If you don’t drink coffee, what do you have at home for guests?

[Ducal]

Not really having a clue we have tended to buy in some kind of premium instant (is that an oxymoron?) but been wondering if we should upgrade to a cafetière or a machine.
We don’t often have guests but got a few things coming up in the next couple of months and we usually host Christmas.

This is how I feel about buying a machine. I don't want to spend the money or make the space for it. I was torn to pieces on a thread about hosting where one poster was like a dog with a bone and just wouldn't let it go.

Anyway, I have sachets for things like cappuccinos and I also have some coffee bags.
The problem with instant is that the jars don't last long enough when you only open them once or twice a year and humidity gets inside them.

I also have a variety of tea and often have hot chocolate in.

I'm a coffee-drinking guest: good instant is fine, as are bags - but I can imagine bags getting pricey fairly quickly if it's more than just an occasional guest

I’m glad to learn that at least I’ve been buying the right instant up until now (Azera)

A cafetière is cheap and easy, and you can buy a bag of coffee for it anywhere. (Unlike a PP, I haven’t known anyone turn their nose up over a cafetière as opposed to instant)

If you want to go REALLY cheap and easy for real coffee, a filter that sits on a cup (called a V60) with a folded piece of kitchen paper as filter was my Dad’s method as the only coffee drinker in a tea drinking household.

I picked up a plastic V60 for £3 in a coffee shop for him as he now prefers it to the snazzy espresso machine coffee I have.

I suppose in the back of my mind I believe if I buy a coffee machine I might start to drink coffee like a grown up 😂

Don’t! You’ll end up a jittering caffeine junky like me

I drink coffee but not instant. Even Azeera is absolutely grim. I’d get a stove top or coffee bags or check if you’re guests will drink anything else.
If someone offers me coffee I’ll ask if it’s instant because I’d rather have water than instant coffee 🤮

Instant here. We do drink coffee but at home just have those instant sachets which aren't to most people's tastes.

I bought a small cafetiere recently, I quite like the coffee but the one I bought only really makes a cup so need to get a bigger one.

ETA - we always have tea and a few herbal teas so friends who are particular about their coffee often choose those, everyone else is happy with instant.

I adore coffee. MIL does not drink it so I bring a cafetière and a bag of nice ground coffee when I visit. I think if you buy a cafetière, you can store it in a cupboard and as mentioned, you can store coffee in the fridge for ages. Although I love my machine coffee ant home, I also love cafetière coffee - the stove top espresso makers are a faff, a cafetière is like having a teapot.

I really hate instant coffee. None of them taste good.

Strange isn’t it, how people differ. I love a good instant and even a bad instant as I’m not fussy, they definitely have a place.

My DP’s when we were younger only had a spare jar of Nescafé and when DB got into coffee it’s quite easy and not expensive to have a small or larger Bodum French press and then whatever ground coffee you like in it.

None of DP’s guests ever complained about the Nescafé in a jar though! 🤮

Dolce Gusto I received as a gift. It makes hot chocolate for me and coffee for them. My friends who drink coffee top up the capsules sometimes. I tell them not to, but they do.

We don't have guests, but when I go to sil I take my own t bags as she doesn't have caffeine free

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NESCAF%C3%89-AZERA-Americano-Instant-Coffee/dp/B072L79WB9?th=1

Sorted for the next few years.

I would buy a cheap filter coffee machine that makes a 6 - 10 serving jug at a time. Buy decent ground coffee - Aldi’s own espresso coffee is great

I quite like instant, I drink some instant and some from the bean to cup coffee machine but I like it all

I would never expect anyone to offer me coffee even though I have a very expensive espresso machine at home.

I always ask for water as a guest.

That said, perhaps you have a lot of guests? We have someone in our house maybe once a year who isn't family!

Polite guests wouldn't

My heart sinks when someone offers coffee and then gives me instant but I wouldn't complain

It’s hard to keep everyone happy. We have an espresso machine but when my parents visit I need to buy a jar of Nescafé for them 😂. But despite being a coffee addict I’d choose a cup of tea over an instant coffee.

Instant is fine if you count it as something all its own and quite distinct from coffee. We drink instant decaf but in our view it's something similar to Horlicks. We're not trying to fool ourselves that it's coffee.

As you can see it's very personal and you'll not find one solution that fits all.

I would always offer overnight guests tea or coffee in the morning (even though I drink neither) because I know lots of people like a hot drink when they get up. We do have a lot of guests though.

I think it probably depends how often you have guests and will use coffee or the coffee making equipment.

Can't believe no one has yet suggested a Final Press! (Or a cheap knockoff off eBay that does the same job for £10 instead of £40+).

Got one for DP for holidays, it was just a gimmick really but actually surprised us. It's tiny and easy to use, clean, store and pack. It's not the best coffee I've ever had but was comparable with the Aeropress I tried. Does need ground coffee but you can buy small packets.

Are you not supposed to keep fresh ground coffee in the freezer any more? I remember an ex did that, but we don't need to as we go through it quite fast

Freezer is best, will keep it fresh much longer.

Filter coffee bags. Much better quality than instant but easy to store.