To serve guests instant coffee

[Drinkingpimmsinmygarden]

DH and I aren't really coffee drinkers (prefer tea)so we just have a jar of instant coffee such as Nescafé. No real ground coffee.

Are we being unreasonable not to have 'proper' coffee in for guests?

I think trying to get just the grounds out of a cafetiere is faffy. Add water and put on the garden or down the sink. Different if you have an expresso machine where its more compacted.

If I'm travelling I find thesegroceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml#/product/910000225992 a quick and easy way to have ground coffee. They are individually sealed and very light. They aren't messy either, when finished I just put the used filter containing coffee inside the foil lined envelope it came in and put it in the bin if at a hotel. Only ASDA do them though.

All those people who say if you're going to give instant you should warn first.
Logically if over three quarters of the coffee drunk in the uk is instant then that's the default position. Shouldn't one assume that all coffee is instant unless told "I'm afraid I've only got expensive snobby coffee that's been regurgitated by ferrets" (or similar)

All those people who say if you're going to give instant you should warn first.
Logically if over three quarters of the coffee drunk in the uk is instant then that's the default position. Shouldn't one assume that all coffee is instant unless told "I'm afraid I've only got expensive snobby coffee that's been regurgitated by ferrets" (or similar)

I would like to be told as I would prefer tea to instant.

Ask then? Given that anyone is more likely to be offering you instant than not.

To get rid of grounds I pour a bit more water in the cafetiere, then pour everything out into a sieve, then chuck the contents into the bin. Not really a faff, it takes seconds. I do the same with tea leaves from the teapot.

I've been told that unless you have a septic tank, disposing of coffee grounds down the sink is a good thing to do. Something to do with the abrasive and acidic qualities keeping the drains clear. I've been doing this for years now without a problem.

Bloody hell this thread has been an eye opener. I would NEVER expect anyone to 'warn' me that they were going to give me instant. If I wanted to know (i wouldnt though, because im not an arse) I would ask. If someone offers me a drink in their home I'm polite about whatever they serve me, I can't be arsed with this 'better to play safe' nonsense and I love my real coffee. It's instant coffee, not boiled piss.

I told my butler that unless he serves the Kopi Luwak the proper way he will be fired on the spot.

Exactly Harry

I was bought up with instant coffee and had no idea about posh coffee. I did hear about it but had no idea about how to make it etc. In a job i had ten years ago i was asked to make a pot of coffee for some clients but i couldn't for the life of me work out what to do so instead i made instant coffee and served it in a filter coffee jug assuming they'd not notice! Resigned the following day...

Dh is a coffee snob but he raves about the espresso instant coffee powder I bought for baking - he says it is just as nice as real stuff and also quicker.

The coffee bags were also available in Sainsbury or tescos last year. You can also buy the indiv filters, either supermarket brand or rombout. About £2 for 10 (so cheaper than those silly pods!)

if I offer drinks at home to someone working in my home and they ask for a coffee, I then find myself apologising for it being real coffee and asking if that's OK.

Okay. Having been lulled into my false sense of security by instant coffee, I took the initiative to see how the other half lives and bought an inexpensive cafetiere and some nice ground coffee yesterday. Last night I tried it, and I have to admit the coffee was lovely.

better than the instant coffee

However, the cafetiere is a teeny bit of a faff, so I won't use it all the time, and it says it makes 4 cups, but I can only assume that is "4 cups for tiny elven people" as I got one mug of coffee out of it. So it'd be a hassle to make two cups of coffee (unless I buy smaller coffee cups ) for when a guest is here. I think if I really got the taste to have that kind of coffee regularly, I would need to give in utterly and buy a filter coffee maker again.

Alice - you can get 4 decent-sized espresso shots out of one of them, then add water/milk to create your ideal beverage. I thought that you just drank it straight too, then I tried some of DH's turbo-strength stuff and it nearly took my head off

So I have to play mad scientist? Coffee maker is looking better all the time here. I do like the ground coffee.

Blast it! Look what you all have done to me!! I was perfectly fine with my instant until you reminded me how good the ground coffee stuff was....

Alice, try two heaped dessert spoons and half the cafetiere of water if you want a mug and a half for yourself.

I still don't get why there is this "snob" idea when real coffee is drunk by everyone where instant isn't popular, which seems to be everywhere in the world bar here and a couple of emerging economies (where their perfectly good real drinks are being replaced by manufactured instant coffee).

That comment's to the thread not you, Alice :)

(Two heaped might be overstrong but you'll soon find your ideal amount).

Ask then? Given that anyone is more likely to be offering you instant than not.

I did not know this (that most people have instant). However, I think it's a bit rude to ask.

I live in London where the coffee is quite good generally, so I forget that this isn't really a coffee culture place. But I wouldn't be an ass about it. I am sure people leave my house complaining about the tea (in fact, one of my good friends did, but I don't take offence to these things). Different standards and likes.

will try that flipflops thanks

It's not being snobby it's liking REAL coffee. Instant is freeze dried already made coffee so to me it's not real TheSpotted Everyone's different .

If I wanted to know (i wouldnt though, because im not an arse) I would ask.

I'm not an arse either; I just don't like instant coffee. I would not spit it out/make faces if someone served it to me. But if there was any doubt about whether someone was offering me real or instant, I'd opt for tea or a cold drink instead.

The thing about most people in the UK drinking instant is a bit of a red herring IMO. Whether or not you're faced with the real/instant issue surely must depend more on the people you know than a simple proportion of the people in the UK. Personally I don't know anyone, socially or at work, who keeps or would offer instant coffee.

No the snobby bit is not accepting what your host gives you or asking yourself if you are choosy. It's the making assumptions and then turning your nose up that is.

I don't like wine or champers but at a wedding I'll take the glass,make the toast and have a few sips as it's polite.

I drink both btw but only like it made by me so ask for water instead (politely)