To ask which instant coffee is nicest?

[Elephant17]

I know it will never be the same as proper coffee but surely some are better than others?!

L’or

Little’s are good - they do lots of flavours, the chocolate caramel is great.

Lavazza is the best, the only instant that tastes decent to me.

Buy an aeropress!

Tesco do a version of the Azero, it's nearly half the price and so much nicer. Can't remember the name but it's in a silver and blue tin.

Found it!

Nescafe expresso. I prefer it to real coffee and I drink a lot of coffee!

My default is Dowe Egberts Gold - very smooth and drinkable.

Azera and Millicano are also nice as well.

Nescafé gold blend mmmm

Azera is on offer in my coop at the moment-£3 per tin
I like gold blend too or douwe egberts.
I cannot stand supermarket coffees and can taste the difference a mile off

Douwe Egberts for me. They used to do a lovely hazelnut flavour one that's now discontinued. Their gold one is fine (although at home I'll be inhaling ground Chock Full O Nuts). ☕️

Azeera

1. Lavazza Prontissimo
2. Azera

check first which supermarket has it on offer (someone always has) and stock up. Aldi’s knock off version Barista’s isn’t as good but is half the price and still streets ahead of bog standard instant. Asda’s also ok but net as good as 1 and 2.

The coffee bags are ace. I keep a stash of them in my drawer at work. I like the Taylor’s ones best, but the Lyon’s are nice too. I think Lyons are a little smoother than Taylor’s, which I guess most people would prefer, but I like my coffee a bit rougher. I haven’t touched “normal” instant coffee since discovering the bags.

If you have a Home Bargains near you, they do a fab ground instant for £1.50! I’ve been asked a few times what it is as people enjoy it so much. My top choice is Azera, but I can’t justify the price when I get through so much of it!

Percol Black and Beyond... £1.99 in Home Bargains!! Just as good as Nescafe Expresso at a fraction of the price

I used to work in the coffee industry so here’s some insider knowledge....

Instant coffee is made in industrial size cafetieres. The liquid coffee is then dried to produce granulates.

There are 3 types of instant coffee:

Spray dried - poorest quality. Examples include Nescafé. Tends to have a bitter taste.

Freeze Dried - best quality instant. Nescafé gold blend, Douwe Egbert are examples. No heat is applied to the coffee to dry and it results in better quality.

The ‘Barista’ Style instants - eg Nescafé Azera. This is basically spray dried coffee with some ground coffee added into it.

In taste tests Nescafé gold blend out performs all other coffees.

Reporting back on this morning’s Percol columbian: I think 2 teaspoonfuls was a bit much for me (big teaspoons) so will try with just one tomorrow. It’s hard to say at this point what I think of it but I have a feeling I might not love it... I could taste the strength of the flavour but not so much a depth or richness.

I know this all sounds a little OTT for something as basic as instant coffee but my morning coffee really is my little moment of luxury in between raising a very hyper toddler and endless house work (not a natural on the housewife front). It really sets the mood of my day, a lovely cup of coffee somehow really sets me on the right track.

Re L’or, it’s not the same as carte noire! Carte noire was my favourite, L’or is nowhere near as smooth and rich. They must have changed the recipe 😞. I thought the L’or was ok but didn’t blow me away.

A Pp mentioned Waitrose own, I do remember having a good Waitrose decaf when I was pregnant and also Clipper.

I like dowe egberts. But since I've dropped sugar the Aldi one is really nice

Depends what sort of roast you like.

Get an aeropress, they're small and make great coffee quickly.

Percol Black and Beyond instant espresso - i’ve always found the powder to be infinitely superior to granules somehow!

My favourite is clipper coffee - but it's not one that pretends to taste like the real thing. It's rich & smooth, but won't replace the real thing!

Mellow Birds!

I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Who the hell invented that shite? Does anywhere still sell it?

Re L’or, it’s not the same as carte noire

They changed the recipe the nearest to it is the nescafe espresso

The individual sachets of Italian instant from Starbucks are the best instant I've tried.
Regarding 'real' coffee, I prefer a small Italian expresso maker as never can get the hang of complicated coffee makers.