Instant

A generic mug of coffee, on a saucer, with a biscotti to one sideHonestly, instant coffee isn’t that bad. Just as long as you don’t confuse it with the real thing. Right, so, that’s instant done. What’s next? What, you want to know more? Okay then…

Just as different types of coffee fill different niches in my life, so instant fills another niche. In fact, I’m drinking a mug of instant as I write this: organically-grown, fair-trade, decaf instant. Virtally all of my intake of instant is indeed decaf; that’s the niche it fills for me.

I have to be careful how much caffeine I have in one day; too much and I get palpitations and can’t sleep. About four mugs of strong coffee (and I don’t do anything other than strong coffee) is about my limit. However, there are plenty more times, particularly in the winter, when I feel in need of a long, warm drink, and that’s where decaf instant comes in. [Honestly, caffeinated instant though? What is the point of that?]. I do have decaffeinated beans and I do sometimes make myself a cafetiere of decaf, but more often than not, I go for the easy option of boiling the kettle, putting a spoon and a half of instant in the bottom of the mug and pouring the water on.

The key is not to make the mistake of thinking that it’s the same thing as real coffee. It isn’t. It’s a different drink, with a similar name. I’ve never drunk a cup of instant coffee, no matter how good, that has come close to real coffee, however it’s made, with the possible exception of a really weak filter or cafetiere coffee. Instant is just too watery and lacks the fullness of flavour you get with the real stuff.

So, there you have it. My run down on coffee, what I like, what I don’t and why. Any questions?

Back to the Coffee Page.

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