Good coffee

Paul Watson

Does anyone know of a good, off-the-shelf instant coffee available in the U.K./Ireland? I've checked out Tescos and Dunnes and the range is pretty poor. Most of it is either Nescafe or a store-brand which I am wary to try. Is there a good Nescafe blend? The Gold one isn't my cup of tea. Taste wise I like rich, full, sweeter, less bitter coffees, so French coffee is pretty much out (man, French coffee is awful. It might be quality but you might as well take some coffee beans and chew them with a mouth full of boiling water.) Java or Columbian is normally the taste I like. I bought some CafeDirect 5065 fair trade coffee and it is decent but I can't help thinking there is something better on the shelf. And before you reply that there is no good instant coffee I'd say that I agree but it is our only option. This is for the office and we share a kettle on the second floor. Our budget doesn't cover an Italian coffee machine and we can't be bothered to hassle with filter coffee machines. We want something simple and quick to make with a reasonable taste. regards, Paul Watson Ireland Colib and ilikecameras. K(arl) wrote: oh, and BTW, CHRISTIAN ISN'T A PARADOX, HE IS A TASMANIAN!

peterchen

Paul Watson wrote:

It might be quality but you might as well take some coffee beans and chew them with a mouth full of boiling water

Actually, if you replace the boiling water with a chocolate cover, it's yummy! Does a French Press[^] count as "hassle" too? All people using it saying it's the easiest. Or can you train the office girl to create a steadily flowing stream of dark, rich, flavorful, not to bitter coffee?

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73Zeppelin

Paul Watson wrote:

This is for the office and we share a kettle on the second floor. Our budget doesn't cover an Italian coffee machine and we can't be bothered to hassle with filter coffee machines. We want something simple and quick to make with a reasonable taste.

Unfortunately I have no suggestions for instant coffee. But, why not try a French press[^] type machine? Makes beautiful coarse ground coffee.

Paul Watson

hmm that might work. You can get 2/3 cup plungers which is the max. size we want. I'll float the idea with the guys and see if the boss will buy one. Thanks for the idea. regards, Paul Watson Ireland Colib and ilikecameras. K(arl) wrote: oh, and BTW, CHRISTIAN ISN'T A PARADOX, HE IS A TASMANIAN!

James Brown

kenco or carte-noir
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Garth J Lancaster

I havnt drunk instant in soooooo long .. but If I cant get a nice roast/grind and a (what you call French-Press I think), down here in Aus you can get 'coffee bags', which are half soluble half ground coffee, you use them like tea-bags ... they produce an almost drinkable cup 'g'

mmikey7

I don't drink coffee anymore. However in the times when I used to my favourite instant brands were Nescafe Gold[^] and Douwe Egberts Toccata. I didn't find Toccata in the Douwe Egberts' UK web site but if you'll look at these instant coffes[^] the Organic Instant or Continental Gold seems to be similiar to Toccata[^]. Hope my english is understandable.

Paul Watson

Thanks, they were on the shelf and I'll try them out. regards, Paul Watson Ireland Colib and ilikecameras. K(arl) wrote: oh, and BTW, CHRISTIAN ISN'T A PARADOX, HE IS A TASMANIAN!

Roger Wright

I've tried most US brands and have yet to find one that remotely resembles coffee in flavor. They're all horrible, and most times a plain cup of hot water would be more enjoyable. Good luck in your (I fear) futile quest! X| "...a photo album is like Life, but flat and stuck to pages." - Shog9

Jorgen Sigvardsson

Michal Martinka wrote:

Hope my english is understandable.

Yes, just #include <stdio.h> and you'll be able to call printf(). :-D Your english is excellent in my opinion. :)

Member 96

Poor bastard, has no one ever told you that there are literally 2's of solutions to that situation that still avoid instant chemical coffee like substance, use a french press or one of these: http://miniminit.com/[^]

Gary R Wheeler

Paul Watson wrote:

Is there a good Nescafe blend? The Gold one isn't my cup of tea.

Well, this thread is about coffee, now.

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Lost User

Im not a big fan of instant coffee but this is drinkable. I dont know if it is available overseas though. I have taken a vow of poverty. If you want to really piss me off, send me money.

normanS

I have found that those "french plungers" (reserve sexual connotations for the soapbox please) are a pain in the ars* to clean. And they tend to leave significant amounts of fine sediment. I hates them! Others obviously disagree. I have a simple funnel with base from "House of Coffees" or similar - this sits on top of your mug and takes a normal 1X2 or 1X4 coffee filter. Use hot water from the kettle. Simple, easy to clean, etc. There is a similar device which takes a circular, flat filter paper, about 8cm in diameter. Avoid it like the plague, for 2 reasons - first, it is impossible to make a decent quantity of decent strength coffee (paper gets clogged after about a quuarter cup!), and second, it is a pain to clean (unlike the funnel design, where the ground coffee only comes into contact with the filter paper, with this one the device itself gets coated with crud.

Anna Jayne Metcalfe

I can recommend Kenco too. I go for the "Really Smooth" variety (in the red jar), but you may want to try the blue one ("Really Rich") as well. Anna :rose: Currently working mostly on: Visual Lint :cool: Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.

Paul Watson

Thanks Anna-Jayne, I'll try that out. regards, Paul Watson Ireland Feed Henry! K(arl) wrote: oh, and BTW, CHRISTIAN ISN'T A PARADOX, HE IS A TASMANIAN!

Howard Richards

Douwe Egberts instant is good. Better still - almost as fast as instant coffee is a coffee maker like Senseo. It can make two cups of filter in the same time it takes to boil a kettle. 'Howard

Paul Watson

Wow and the Senseo is pretty cheap too. Thanks Howard. regards, Paul Watson Ireland Feed Henry! K(arl) wrote: oh, and BTW, CHRISTIAN ISN'T A PARADOX, HE IS A TASMANIAN!

pcthelp

Firstly, the key to a good coffee, is a good coffee machine - I recommend a Gaggia coffee maker (a model that will grind coffee beans). If you can't afford a Gaggia machine, go for the alternative - a coffee grinder and a cafitere. Secondly, abeit a possible myth, keep your coffee beans in the refrigerator - apparently, this will keep the beans fresh and make for a better cup of coffee. As to were you purchase, Starbucks is good but you can't seem to order online with them. Having said that, I prefer coffee from 'Has Bean' http://www.hasbean.co.uk - you can buy both coffee beans and equipment. Thirdly, some head-ache tablets - in case you drink too much coffee ;P Hope this helps

Anurien

5065 is as good as it gets in instant coffee. Try putting the milk in first, this way you get a kind of froth thing going on. Chief Nerd RPGXplorer