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?

But then I love my coffee!! I'd have tea and not complain

Council juice usual

There isn't enough gum in the world to remove the taste of instant, Chaz :)

Worra

I'd rather have water than instant, and it feels rude to ask if it's 'propper' coffee. It's not just a drink, it is something that tastes nice against something that tastes vile.

If I offered you a glass of wine and served vinegar would you drink it?

I'd never think of telling guests that the coffee is instant. 'Real' coffee is most definitely not the norm in the Uk. Instant is. Just as I wouldn't feel the need to tell a guest that it's bagged tea,and not loose,if I offered them tea.

I think the onus is on the guest to ask if they're so particular. I wouldn't be at all offended if they did.

No-one has said they would be rude or ungrateful or dramatically spit out their coffee at the first taste of instant FFS

What people have said is that real coffee and instant coffee are two very different tasting drinks. Some people prefer one or the other, and some like both. If you are offering coffee, it's just nice to mention what type it is so that people have the chance to choose a drink they actually like. No, drinking a drink you don't love is not the end of the world, but if you are a guest, and are being asked to make a choice, it might as well be an informed one!

At one point I had 6 different types of coffee in stock to suit different guests. I also know people who are then specific about the type of milk and brand of sweetner! It's ridiculous. We now stock just instant or filter coffee. Those that don't drink nescafe on principle I'm interested, in my house I tend to refer to it as nescafe but it's most likely to be the lidl gold blend equivalent would that be acceptable? I only offer filter coffee if it's a weekend, my parents or if I can be bothered. That's usually Italian posh stuff.

I'm 40 and have a lot of friends and family that I visit and they visit me. I only ever make or get made instant coffee.
I honestly never realised it was such an issue.

Instant coffee is coffee

Vinegar isn't wine

So I'd assume you'd lost the plot and pour it myself sashh

Instant tastes like coffee to me. Yes I can tell the difference between instant and 'real' coffee but they both taste of coffee IMHO.

I only drink filter or stove top coffee at home so we don't have instant in the house, I know some people only like instant coffee so I warn them what kind we have when offering drinks. I'm generally grateful for anything hot and wet to drink when visiting others though.

How very strange.

We are not a coffee-drinking house (my husband stops by Starbucks on his way into the office every day, just once). I keep instant on hand (lavazza) for guests.

Honest question. If one doesn't drink coffee, are the meant to drag out the rather foreign coffee-brewing equipment when guests pop by? I do it for dinner parties, but I will not do it every time a mother stops by to collect her child or when we have builders in.

I always offer tea, wine, soda (diet or reg) sparkling or still water. These are far easier for me to manage.

What exactly are you asking OP? My honest opinion of instant coffee is that it is horrible. It has a really nasty aftertaste. I wouldn't be rude enough to turn my nose up at it if offered it in someone else's house, obviously, and wouldn't think you were mean or anything, but if you are asking whether coffee drinkers will notice the difference the answer is almost certainly and if you are particularly bothered about being a generous host you could invest in a little cafetiere and some filter coffee. It lasts ages if you keep it in a tin or fastened with a peg in the fridge. Up to you though really.

Check it's not Donkey piss first Worra
*Sashh has a preference for it

I've got a coffee maker which grinds up beans and sometimes choose instant over that - it's too strong to drink all day.
I honestly don't mind either way which I drink but this thread will make me think twice now about offering it- had no idea people felt so strongly!

Same here BearFeet

I've managed to get to the ripe old age of 45 without anyone ever raising an eyebrow, at being served instant coffee.

Instant donkey piss or am I supposed to build a stable in the garden?

Alice, I sense you're on the verge of a conversion? Come join us real coffee lovers - it's great! As a PP has mentioned, you can get a cheapish cafetiere in all sorts of places, but may want to check that it's dishwasher safe. (The cutest I ever had were from Tiger, but I ignored the instruction to handwash and they didn't last longer than a few weeks; the best cheap ones I've had are from Sainsburys and they are dishwasher-friendly). My method (using a small cafetiere, sometimes referred to as a 3-cup one) for a mug for one person is :

Put two level tbsps medium-ground coffee in the cafetiere whilst the kettle is boiling. Once the water has boiled, add it to the coffee and fill nearly to the top. Stir, then gently put the top on, with the plunger raised. Allow 3-4 minutes for brewing, during which time I half-fill a mug with milk and give it 1 minute in the microwave. Once the coffee has brewed, gently depress the plunger, pour and enjoy!

I use three spoonsful of coffee for two mugs. It's not at all a faff to make coffee for one - I have four small cafetieres, all for me!

My biggest culinary adjustment in traveling to the UK is the prevalence of instant coffee, which I really cannot stand. I know no one in the US who would go anywhere near a cup of instant coffee.

British people likewise complain when in the US of not being able to get a decent cup of tea, a very valid complaint. In fact, it is probably easier to get decent coffee in the UK than to get good tea in the US, but you still have to work around the fact that instant is often the default.

Here is an interesting blog that goes into some of the reasons that instant coffee is more prevalent in the UK.

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/blog/instant-coffee-britain-nescafe/#.U7mZGrGGfm4

Love this thread. I don't drink coffee but we always have a jar of something instant in the house and even my major coffee snob brother drinks it. I have a naice selection of teas though.

My sil drinks neither tea nor coffee so usually forgets to even offer. She had someone important call round recently so made the very big effort to remember to offer him a cup of something. He agreed to the instant coffee. She was delighted she remembered and a bit puzzles that he made an odd face and then left it to one side. She only noticed when she was tidying layer that she'd made him a cup of instant gravy granules with milk!

not sure how that rogue smilie got in there...

optimist I'm sold!!!

I had an amazing coffee today but was put off getting some because I thought I'd need loads of gear!

It begs the question then. What is instant coffee if it's not coffee? besides donkey piss obvs

I can never quite work out when liking nice food became something that marked you out for taking the piss on MN. It's all about the "oh you don't go out to eat for the food" and "it's morally preferable to serve up sandwiches" these days.