Page 18 | To ask why Brits drink instant coffee?

SadSongsAndWaltzes · 14/07/2021 08:45

I think the reason I find the term Brits a bit jarring is because it's being used as a noun, which makes it sound almost aggressive to my ears. I'd prefer the term British as it's an adjective and so not so labelling, if that makes any sense? I think I agree with a pp that Brits does have negative connotations. I would always describe myself as British rather than English though. I think we have a bit of a national identity crisis here 😂.

Back to coffee - I drink a lot of hot drinks, maybe 10 cups over the day, a combination of tea and decaff coffee. It used to be all instant but then I discovered those cones which sit on top of a mug. You put a compostable filter paper in, put the coffee grounds in that, then pour the boiling water on top. Makes great coffee and no faffing about with washing up cafetieres or taking up half my small worktop with a big machine. After you just throw the filter paper and coffee in the compost and rinse the cone.

Malin52 · 14/07/2021 09:03

I was brought up on instant coffee. Most people will have boomer parents who still lived with the effects of rationing and real coffee was unheard of. Instant was standard. Even in restaurants or cafes a cup of Nescafé in polystyrene was standard in the 80s and well into 90s. I hate the stuff now. Tastes like gravy!

Now I live in NZ and it's the same here although they are just as nuts as the Aussies for coffee quality. I have a small AirBNB and I've stocked it with Nespresso machine and selection of pods, plunger coffee and coffee maker and an espresso stove top.

I got a low review after a guest said it would have been nice to have instant coffee instead as they didn't like the posh stuff....

TheVolturi · 14/07/2021 09:21

Proper coffee makes me absolutely hyper, I only drink it from the coffee machine if I need to clean the house, it's like someone's jammed a rocket up my arse then!

whatswithtodaytoday · 14/07/2021 09:43

@Sometimesonly

*Off-thread, but just to say you are living my dream of an alternate life grin 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...*
@whatswithtodaytoday That's so funny! I grew up in Essex and actually do sometimes have a hankering for a nice house with a garden there instead of my tiny balcony. Oh well, at least I have the coffee!

We need to life swap for a while!

TheSockMonster · 14/07/2021 09:46

I also see coffee and instant coffee as completely separate drinks.

I’m not overly keen on instant coffee, but keep a jar for MIL who always asks for “proper coffee” when she comes round, by which she means instant!

CounsellorTroi · 14/07/2021 09:54

I grew up in the 60s and 70s and ground coffee was certainly available. My mum made it in a percolator on special occasions and then moved on to a cone and filter papers. The first brands of instant I was aware of were Maxwell House and Nescafé.

Chemenger · 14/07/2021 09:55

I see coffee and instant coffee as separate drinks. I used to drink a lot of instant but nowadays I can only have one cup of coffee a day so i make that a real one. On the odd occasion I've had instant recently it has been a surprise how unpleasant it is. I have just lost the taste for it.
We have an electric kettle in the US and it is very slow to boil. Most people we know there have a stovetop kettle, they all have some form of coffee machine.

Coffee in the US is very variable in restaurants etc, some of it is really awful dishwater, some of it is over hyped hipster nonsense. I do like that you can usually get a filter coffee, which takes no time to prepare, which seems impossible in the UK now where everything is painstakingly made by a barista, taking ages.

Snog · 14/07/2021 16:34

I live in the UK, I don't like the taste of instant coffee but I do like real coffee. That's not the norm here though, most people drink both although lots of people only like the taste of instant coffee.

I think it's a cultural thing.

maddy68 · 14/07/2021 16:37

I prefer the taste but mainly it's for convenience and speed

Gwenhwyfar · 14/07/2021 19:31

"I think the reason I find the term Brits a bit jarring is because it's being used as a noun, which makes it sound almost aggressive to my ears. I'd prefer the term British as it's an adjective and so not so labelling, if that makes any sense? I think I agree with a pp that Brits does have negative connotations."

It's just tabloid language isn't it.

Maggiesfarm · 14/07/2021 20:02

@CounsellorTroi

I grew up in the 60s and 70s and ground coffee was certainly available. My mum made it in a percolator on special occasions and then moved on to a cone and filter papers. The first brands of instant I was aware of were Maxwell House and Nescafé.

Same here. Then there was Gold Blend.

Nothing beats the taste and smell of good coffee though.

Roominmyhouse · 14/07/2021 20:31

@mediumbrownmug you mentioned that London fog tea Starbucks do a few pages back. I wish they did that over here, I had one in Seattle and it was lush! I have to make do with chai lattes here.

FaceyRomford · 14/07/2021 20:54

@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?

It's America's fault. The US Army introduced it in WW2 and the Brits fell in love with i.

Wrenna · 14/07/2021 20:58

I’m American and love regular brewed coffee but I’ve been on a Coronation Street Classic kick and they are always talking about instant so I bought some. Now it won’t replace brewed for me but I like it!

StoneofDestiny · 14/07/2021 20:59

We do have some good instant coffee and it's convenient to make at home. Coffee machines increasingly popular though.

Hankunamatata · 14/07/2021 21:02

I think until 5 years ago with advent if nespresso, tassimo and dolce gusto instant was king

britinnyc · 14/07/2021 21:14

Another related question, why doesn’t the UK have iced coffee? Is that because coffee is supposed to be a hot drink? I know you can get iced lattes and all that crap but I am talking about cold brew iced coffee. It is so delicious and I have been converted to drinking it year round. I even drink it black and unsweetened which is something I can’t do with hot coffee

SingingInTheShithouse · 14/07/2021 21:24

I'm a Brit & I'd love to know too. Compared to real coffee, it's foul, but even DD buys & drinks it now

CatalinaCasesolver · 14/07/2021 21:34

I prefer it, I know, I'm a heathen!

MissConductUS · 14/07/2021 21:46

It's America's fault. The US Army introduced it in WW2 and the Brits fell in love with i.

Those bloody Yanks!

LadyEggs · 14/07/2021 22:04

The only nice instant coffee, imho, is Nescafé Espresso.

IceLace100 · 14/07/2021 22:45

I prefer instant coffee to real coffee.

Maybe my tastes aren't very sophisticated but who cares! Hahah

IncorrigibleTitmouse · 15/07/2021 01:41

@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 a Brit living in the US and I get my instant coffee shipped over with other British groceries. I just prefer the taste.

IncorrigibleTitmouse · 15/07/2021 01:48

@Kotatsu

I cannot understand the problem with being called a Brit!?!

I am, depending on who I'm talking to, English, British, from the UK, European - all perfectly acceptable depending on context/informational requirements, there must be some niche group who's upset about it, but it's certainly not this Brit or anyone I know!

Me either. I'm Welsh but I also describe myself as British. I feel like I'm both. Especially living here in the US, I tend to say British more, then people will often ask 'which part?'

Gingerkittykat · 15/07/2021 02:31

@britinnyc

Another related question, why doesn’t the UK have iced coffee? Is that because coffee is supposed to be a hot drink? I know you can get iced lattes and all that crap but I am talking about cold brew iced coffee. It is so delicious and I have been converted to drinking it year round. I even drink it black and unsweetened which is something I can’t do with hot coffee

My DD went through a cold brewed iced coffee phase last year and it seemed like a massive faff and I was sick of it taking up loads of room in the fridge. I was so happy when she dropped that phase.

I tried it and didn't like it much. I also can't tolerate too much real coffee as it gives me palpitations.

P.s. Scottish (definitely not Scots or Scotch) and not British (and definitely not a Brit!).