Looking for a decent tasting instant coffee (in both regular and decaf varieties). Prefer to buy in a jar as opposed to the higher cost individually packaged sticks of coffee. Something to have on hand when the power goes out.
Currently, we drink Folger’s Classic Medium Roast (a mixture of regular and decaf) at home in our coffeemaker.
My husband does not like flavored coffees, so we stay away from vanilla and hazelnut flavored coffees.
I was going to recommend the Starbuck’s sticks, but I see you are not looking for that.
We use an old-fashioned stove top percolator for when the power goes out (gas stove).
The Starbuck’s sticks are good for backpacking. The percolator is great for car camping.
If you like the taste of Folger’s, why not stick with their instant? I assume the flavor would be the same.
If you have the ability to heat water, have you tried a “pour over”? My husband is a coffee snob and it’s his favorite way to make coffee (initial investment of maybe $10 plus coffee filters). My husband grinds his own beans every day but you can certainly keep ground coffee on hand.
If having coffee quickly is your reason for drinking instant, I’d suggest a Nespresso coffee maker. Once you pop the pods in the machine you have coffee really quickly and IMO it’s much better than instant coffee.
Try WaKa, it comes in a foil lined bag and is supposed to be the most flavorsome of all instant coffees, and comes i a range of strengths.
I also prefer a Melita (pour over) coffee to instant. Same heating the water, pour over, maybe takes 1 minute longer for the drip than to just stir the instant.
My grandfather drank instant coffee. I never thought it smelled as good as ‘real’ coffee. He liked Folger’s crystals.
I second the pour over option as one that’ll give you real coffee. But that really depends on your tolerance for instant; if you’d prefer to have your same Folgers mix when the power is out, take a look at something like aeropress, v60, or chemex.
The only remotely drinkable instant coffee is the Starbucks stick coffee. But it doesn’t compare to real coffee. When we lose power, I light the gas stove, heat up water and make pour over. When bad weather is predicted, I grind some beans in advance so that I will have ground coffee on hand.
I will try Starbucks Instant Coffee. Does it only come in packets, or is there a place to buy in bulk?
Also, if we are used to Folgers Classic Medium Roast at home, which Starbucks Instant should I buy?
Trader Joe’s sells a small glass jar of instant coffee that I found surprisingly good on a recent camping trip. Sorry, I can’t remember the exact name, but it’s the only one they sell in a small jar.
If power is out, how are you heating your water? If you have a gas stove and can heat water, I agree, the pour over is a great option. My dad loved his for his evening coffee; in the morning he would make a small pot for himself, but in the evening it was a single cup of decaf.
Cafe La LLave has an instant version. I haven’t tried it yet. But if you favor espresso-type flavor, it could be worth investigating.
I have a french press which I use during power outages, and it makes great coffee. I have never found any instant coffee which tastes close to fresh brewed.
When power goes out at our cabin, I can heat water on the woodstove. Wouldn’t want to fire up the woodstove in summer, though…
@powercropper why are you looking for instant coffee? Is it for ease of making, long term storage, use in other cooking? Why?
I want coffee when power goes out. Our neighborhood is older, full of tall trees, and we often lose power for 3 days when a bad storm hits and we wait for downed trees to be removed and power lines reattached.
A cup of coffee goes a long way towards helping me survive mentally.
I finally decided I am going to order and try Kroger Simple Truth organic instant.
So you have a way to heat hot water when the power goes out…why can’t you use your regular means of making coffee? I’m guessing there is a reason…but what?
When we lost power after a hurricane, we heated water using Sterno or our gas grill an we used Folgers Coffee Singles. They’re like tea bags but with coffee inside. Better than nothing!
https://www.folgerscoffee.com/coffees/single-serve-coffee/classic-roast-singles
If you have European delis in your area, they usually carry some decent European instant coffees. Like this one.