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?

Don't show your dad that post.

I'm so glad I like tea more, much less complicated

I visit lots of different workplaces as part of my job. Some posh, some very down to earth and industrial, some multinational, some very small companies, although due to the nature of my work almost none of my clients are 'city' types. The coffee is probably about 20% disgusting cheap vending machine, 50% instant of varying quality, 20% pods or similar and 10% or less of real coffee. In most cases it is likely that the coffee I am offered as a visitor is the same as what the employees drink themselves day to day.

My parents only have 'real' coffee in their house (they're not snobby, just don't like processed food), dh's mum only has instant.
We have both.
I prefer proper, but would never turn my nose up at instant.
Some of my friends definitely prefer instant and find anything else too bitter.

I despair over coffee culture. I never have liked hot, brown caffinated drinks, but could tolerate the smell of an instant coffee. Now there's a whole bewildering language as complicated as cricket. Anything more than black/ white/ sugar has me bewildered. Even the sizing of cups is unnecessarily complicated.

Then there's the heavy stench of the stuff, and the ear piercing squeals from the dratted machines. Coffee shops are an assault on the senses, not a pleasure.

I am a kind person, I'll annually check the date on the jar of instant coffee for guests (and the tea bags). You might have to bring milk though as I'm told that our milk substitute tastes a bit like there was cereal in it.

I'll stick with my hot water.

We all drink instant at work. And are mainly educated and relatively well to do people. Had no idea it was such an oddity. Another 'only on MN' phenomenon I guess.
I love the Little's flavoured instant coffees you can get. Who knew the blatant faux pas against Hyacinth Bouquet ive been comitting for so long.

jevoudrais - you only think tea is less complicated because you haven't yet met a tea snob.

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 think Carte noire instant is nice. I agree with previous poster that you should mix with milk before adding water.

Yes that is the secret of instant coffee, if you just pour boilinig water onto it it will taste bitter and nasty.
Mix the coffee in with some milk first, and it will be much better.
Or make a frappe. Anything that does not involve scalding the coffee.

I can't drink instant any more. But there is no need to be rude about it, I am perfectly happy with a cup of tea. The problem I have is how to find out what I'm being offered without sounding like a twat!

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

a personal cafetiere is inexpensive. all you then need is hot water and coffee.

I prefer tea to instant coffee. However, I also prefer well-mannered people to jerks. Unless I had the right rapport with someone, I wouldn't comment on their instant coffee.

I agree that perhaps adding the milk before the hot water helps the taste - here's what I do:

1. Add coffee to mug (and sugar if desired). Pour over a little milk. Mix.
2. Heat for 25 secs in microwave.
3. Use a stick frother to get up a nice head of froth (I love froth)
4. Pour boiling water in from the side.

This takes less than a minute to do.

I used to drink instant years ago. But I had a colleague who wouldn't touch instant coffee and would only drink the real stuff. This rubbed off on me and now I can't stand instant coffee. I use a cafetière at home and drink far too much coffee. I've already had three cups today. Wish I liked tea as it looks really nice.

I prefer the taste of coffee made with a shot of espresso but instant is fine when you just want something hot and a bit stronger than tea.

It gives me shocking stomachache and diarrhoea within about an hour though so I can't drink instant. Have tested it a few times now and that's definitely the link. No idea what's in it that causes it.

Makes me look like a total coffee snob if I accept the offer of a cup of coffee in a friends house and then have to rapidly backtrack when I discover they are about to give me instant. V V embarrassing to then have to give them TMI as to why.....

I know two other people who get the same reaction, I'm really surprised that I'm the first person on this thread to raise it.

The water should not be boiling for either instant or brewed coffee. It should be between 195 F (91 C) and 205 F (96 C). That will make a big difference in the taste.

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

Yup. Big Gaggia espresso machine, plus a plethora of cafetieres, aeropresses, and the like, plus a couple of those Swiss "press a button" machines that grind the beans and make a cup (results not quite as nice as the other sort but work fine for me when I'm in a rush).

I maaaaaay work with coffee nerds.

I have a Nespresso machine which dh uses for his first cup of the day. Sometimes we use if for friends too, but mostly we use Gold Blend.

There is a Nespresso m/c at work too but nobody uses it at all. Instant all the way.

I find instant a bit rough on the tum as well, TreadSoftly - used to work in a shop where I would occasionally hit the instant in the staff room for the caffeine hit, and I had to stop because my stomach didn't like it.

"My parents only have 'real' coffee in their house (they're not snobby, just don't like processed food)"

I think that acknowledgement is missing in many of the cries of "I just checked the ingredients, it says coffee!" Yes, it says coffee but IMO instant coffee is to fresh coffee as sultanas are to grapes; bacon to pork and smoked salmon to fresh. It has the same basic ingredient, yes, but the processing renders the taste different.

And you know, fine if you want to drink instant coffee. Go ahead, it's just a drink. But don't somehow think it makes you more down to earth, more pragmatic, less of a snob and an all round better person. It just means you like instant coffee.

Instant coffee makes my stomach do strange things too. I've been known to vomit copiously if I have more than one mug.

comforted by the thought her breath would be smelling like monkey shit the rest of the day

Sorry OP but both fresh coffee and instant coffee make your breath smell.

My mother raved to me over Millicano and how it tasted like fresh coffee, so I bought some. It's one of the better instants but it still tastes like instant.

I make shit real coffee, which is why I drink instant. I have all the gadgets, but it's still poo. I love real coffee though., just not made by me. I am very selective over my instant brand and how it's made and so never ask for coffee unless someone says they are making the real stuff. I'm very happy to have a tea instead. I don't view this as rude as I would rather any tea than yucky coffee, but obviously don't answer the question that way.

Oh and your colleague is definitely a knob

I have just gone back to using a simple filter on top of my cup, poor hot water on coffee...tadaaa

fresh coffee.

Not the fuss and idiocy of £££ coffee makers and pods, just quick real coffee.

Nescafe I only like in iced coffee.

Baby that's how I have always done it and still do. You get great coffee and you don't need gadgets. And it's a portable system too.