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?

@burritofan

Because as a nation we have the palate of fools. We put baked beans on top of pizza. There isn’t a sandwich in the country not covered in mayonnaise. Cauliflower cheese is a main course. Of course we proclaim instant coffee is nice. We’re idiots.

Speak for yourself. I have never seen any of that.

Maybe thats what you like eating?

@ShadowsInTheDarkness

OP the Brits comment you've asked about - we are technically part of Great Britain but the term Brits or British is rarely used in every day life here. You tick the box British on forms asking for your nationality but the countries are very distinct in terms of their nationality, culture, accent, government so we use those terms primarily. So for example I am English, my friend is Scottish and to ignore those national and cultural differences and refer to ourselves as British would be really quite odd. I think a lot of perceptions from abroad are that we are all one big lump of land. But throughout the pandemic for example the Welsh and Scottish governments have made different decisions to England, had different restrictions and been in lockdown at different times. The education system is different between countries, there is a Scottish and Welsh Parliament with their own elections etc. I think Northern Ireland is seen as separate due to the sea divide but somehow the land linked countries are generally seen as one.

See, I would really not refer to myself as English, I would always say British, unless I needed to be specific for some reason.

It is true though (I think? ) that people from Wales and Scotland would be much more likely to refer to themselves as such, rather than use the term British.

Instant coffee exists in the US though? I was an au pair 20 years ago and the parents both drank instant coffee every morning.

I drink tea first thing, then real coffee, then alternate between home made iced tea, Azera and tea for the rest of the day. I only really like Azera as an instant and buy it when it's on offer as it's £££. It says in the article Australians are the biggest instant drinkers

To be honest the filter stuff they give you in America can barely be described as coffee.
I'd rather have instant.

I don't drink instant coffee and don't know anyone that does.

the percolator stuff in the US is vile - I' d rather drink a cup of the premium instant (percol or similar).

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DB4JY72/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_ZE01YGFJX4VTC8GK19RA?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

If I'm working/in a hurry, I use these, rather than instant.
If I'm at home/not in a hurry, then I can make coffee 'properly'. I don't think I'd offer the thermal cup to a guest! Mostly, I drink tea at home, though. I only need the caffeine when I'm working.

One dessert spoon is enough in a single serve cafetière if you’re using good quality coffee.

If I've got time I make myself a ground coffee but if I'm in a hurry I have instant. I think the difference between our two countries might be because almost every home in the UK has an electric kettle, I understand that is not the case in the USA, probably due to our love of tea, so boiling up enough water for a quick cup of instant is easy.

@Kotatsu

That makes quite a lot of sense. So much so that I wonder why we haven’t caught on here!

It'll be the kettle thing no? That the 110 volt electricity makes electric kettles unbearably slow and doing it on the stove top is a hassle, so you may as well have the hassle of making proper coffee.

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.

The article someone posted above says the quality of instant in the US (well, North America; apparently Canada is the same in its tastes) has gone way up in recent years, but there's cultural prejudice against it, perhaps in part because it used to be rank?

I do know that the quality of coffee even in the US has gone up. I remember when I was a child, my American relatives made it in a percolator with pre-ground coffee from a tin, and people don't really do that now. I'd say even the weaker sort of filter coffee (from not putting enough coffee in the electric drip machine) is less in style too. Since I only serve it to guests, I use a stove-top kettle and a cafetiere, which means it's equally as easy for me to make someone else a cup of tea.

Re: English vs. British - people can have quite strong feelings on the topic going both ways. Some people whose families are immigrants don't feel English, only British, which I've not encountered in Scotland or Wales.

@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.

That last para is why for me. I don't want to go through a performance with all that paraphernalia when a mug of kenco in my opinion is easier and tastes better.

I don't know anyone who would choose instant coffee over an alternative but in some places, at work, it's the only option.

