About instant coffee (meal, French, stove, cheap)

[armory]

There is a secret to making instant coffee. 1 teaspoon is all you need and boiling water should come from a teapot. Stir it and it smells like fresh brewed coffee. Use too much coffee and you ruin it. If a good brand is used it is hard to tell the difference.

[wanderlust76]

Nescafe is pretty good actually. I've taken caffeine out of my diet almost completely but back when I drank coffee regularly I always used instant. I'm into the herbal drinks now like Dandy Blend, good stuff, and I use Folger's decaf.

[Merjolie8]

Originally Posted by Hotfeet

What's funny to me is that when we have visited Central and South American countries such as Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Colombia, all we can find is Nescafe. The locals love the convenience of instant coffee and all the 'good stuff' is saved for export.

Not true. The fact that instant coffee is sold there doesn't mean that is the main kind of coffee the locals drink. Actually, they use it for convenience in a few occasions, same as here, but they don't prefer it, far from it. And there's lots of brands other than Nescafe. It's just that Nestle is a big multinational company more able to distribute and promote their products widely.

[ChessieMom]

I have never tried instant - I just assume that I would not like it. I don't really enjoy anything but the better, flavored varieties. No Keurig either. No fancy starbucks frappe crap.

[Threestep2]

I pass. It takes two minutes to brew decent coffee with a press.

[vision33r]

Instant coffee is popular overseas and I've tried many and they are decent. American instant coffees are horrible in quality. Some of the instant packs are better than K-Cups. Because it locks in flavor compare to washed out rushed coffees made with K-cups.

Starbucks VIA is a very good example of what some of the overseas instant coffee tastes like.

I always say that Coffee is much high quality outside of the US, most American coffee makers cut corners because Americans in general don't have higher coffee standards.

[WildColonialGirl]

If I can't get espresso I prefer it over drip coffee. You can use a large spoon, whereas drip coffee is always watery, and often not fresh.

[jtur88]

Instant is essential in traditional Mexican cafe-con-leche. A cup of hot milk served with sugar and Nescafe stirred in at the table. Nescafe, in Mexico, is the generic word for "instant coffee" and a jar of it sits on the table next to the sugar and salt and tabasco.

[Tia 914]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

I guess its popularity in Latin America explains why jars sold in the U.S. have English and Spanish wording.

Years ago, I heard the company moved to Mexico, so if it's being produced there that's a good reason for the Spanish on the labels.

[Sage 80]

I hate instant coffee. I'd rather go without coffee than drink that. Instant coffee always has a chemical taste, IMO.

However, I've used it for making a coffee-flavored dessert, like mocha cake and icing.