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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask why Brits drink instant coffee?

502 replies

mediumbrownmug · 13/07/2021 04:36

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?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
CrouchEndTiger12 · 13/07/2021 05:52

Why do Americans refuse to dry clothing outside on a line even when it's 30c outside?

It was the weirdest thing ... of the view that it us what poor people do and use a tumble dryer with no thought for the environment even in states that have really good weather

habibibibi · 13/07/2021 05:55

Why are Americans not capable of making public toilet partitions which fit and allow a modicum of privacy? More puzzling to me than drinking instant coffee or not!

Anyway, I lived in America and drank instant coffee. There was tons of it available in the supermarket so I assume other people are drinking it too and not just Brits abroad.

And American coffee isn't THAT good to be honest.

habibibibi · 13/07/2021 05:56

@BadgerB

Do American really make tea in the microwave? And are kettles not a thing in the U.S. kitchen?
It's true and extremely disturbing. If they have kettles, they are only on the hob (or stovetop as they would say). Electric kettles though? Absolutely not!
habibibibi · 13/07/2021 05:57

I mean, look at this and then wonder why anyone would criticise us drinking instant coffee:

CrouchEndTiger12 · 13/07/2021 06:02

Americans don't use electric kettles because their voltage is so low 120v as opposed to 240v here.

An electric kettle would take 15 mins plus to boil so they use a hob. It was a pain really

SarahBellam · 13/07/2021 06:10

An Aeropress is the way forward. Almost as quick and convenient as instant but makes a great cup of proper coffee and flattens the grounds to a hard disk you can just chuck in the bin easily. Took me a while to got used to it but now there’s no turning back.

SpeakingFranglais · 13/07/2021 06:13

We are big tea drinkers, and no one makes decent tea like the British and Irish.

Many of us drink instant and ground coffee, but ground coffee is heavy on the caffeine and I wouldn’t do more than one a day.

Filter coffee sat on a pot all day lukewarm is shit.

KingdomScrolls · 13/07/2021 06:13

You can get really good instant now, I don't like gold blend etc but percol, illy or lavazza are actually much nicer than a stewed pot of drip filter coffee

MsTSwift · 13/07/2021 06:15

Instant coffee is basically a coffee flavoured drink

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 13/07/2021 06:16

Nonide is absolute crap. I dreading people asking me for a coffee because I know I'm going to get a cup of pish water.

Ifailed · 13/07/2021 06:17

When people in the USA stop shooting each other I might take more notice of their criticism of other folk.

Devastatedmum123 · 13/07/2021 06:17

At home I have a nespresso machine and a milk frother but at work I just drink instant. It’s not the same but it’s quick and easy plus in a 10 min break it’s all I have time to make.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 13/07/2021 06:17

No idea, not nonide!

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 13/07/2021 06:18

Pod coffee - can the pods be recycled or are you generating plastic waste?

I have one strong cafetiere coffee a day. The grounds go in the food caddy. Then it's instant decaffeinated. Both with a bit of cold milk. If you use a lot of milk, syrup etc coffee becomes a high calorie option.

khaleesi71 · 13/07/2021 06:19

I don't drink instant coffee as it's rank. I have a small cafetière and make that in the same time it takes for a cup of tea. I have struggled to find a decent cup of real coffee in the US though - filter is often weak and barista coffees are huge, weak and milky.

knitnerd90 · 13/07/2021 06:20

@CrouchEndTiger12

Why do Americans refuse to dry clothing outside on a line even when it's 30c outside?

It was the weirdest thing ... of the view that it us what poor people do and use a tumble dryer with no thought for the environment even in states that have really good weather

It's 50% prejudice and 50% weather, bugs, pollen, and leaves (depending on season).

You can buy an electric kettle in the USA but they are much slower because 110V electricity. (FWIW DH & I are both British and drink neither coffee nor tea.)

EssentialHummus · 13/07/2021 06:21

Because kettles work here? Grin

I dunno. I genuinely like the taste of instant coffee and if I'm at a coffee shop tend to go for the more cartoonish/watered-down drinks anyway (flavoured coffee with cream on top etc) - proper coffee doesn't appeal to me.

Alleycat02 · 13/07/2021 06:23

I was under the impression that we ('Brits') only started drinking instant coffee when American soldiers brought it over with them in WW2?? So it's kind of your fault really 😂
But I agree that real coffee is too strong on the caffeine to have more than one a day and I like to have at least two or three hot drinks a day.

Devastatedmum123 · 13/07/2021 06:26

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Pod coffee - can the pods be recycled or are you generating plastic waste?

I have one strong cafetiere coffee a day. The grounds go in the food caddy. Then it's instant decaffeinated. Both with a bit of cold milk. If you use a lot of milk, syrup etc coffee becomes a high calorie option.

My nespresso ones come with a bag to put them all in then you drop them off at a pickup point and they get taken back to be recycled.
devildeepbluesea · 13/07/2021 06:26

Like PP I can't replicate the taste of proper coffee shop coffee at home, despite having had a good quality espresso machine for years. Percolator coffee I find disgusting.

Good quality instant coffee is much nicer than percolator coffee - less bitter, less caffeine and always hot (warm, stale coffee is just 🤢).

And as I drink about 8 cups a day, I need the lower caffeine content.

But the main reason is that I like the taste.

FreekStar2 · 13/07/2021 06:26

I think because in Britain tea is soooo popular and ingrained in our culture that coffee has never been taken that seriously.

PermanentTemporary · 13/07/2021 06:27

I can't bear the faff of real coffee, making it, cleaning up the equipment. I've also had too many partners who are very fussy about their coffee (which they had a perfect right to be, I just found it very boring).

RedRiverShore · 13/07/2021 06:29

I like instant coffee, I do buy the premium brands that are usually in a tin, we also have a Smeg coffee machine which DH got as part of a long service gift from work and like to have a couple of cups from that each day, I wouldn't want to just drink coffee from the machine as it is a bit strong for many cups a day

AlCalavicci · 13/07/2021 06:31

@mediumbrownmug
I drink ground coffee and have done for years ( so not a fad thing )and I prefer the taste but the instant we get in the uk is good quality there is no chicory in it and is generally freeze dried so keeps its flavour well .

@habibibibi
I have seen that clip before , I think it is a joke / set up it can not be how she makes / think we make tea , and what ever that other concoction is that is not tea .

Weebleweeble · 13/07/2021 06:32

Tea was the main drink in the U.K. for historic reasons. Just requires a teapot (or now a mug) and kettle. Coffee required paraphenalia. So Workplaces and homes have a kettle not percolator.