Recommendations for instant coffee please

[bran]

I'm looking for a new instant coffee, I used to get the silver Percol (called either Americano or Cafe Americain) but it isn't in the shops anymore. I like a rich but not bitter coffee. So far I have tried Waitrose Organic Gold, Douwe Egberts Serenity and Cafe Direct 5065 but none of them are doing it for me.

Any recommendations please, I would prefer Fairtrade if possible, and it has to be caffeinated as I need all the help I can get to stay awake.

Thank you.

What do the ones you've tried lack?

nescafe blend 37 is quite bearable as is carte noir. Sorry i know they are not Fairtrade tho. the co op is good for fairtrade stuff

I was going to reccomend Percol fairtrade and am gutted to hear it's not available anymore, are you sure?

Percol is WAY better than Cafe Direct. Eeeeww!

They just don't seem full-flavoured enough SD, I can't really describe it but Percol was much closer to an Americano made with espresso and hot water than to a normal instant.

I've tried Blend 37 in the past before I found Percol and it didn't do it for me, but I'll try the Carte Noir, thanks sorrel.

i am having the same problem, bran. i've bought a douwe egberts jar and there was a dead insect in the jar... needless to say, i have been trying other brands and none seem to do it for me.

Clipper's organic fairtrade is nice. It is a good flavour but milder in oomph than some, so you can put two teaspoons into one mug without going into orbit.
Available from Waitrose.

Alannah, it could still be around, but I can't find it. My local Waitrose never stocked it, and it's not the kind of the Asda ever carried either, but I do occasionally go to Sainsburys or Tesco and I haven't seen it there either for about 6 months now.

dont use it cannot satnd it - why not get a littlle stove top coffee maker

I thought someone would say that ff. The truth is that I just can't be faffed with all the washing up and emptying of coffee grinds. I have really delicious Blue Mountain cafetiere coffee in the freezer but I'm much too lazy to make it because I know the dirty cafetiere will just sit there for days afterwards. Think of the laziest person you know, and then think of a female version (because it's probably a man) and that's me.

is it any of these?

Percol is still at tesco, as they show it on their website.

They have Percol espresso fn, but I used to get the silver one which they don't seem to have.

Perhaps I'm just being too fussy, afterall it's not as though I usually get a chance to have more than 2 mouthfuls anyway.

ah ok

theya re so s tylish though

what about the cofee filter disposable ones

this is liek meine - well its nicer actch - lots of ideas ont his site htough

Yes, that's the one lilaclotus. I wonder why my nearest Tescos doesn't have it in the shop. I would order it on-line but I've heard horror stories about them and I'm not very lucky with supermarket deliveries even with Ocado who are supposed to be the best. With my luck I would put together a big enough order to justify delivery and everything would come except the coffee. Perhaps I'll phone my local(ish) Tesco and ask them to stock it.

I have thought about those disposable filter one ff, and I was going to go for that if I couldn't find a decent instant. They would work out a bit expensive though, especially if I don't get time to drink it and have to keep making fresh cups.

ok so you want a thermal cafetiere
I tell you I never drink instant now ever

I think you're missing the depths of my laziness ff, a thermal cafetiere would keep the coffee warm, but I couldn't have any the next 2 or 3 days as I wouldn't have cleaned it out.

I never ever drink instant coffee either. I have a thermal jug, which I drink my way through over the course of the morning. Once you're used to it, rinsing out a coffee machine/cafetiere isn't really that much effort, and IMO it's definitely worth it.

carte noir is the nearest to proper coffee.

Do you have access to a Muji store? They have a fab filter coffee maker - looks like a large china teacup, you put a filter paper in it, add coffee, balance it on top of your mug and just add boiling water. Filters through in about a minute (prob less) and you get virtually instant filer coffee. Best gadget I ever bought and is half price in their sale at the moment, as are the filters. You only need to rinse it under a tap when you're done too. Fab - bought another one so I can make 2 cups at once!

Or Whittards sell mugs with little mesh inserts which you put coffee in, pour on boiling water and let brew for a little while. You can buy the inserts separately too. I prefer the Muji filter one though.

rombouts disposable filters are great, but it does work out very expensive.

At the risk of sounding evangelical, this Muji thingy is just like those one-use filter coffees.