed coffee's nice, but instant's just fine in my book.

The Mocha Pot

[YGingras]

Sure French press brew the 2nd best coffee on earth but I can't get my French to brew the same kind of delicacy that I get with my mocha pot.

Re:Priorities...

[The Fun Guy]

I'll second the comment about caffeine and sleep. During a peiod of serious caffeine over-use (first year of grad school), I found that I just could hardly keep my eyes open in the afternoons. "How could this be?", I thought, "It's only 2:00, and I've had 14 cups of coffee today!" I was exhausted by the end of every day.

What kills you with heavy caffeine use is the fact that all of the residual caffeine in your body makes it almost impossible to get good, restful sleep. You wake up drag-assing, and the first four or five cups of joe only serve to get you functional, not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the way they should. Taking in more caffeine makes the problem worse in the long run. I'd advise cutting back, and really limiting caffeine in the afternoons, to the point of "no caffeine after lunch". You'll sleep better, function better in the afternoons, and those morning coffees will be much more stimulating.

As far as taste, I'd skip instant coffee. I won't go so far as to say that they all taste like shit, but for a quick cup of good java, get a french press. You can steep some grounds in scalding hot water for a couple of minutes, then press out a cup of actual coffee that will taste better than almost any instant coffee, in almost the same amount of preparation time. Brew with whatever roast/grind/blend/flavor coffee you like, for a better selection than instants. Also, it's portable, so you're not tied to an outlet as with a percolater/drip/espresso machine.

Here's a tip, though... if you want stronger coffee, use more grounds with the same steeping time, rather than a fixed amount that you let steep longer. More flavor, less bitterness.