Please tell me the best tea bags and instant coffee to have in my home for surprise visitors?

[mumofoneAloneandwell]

I dont drink tea or coffee at all

Ive got my eye on some cups and saucers and a tea pot

I need to be prepared for potential guests popping up and want to wow them as much as poss

Please advise - sorry to be so dull

You can keep ground coffee in the freezer to keep it fresh.

Okay white and brown sugar done, just buying normal sugar 🙄🙈

Will buy long life oatly and alpro soya milk

Will see about getting ground coffee, and the cafetiere from argos

If the coffee is rarely drunk it would be better to get individually packaged coffee bags as they will stay fresh.

@mumofoneAloneandwell I wouldn't bother with a range of teas, just stick with Yorkshire tea.

You sound like a considerate host.

I love Nescafé Azera. TickTock Rooibos is a lovely alternative to normal tea.

Yorkshire tea for hard water is lovely in our house. My in laws have Sainsburys own red label teabags and for some reason their tea is just absolutely out of this world we bought the same teabags and they were rank so definitely a water difference. I love pukka teas and have a little selection box that was a gift to me but comes out when we have guests my favourite is the liquorice tea. For coffee, I’m a bit of a snob I don’t even remember the last time I had instant maybe in a hotel room somewhere? We keep ground beans in an airtight container and have a caffatiere which probably takes the same time if not 30 seconds longer to make.

Rington’s Gold is far superior to Yorkshire Tea IMO.

And I agree with the cafetière with ground, rather than instant. They’re not too expensive.

Nescafé Espresso is the biz.

Rooibos is an acquired taste I have never managed to aquire. In fact, the more I drink it the more I dislike it.

@mumofoneAloneandwell I don't know anyone who has sugar in hot drinks so I would just use any that you have in the house.

For coffee bags we have Taylors Rich Italian and decaffeinated. Both taste excellent.

But wouldn’t that depend on how often the OP has these surprise visitors? If it’s on
a couple of times a year, the coffee will get well stale. Unless she keeps ground coffee in the freezer. That would be ok.

If mine looks a bit funky I put it in a coffee cake.

I'm gonna buy ground and keep it in the freezer once opened

Sorry for being dense everyone, I just got myself into an overthinking spiral 😅

I'm thinking of local mums popping in here and there and being completely unprepared with only squash in 🙈

M&S Extra Strong are the best tea bags IMO.

Dm hates Yorkshire tea, she likes PG Tips and turns her nose up at anything else. I don't drink much tea these days but used to love Typhoo, not sure if they're still making it. I had some really posh tea from Yorkshire as it happens and it was amazing, and came in a little white box as part of a hamper I received.

I am a coffee snob so I am used to bean to cup 🫣, next best thing would be a pod, after that instant (I think Lidl do a nice one from what I remember).

If it is only for occasional visits op, it'll go off so I'd just get middle of the range and a small amount. I think most people are just grateful for a hot drink and a biscuit, I know I am!

Get a nice selection of tea bags from here:
https://www.milesteaandcoffee.com/collections/envelope-tea-bags

And if not coffee bags, then these:
https://www.milesteaandcoffee.com/products/40-x-cafetiere-coffee-sachets?variant=45180317434046

Sainsbury's gold label tea bags are good. I'm in a hotel now that has Taylor's coffee bags and they're good. Instant is horrid once you're used to not drinking it so it will depend what your guests are used to.

I agree. Actually I don't mind the odd mug of instant so long as I'm not expecting actual coffee. I view instant as a different drink which is fine if that's what I'm expecting.

You are being lovely and considerate but I wouldn't expect a non coffee / tea drinker to have anything perishable they wouldn't use themselves. So yes to tea bags, herbal tea bags and coffee bags but I really wouldn't bother with ground coffee or choices of milk that you wouldn't drink yourself. I only drink decaf coffee but I wouldn't expect anyone to keep it in for me. I'll have a herbal tea if it's on offer or just a cold drink.

I’m a complete philistine and genuinely prefer instant coffee at home despite having a coffee snob husband and a bean to cup posho machine.

i like Yorkshire or twinings tea (made properly) and Douwe Egberts instant.

Aeropress and a bag of ground coffee. Keep the coffee in the freezer if you’re not using it regularly.

I can’t think of anything worse than a surprise visitor, so I’d probably make them the worst cup of tea they’d ever had.

Twinings English Breakfast Tea 🫖☕️

Smugglers Brew Cornish Tea is very nice and Taylors coffee bags are good too.

Op I would also just say, you don't need to put yourself under pressure or expense with this! If I went to someone's house - especially if I knew they didn't drink tea or coffee, I'd genuinely be happy with whatever is on offer and certainly wouldn't be expecting them to break out a cafetiere or such. A decent instant coffee and decent teabags is more than enough for the chance someone might pop in!

Although I will say I'm delighted that you can keep taylors in the freezer because I'd stopped buying it as I never got through a bag before it started to taste off just keeping it clipped in the fridge!

And also this. I need at least a 20 minute warning to make things reasonably presentable and myself not look like a bridge troll that found its way into someone's house.

M&S gold tea, twinings if you must. Keep it in an airtight container.

There is no such thing as an acceptable instant coffee.

Have a mint tea in too.