Instant Coffee. Is it an offence now?

[CrazyBoo]

...or I would have thought so this morning in the staff tea room. There I am, making my coffee, when in sashays a female colleague i barely know. "Oh! You're not drinking THAT are you?" she sneers, making hers with the machine that produces coffee that tastes extremely strong for me like monkey shit mixed with diesel oil.

So, my question is, is instant coffee a BAD THING now? Do you drink it? Has anyone commented on your caffiene intake preferences in this pretentious twatty way?

I have noticed in recent years some people choosing tea over instant when at my house. I think it is a snobbery that has arisen as a result of the rise of coffee shops!

let's turn the tables. if I served a nice cappucino and instant tea at my house, what would you want?

Boyandgirl about the temperature of bought coffees, I once sent back a very cool coffee in a top cafe, to be told I had to specifically ask for it to be hot when I ordered. I would have thought that was implied? Apparently not . Now every time I order I add "Extra hot," even though I feel like a bit of an idiot saying it! (Doesn't always work, either)

about the temperature of bought coffees, I once sent back a very cool coffee in a top cafe, to be told I had to specifically ask for it to be hot when I ordered. I would have thought that was implied?

in italy, coffee is served relatively cold because steaming the milk hotter destroys the natural sugars and hence reduces sweetness. there, americans (and I guess brits) are known for asking for it hot.

but surely everyone knows that?

Tbh it's like anyone who is fussy and overly knowledgable about something - be it food, wine, real ale, baking, whatever - mention it and you come across as a wanker and a boring one at that.

Once when working as a barista I decided not to nuke the milk with the steamer arm as usual, as the 'Italian way' suggests it should be done. All my customers were going 'what the bloody ell is this! Jesus, it's freezing cold lass!' Cafe in a very northern town full of people who thought they were v sophisticated for asking for a latte not just 'a coffee'. if I'd said 'it's the Italian way!' I'd have been laughed out the shop. People like what they like why care whether it's 'correct' or not?!

Do people even have the facilities to make 'proper coffee' at their offices? Does't it take a bit of a long time to make one every time (someone brews up about once every half hour at my office haha)

I'm a coffee snob, no doubt. When someone offers me a coffee, I cringe. I know it won't be right so I often ask for tea instead.

Do people even have the facilities to make 'proper coffee' at their offices?

Certainly in the US they do. I have been working for a long time, and every office I have worked in has had brewed coffee available all day long. More offices are going to pod machines, which makes it very easy to make a single cup as wanted. Some offices have a direct water line plumbed to the coffee making apparatus.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

FWIW, I replied to my lovely colleague in the vein of "I really need a coffee, and this does the trick for me," and left it at that comforted by the thought her breath would be smelling like monkey shit the rest of the day

I don't disagree redstraweberry, It's just that I have noticed a shift in recent years, with people (or at least people in my life!) becoming more aware of the difference, and it must be linked with the rise of the coffee shop culture.

Also in my head there is a time and place. Good, old friend popped in to pick up child from playdate or drop something off and only staying 10 minutes = instant coffee feasible.

Nice dinner with good friends, obviously wouldn't serve instant coffee after that.

At the same time some cafetiere coffee and those big machines with the glass jug that sit on an office counter all morning make far worse coffee than a fresh cup of instant in my opinion.

It is all relative. If you offered an Italian a cappuccino after lunch they would secretly sneer, but it wouldn't be about 'drinking real coffee at appropriate times', it would all be about digestion and how they couldn't possibly stomach a milky drink at that time of day.

Me, I'm only half Italian, and can drink a cappuccino any time of day!!

How can you be "overly knowledgable" about something? And why does that make you a wanker? I like talking to experts, you can learn stuff from them. If I can't understand it, I tend to think it's my weakness, not theirs.

When I use a cafetière, I fill it up with water and pour the coffee grinds and water through a a paper coffee filter to clean it.

How can you be "overly knowledgable" about something?

I think it comes about when you spout your knowledge like a twat when it really isn't needed or wanted.

I drink instant, but I'm very fussy. I haven't got time to faff with a caffetiere, and can't afford a machine so I drink nescafe azera or if I can't get that, millicano. Out of friends and family only one person has a caffetiere (my mum) and no one has a fancy machine.

If possible I would have a ridiculous sized coffee machine and someone to use it for me... I can't though.

cherryblossom Yes! One of my colleagues lived in Japan for a long time and was surprised to see me using one in the staff room. He had never seen them outside of Asia.

ego the Italian way is to stand at the bar and knock your espresso back before continuing with your day; you don't linger over espresso!

I don't like cafetieres or presses, as a poster upthread said, they do make the coffee 'muddy.' But a basic drip filter machine can be got for about 20 quid, the cheap ones are not terribly different to the flashy ones, very very quick and easy to use, there's really no need to buy a fancy barista style espresso thingy that takes quarter of an hour of prep to get a decent coffee out of!

I have a nice small KMix filter machine that's easy to make a small pot just for me so if I want to make some when DH isn't here without too much wastage. It can be hard to make a small amount in a large machine.

The better quality instant coffees are pretty expensive so I doubt it saves you any money in the end.

I love my cafetière.

Agree about the time and place thing, very sensible. 5 mins to gulp a coffee at work or 10 mins with a friend as they drop their kid off for a sleepover - instant all the way!

Cafetière and steamed milk situations for lazy Sunday mornings and after dinner !

Delores, the "pour over" is a deconstructed version of that and it does make a good cup of coffee, no mud like a cafitiere but same kind of extraction method.

Time wise I :

1. put my coffee machine onto pre heat,
2. microwave the milk for 1 minute
3. fill the thingy with coffee and fit on the machine
4. get mug from microwave
5. make coffee.

Probably only slightly more time than it takes to boil a kettle and a similar time to make instant. Of course, the time would almost double to make 2 cups.

(I make my mug of coffee with 2 shots of espresso, served at the same time. If you only wanted one, obviously you can make two cups together. CBA to faff about with the milk frother.)

I don't drink coffee so presumably I make a pretty awful coffee for guests - although I do warn them of my limitations. I am often complimented on my tea making - never on my coffee making.

I'm interested to know which is the best instant coffee - so that I can have the right brand ready for those guests that shun my selection of teas. I don't mind buying an expensive one as I'm not going to use it that quickly - although that in itself might be an issue too. I do at least store the instant in the fridge.

I am a coffee snob. I even have an aeropress. As a present, I got one of those coffee delivery things, so that ridiculously priced bags with outlandish names land on my doorstep each month. (I wouldn't actually pay for this myself, it is £££).

I manage to restrain myself from sneering at those who do drink instant, though. Just. I've even been known to drink it in a caffeine emergency.

I liked Millicano. Azera is also good if you don't mind it being Nestle.

My father is an Italian coffee wanker but swears by two spoons of the best possible instant mixed with milk before the hot water in emergencies. Some guff about the granules not being scalded - but it does taste better that way.

I noticed Azera and Millicano in the supermarket yesterday - after I read this thread.