The real question for me is why do Americans think that the watery, barely coffee flavoured liquid they drink from Mr Coffee machines or out of pots is actually coffee at all! It's horrible.
My US in laws put the pot on in the mornings and drink from it all day, but you'd need to drink the entire pot to get the caffeine in a proper cup of European coffee.
And don't get me started on Starbucks with their disgusting, weak, milky, sweet concoctions that they sell as 'coffee' in the US...

@BadgerB

Does anyone, even in the U.K, still make tea in the only way our parents/grandparents would have found acceptable? Warm the pot; spoon in leaf tea; Pour in boiling (not " just gone off the boil") water; stand for 2 or 3minutes so that it can "brew". Of course, you needed a tea-strainer to pour it through. And then there was milk in first or milk in last...

Yes to most of that except the leaf tea. We buy teabags for convenience, but otherwise, yes, we make tea in a teapot (I will admit I don't warm it first) and let it brew for a few minutes, kept warm by its cosy, before pouring. A little milk in the mug before pouring the tea.

I do have a tea strainer and have occasionally used leaf tea, but it's a bit of a faff and not really any better to my mind. (Heresy!)

@Thebookswereherfriends

Instant coffee exists in the US though? I was an au pair 20 years ago and the parents both drank instant coffee every morning.

It does exist of course, but it’s usually a camping thing. I’ve never know of anyone who drinks it here, although some must or it wouldn’t be sold. It was more popular a few decades ago, I think.

I only drink real coffee. If I go somewhere else and the choice is instant coffee or tea I’ll always pick tea.

I'm British and I can't stand instant coffee. I never buy it unless we have workmen in who like it and then I'll get a small jar.

We just don’t have the coffee culture here that you do in the US.

Re: English vs. British - people can have quite strong feelings on the topic going both ways. Some people whose families are immigrants don't feel English, only British, which I've not encountered in Scotland or Wales.

That's interesting - I am from a family that's from all over, so perhaps that's why my go-to description would be 'from the UK' followed by British - and only English if it's somehow relevant.

@sailmeaway

I don't know anyone who would choose instant coffee over an alternative but in some places, at work, it's the only option.

The real question for me is why do Americans think that the watery, barely coffee flavoured liquid they drink from Mr Coffee machines or out of pots is actually coffee at all! It's horrible.
My US in laws put the pot on in the mornings and drink from it all day, but you'd need to drink the entire pot to get the caffeine in a proper cup of European coffee.
And don't get me started on Starbucks with their disgusting, weak, milky, sweet concoctions that they sell as 'coffee' in the US...

Making a pot in the morning and drinking from it all day would make you ill, wouldn’t it? The coffee would go sour. I’m with you on Starbucks, though. It used to be pretty fancy here when it first came on the scene, but that reputation is long gone. They’re a very studenty place now, so I’m sure their clientele make good use of all that caffeine, sugar and free Wi-Fi!

I don't like 'real' coffee, it's too strong. I much prefer the taste of instant coffee.

OP: I am a Brit and I take my unbreakable insulated cafetière and fresh coffee camping.

Ground, not beans, though. We don’t use EHU and I’m not taking a hand grinder with me.

I have instant in the cupboard for cooking.

No idea. It’s revolting and bears no resemblance to real coffee.

Best coffee I ever had was an expresso sitting outside a French cafe.
I never ordered an expresso in the US - but it wouldn't have been as good as being sat outside viewing the village square in dappled sunlight with the odd car passing.

Having grown up in the States where the only people I saw drinking coffee bought it in coffee shops, I thought instant coffee was fancy when I came over to England at 17. It was a few years before I learned different . I think it is an interesting difference.

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

There are some parts of the States where it's not allowed - you can get fined if you live in a place where the HOA or local ordinances ban it (they can also determine if you can grow vegetables in your own garden - it's ridiculous). People have literally had to fight for 'right-to-dry' legislation in some states and still can get issues with HOAs.

Also, so many more bitey insects far worse than British spiders getting on it if the clothes get darked on .