To ask why Brits drink instant coffee?

[mediumbrownmug]

I’m an American and am genuinely curious. Every British TV show and article I’ve seen so far seems to imply that instant coffee is far more popular than whole or ground beans. Is it too nosy to ask why?

As an occasional coffee drinker, my instant of choice is Nescafe Gold Blend.

@mediumbrownmug

I’m an American and am genuinely curious. Every British TV show and article I’ve seen so far seems to imply that instant coffee is far more popular than whole or ground beans. Is it too nosy to ask why?

I'm British and genuinely curious . Why do Americans accept this slop of coffee that gets dumped down on a table in a thermal jug and you cannot get a latte in most breakfast places ?

@Sometimesonly

I live in a flat above a bar in Italy. I often pop down for an espresso or a cappuccino. I also drink instant coffee because I like it and because I don't have a coffee machine.

Off-thread, but just to say you are living my dream of an alternate life I always thought when I was a teen I would move abroad and live in a flat above a cafe, and pop down for an espresso on a table outside in the sun. Sigh.

A sensible three-bed in suburban Essex isn't quite the same...

I think the OP has been very gracious here in the face of some unnecessarily rude and defensive responses.

I'm not keen on instant coffee and therefore don't drink much coffee at home, although I agree with other posters that it's often viewed as a whole different drink to filter coffee etc. I have one of those Bialetti stovetop thingummies which makes a decent cup of coffee, but nothing like a coffee shop can produce.

I drink loose leaf tea, though, and think my tea is better than anything I can find in a cafe

I was on a very long coach journey once , back to Ireland and we stopped for 20 mins in some godforsaken hole on the on the M4. Foolishly I ordered a coffee from the barista. You'd swear he had to pop out to Colombia to harvest the beans. Stress I really didn't need. Just about made it back to the bus.

Instant is pointless if you are drinking it for speed. Ground beans just sink to the bottom anyway so just drink it unfiltered. Done it for years.

In America I seem to remember mostly being served coffee from a jug that's been hanging around all day. No thanks.

Do we? Wonder what the split is overall. I know hardly anyone who does. Nespresso/ bean to cup machines/ cafetière ground coffee seem very common now.

In Friends i always assumed the cafe was the ground floor of their apartment, is it not?

@OrangeSamphire

I’m surprised so many people use instant.

I’m a Brit and I’ve never drunk the stuff. Not a fan of those pod machines either.

We have a bean grinder, percolator, cafetière and an aeropress at home.

Bloody hell, and I buy dower egberts for 4 quid as a treat (the treat is the jar)

I’ve heard that too, but I have always had electric kettles and I don’t personally find that they take long to boil. Of course, I wouldn’t know how long they should need to boil, but mine heats in about one minute? The stovetop takes forever, absolutely. You could earn a college degree in the time it takes my stovetop to boil a pot of water.

do you have induction hobs ? I have only ever seen in pictures videos etc the old style electric rings. A good induction wil boil water faster than any kettle

@MrsMaizel, tongue in cheek I suppose. I meant no offense with my post, but still your question is a fair one. Some of the coffee here (as is the case anywhere) is vile, I’ll give you that. I wouldn’t drink anything from a diner or restaurant really. It’s true that most breakfast places do food and don’t normally have a milk steamer for lattes, but a latte here isn’t too hard to get. Even some gas station chains carry decent lattes here (try Wawa).

One thing I always find odd if I travel overseas, is not having tea-making facilities in the hotel room. It's such a ritual in the UK to make a 'nice cup of tea/coffee' when you wake up in a hotel, and seeing what biscuits they've put out for you when you come back after the room has been valeted.

We don't use instant at home we now use a stove top espresso pot, really not that much hassle and the coffee is so much nicer although more expensive. When people come over they always comment on how nice the coffee is so you can taste the difference for sure.

I think instant is just seen as easier.

It’s just the palate, same reason nespresso and similar machines are so popular along with costa type places. People aren’t often exposed to the real thing. See also: wine.

But the watery US coffee is just as bad if not worse!

I bet the difference is something to do with us all having kettles in uk. Been told theyre rare in US

@Oldraver

I’ve heard that too, but I have always had electric kettles and I don’t personally find that they take long to boil. Of course, I wouldn’t know how long they should need to boil, but mine heats in about one minute? The stovetop takes forever, absolutely. You could earn a college degree in the time it takes my stovetop to boil a pot of water.

do you have induction hobs ? I have only ever seen in pictures videos etc the old style electric rings. A good induction wil boil water faster than any kettle

I don’t, sadly. My kettle is electric and reasonably fast (for what I’m used to). I’ve never found it faster to boil water on my stove. I do have a stovetop kettle too, but it takes absolute ages.

The last time I drank instant coffee was probably when I last worked in an office 10 years ago. None of my friends or family use it. My dh still works in an office, where they have a bean to cup machine. Even as a child growing up in the 60s and 70s when we drank vast amounts of instant my parents always made what they called ‘proper’ coffee after dinner and for weekend. breakfast. When I went to uni in the late 70s my first purchase was a percolator.

I prefer tea to coffee but when I do have coffee it's usually the instant kind. Starbucks etc does nothing for me.

I do like how American homes/ diners seems to have a pot of coffee on the go, but it sounds like a lot of work for my 1 cup of coffee? Can the filter be re-used?

When I went to the USA I was looking forward to really good coffee. I never had a decent cup there. It was weak and flavourless.

I drink ground and instant, but good instant. I like them both but they are different flavours. I like my coffee strong but never found it in the US. Spain serves beautiful coffee.

@TiddyAndFletch

One thing I always find odd if I travel overseas, is not having tea-making facilities in the hotel room. It's such a ritual in the UK to make a 'nice cup of tea/coffee' when you wake up in a hotel, and seeing what biscuits they've put out for you when you come back after the room has been valeted.

When I was in England our hotel had a kettle in it. Loved it, as I’m not used to that in hotels back home and I’m a tea drinker. I wish we did that here instead of the coffee pots.

We have instant at work, it's ok. It is a different drink from proper coffee, but I don't mind it, and prefer it to tea most of the time (certainly if the options are PG Tips or Tetley). It also doesn't have anywhere near the caffeine of the couple of espressos I have first thing. I couldn't carry on drinking espressos throughout the day or I'd be up all night, but a cup of instant late morning and I'll still sleep ok.

I don’t
We don’t even have any in the house. We have a bean to cup machine that makes coffee as quickly as boiling a kettle and if I go anywhere where the only coffee is instant I don’t have one

@tallduckandhandsome

I prefer tea to coffee but when I do have coffee it's usually the instant kind. Starbucks etc does nothing for me.

I do like how American homes/ diners seems to have a pot of coffee on the go, but it sounds like a lot of work for my 1 cup of coffee? Can the filter be re-used?

Typically they can’t be reused. Pod coffee makers (like Keurig and Nespresso) are popular here for single cup households. Not all the pods are recyclable though, so there’s that. Pour over coffee is popular here too when you don’t need a full pot.