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

Nothing but the best

[SnakeNuts]

Java Blue Mountain. 'nuff said. - I wonder if you can get that as an instant...

Re:Nothing but the best

[FosterSJC]

I am not sure whether you mean the Blue Mountain bean from Jamaica, or some other coffee. If you do mean Jamaican Blue Mountain, I have to advise against this. In the previous century, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, a transplant from Papua New Guinea, was renowned for its clean, bright, flowery flavor, and easy acidity. However, due to the economic situation of Jamaica, the Arabica (read: good) plantings were cross-bread with any number of harsh Robusta plants to increase yield and simplify farming. There is no certification board in Jamaica for JBM, and thus no real way to know whether you are getting what you are paying (outrageous prices) for. All this, plus pesticides, below fair trade prices for growers, robusta beans, and whatever violence is engendered against mindful Jamaican growers, makes for plenty of reasons not to buy JBM. On the other hand, Papua New Guinea still produces excellent Arabica coffee, which can be found at a large number of coffee sellers nationwide.

coffee quality

[d_i_r_t_y]

anyone who regards starbucks/gloria jeans' coffee as decent doesn't deserve getting a reply.

QED.

Dear Cliff,

[ObviousGuy]

YHBT

Espresso has lower caffeine per volume than drip coffee, so any illusion that the submitter is under that his espresso machiatto is keeping him up better than a cup of joe is mistaken.

Second, espresso tastes of burnt wood. It is the nature of the roasting method that it be unrecognizable as anything but black tar. The submitter is lying to himself and to us when he thinks that he's drinking espresso for anything other than to show off his gay Frenchiness.

And finally, no one who really enjoyed coffee can enjoy freeze dried coffee crystals, much less prefer it to drip coffee. The submitter again pulls our leg with the ridiculous statement that he would much rather drink instant horse piss than brew a cup of coffee in a coffee maker.

And by answering here, IHBT too.

Re:Dear Cliff,

[Sheridan]

ObviousGuy wrote:-

Espresso has lower caffeine per volume than drip coffee,

Nope. Espresso has lower caffeine per typical serving than drip coffee, but has more caffeine per volume.

Reference: The Caffeine FAQ - a 7oz cup of drip coffee has 115-175mg of caffeine compared with 100mg of caffeine in a typical espresso (1.5 - 2oz serving ). (i.e. espresso would have 350-467mg per 7oz)

HTH

Re:Dear Cliff,

[eap]

Second, espresso tastes of burnt wood. It is the nature of the roasting method that it be unrecognizable as anything but black tar.

This is like saying, "It's the nature of the fermentation processs that causes all wine to taste of sterno and armpit vapor" when all you've ever drank is prison pruno.

You're drinking the sludge served by your local Starbucks. Real Italian espresso is not over-roasted and black. Try espresso made with Illy* beans. True, it brings out the gay Frenchiness in you, but hell, you are posting on Slashdot.

*not affiliated with Illy

Nice + Ethical

[mpr]

I only drink this stuff when drinking instant.

Allows me to feel all warm inside from the really nice coffee + the fair-trade-ness of it at the same time!

Priorities...

[kinnell]

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?)

Staying awake and alert for 8 hours should not be a problem for any normal healthy human being. Caffeine keeps you awake, but reduces your ability to think clearly. Learn to sleep properly, or if this is a problem, see your doctor.

I drink coffee first for the taste, then the caffein, not the other way around.

And you're looking for instant coffee? All instant coffee tastes like shit, relatively speaking. Buy a percolator, or if that's not your thing, a small espresso machine. If you're dead set on instant, I find the more expensive it is, the better it tastes.

Re:Priorities...

[Zardoz44]

Before you recite the evils of coffee, take a look at this report:

Drink 6 Cups a Day

Mix this with your two glasses of wine a day (to help you sleep after all the coffee) and you're all set. It's *twitch*normal.

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.

I absolutely agree

[Undefined Parameter]

Submitter, start weaning yourself off of caffeine; don't go cold turkey, but start consuming less and less of it. What you're describing appears to me to be a chemical dependency at best... a serious medical problem at worst. Go see an M.D. about this... you deserve to stay awake for a reasonable length of time without artificially increasing your heart rate.

Also, if you absolutely cannot break your caffeine addiction, go with tea. It's much better for you than coffee, and it's just as "instant" as "instant coffee," if not more so.

I apologize, as I have not answered your question, which was the intention of your submission, and because my advice might seem like telling you what to do with your life, even though that is not its intent. I'm not a medical professional, but I have been informed by medical professionals on the subjects of caffeine and coffee, thanks to a rather serious stomach disorder.

Anyhow, good luck in finding (a) solution(s) to your problem(s).

~UP

Go for a French Press

[meldroc]

Listen not to the purveyors of drip coffee makers. And never, ever get instant coffee!

Instead, get yourself a French press. They're cheap, easy to operate, and you can just bring the thing with you to your cube or the break room. Just use the microwave to boil some water, put some coffee in the press (the good stuff that you find at decent coffee shops.) Get a little grinder & use it if there are no objections to the noise, as coffee beans have a short half-life once they're ground. Pour the boiling water into the press, let the coffee steep for four minutes, then press the plunger, pour your coffee & drink! This method is the absolute best at extracting all the subtle flavors out of the bean without the nasty flavors.

The french press kicks the combined asses of all drip coffeemakers.

Where's your proof, natureboy?

[occamboy]

Coffee has been studied EXTENSIVELY, and nothing really bad has turned up. Rather than being a poison, coffee seems to have many health benefits:

• lowers risk of getting diabetes by 40% or so
• lowers risk of getting Parkinson's disease by more than 50%
• lowers risk of getting colon cancer

and other positive effects. See, for example, this article, for example.

Re:Instant Goodness

[hucke]

I had a jar for backup and ended up just tossing it into the trash.

That's because "jar" isn't for backup. "tar" is for backup; "jar" is for packaging java applications.