Instant Coffee?

[vintagekitchen]

The current thread on coffee makers got me thinking, are there any other guys on the site who prefer instant coffee?

Granny always kept Folgers crystals, it was all my Grandpa would drink when I was young. Seems like a lot of housewives from her generation in this area got on the instant bandwagon, during the instant everything craze of the 60s.

It's probably because I grew up drinking instant, but instant just seems smoother to me than brewed coffee, and more consistent. I even have a vintage Pyrex carafe made just for instant coffee. My brand of choice is JFG when I can find it, but Maxwell House does fine in a pinch.

 

[philr]

There are many around me who drink instant coffee. They all add milk to it. I don't like milk and I don't like instant coffee either! I can drink one if somebody offers one to me but won't ask for a second! And maybe because they add milk, most of them like it with very hot water. My grandfather liked it with water boiled in the microwave oven. I remember when he poured the instant coffee in the mug, it made a reaction that doesn't happen when the water is boiled in the kettle, the fine bubbles made it look almost like an Expresso served in a large mug (but the taste was different!). I think that't because the mug itself becomes hot when water boils in it for a while in the microwave oven while the boiling water from the electric kettle cools down when poured in a cool mug.

Electric kettles are very popular in Canada and I can't tell you if English-speaking people use it mainly for tea or coffee but French-speaking Canadians use them a lot for instant coffee!
But I noticed that many instant coffee drinkers in my family have switched or partially switched to K cups, even those that you fill manually... They just don't want to use a percolator or a drip coffee maker!
I do collect electric kettles but I mostly use them for tea.

 

[danemodsandy]

Phil:

I wonder if you're familiar with the electric kettle pictured below? It's a North American-spec Russell Hobbs C-110B in brushed stainless.

These were very popular and plentiful here in the States during the 1980s, and very rare today. I always wanted a C-110, which is the polished finish instead of the brushed.

Do these survive in Canada?

P.S.: My parents were both big instant coffee drinkers; Taster's Choice was their favorite. When I was old enough for coffee, I tried it, and went, "Meh." THEN I got hold of a cup of Chase & Sanborn at my grandmother's. That started my lifelong love affair with coffee. Brewed coffee.

 

[philr]

Sandy, I have a similar one which has an all-plastic white handle. I got two of these at thrift stores on Montreal but never saw them around where I live. They must have been more popular with British/English-speaking people. Around here most had GE kettles. Unlike the Russel Hobbs, the GE kettles with the boil-simmer feature kept heating the water at a lower wattage like a percolator would do after boiling it. They weren't made of stainless and didn't have a removeable cover like the Russel-Hobbs.

 

[iheartmaytag]

My step-dad

Was an instant coffee drinker, Taster's Choice Decaf.
I think he drank instant because he only had one cup in the morning, and didn't want to make/waste a pot. This was before the day of the one cup makers.

He has been gone for many years now, occasionally I will have a cup of instant if someone offers it. I find it bland and weak, but passable if that is all that is available. As for K-cups--don't like them either. Reminds me of when they tried to market the coffee bags.

 

[rp2813]

The only times I've found myself drinking instant coffee over the years have been when I was on vacation in Mexico.  The average restaurant or hole-in-the-wall down there serves Nescafe exclusively.  It's not awful, but it's not satisfying either.  I chalk it up to part of the experience.

 

I have a jar of instant coffee in the cupboard here.  I had to buy it because a recipe called for it.  It has sat there ever since I made whatever baked good it was.

 

[danemodsandy]

Russell Hobbs Kettle:

Phil:

The Russell Hobbs C-110 was one of those 1980s yuppie must-haves, along with the Cuisinart DLC-7 processor, the Dualit toaster, Henckels knives and KitchenAid K-5A mixers.

Like all these other things, the Hobbs kettle was of lifetime quality, if only it was cared for, which doomed it to early extinction in the hands of the average American.

I wanted one at the time, but never got around to the purchase, and then suddenly, Hobbs dropped that model in favor of other designs I did not care for.

 

[wayupnorth]

Electric teakettles are very popular still in Canada and the UK. I remember there was one used quite often on Keeping Up Appearances. Thanks, but no thanks on instant coffee or a tea bag.

 

[circlew]

The only people I knew that had these electric kettles were my Aunt Margaret (who is originally from Scotland), and one of my now deceased neighbors. Both were GE.

 

[whirlaway]

Emergency Coffee!

I try to keep a jar of Maxwell-House around just in case,I really need a big boost and if Im in a hurry.Plenty of carnation and sugar.In case you dont want to waste whats left,it makes a dandy paint remover!

 

[twintubdexter]

boy I sure steer these topics way off course

My mom brewed an excellent pot of perked coffee on the stove and for special occasions she'd use her Universal Coffeematic, but their daily morning brew was instant. My Swedish friends who I had known since age 3 and who's mother went to high school with my mom got me drinking coffee (black) when we started college. I never understood the connection between Swedes (who live thousands of miles from where it's grown) and coffee. They drank coffee morning and night. Mrs. Anderson worshipped two sets of idols...Joe Dimaggio and Mr. Coffee...and Mrs. Olson and Folgers.

 

Since the Andersons got me hooked on brewed coffee I decided to buy a Bunn Pour-O-Matic and make real coffee for my parents in the morning. They both appreciated it but mom did not like my dad telling her "gee, this coffee is sure much better than the stuff you make." I think they went back to instant after I graduated and moved to San Francisco.

 

Those Swedish kids I grew up with, twins named Ron & Rhonda, still live in San Jose and somewhere I have Ron's address. I really should contact him before it's too late. We've known each other for 62 years and we're sure not spring chickens anymore.

 

[sudsmaster]

I tried freeze dried coffee back in the 1980's, but got frustrated because the stuff would grow mold in the jar before I could use all of it.

 

IMHO the best instant coffee is



Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso

 

 

 

[wayupnorth]

There is another 240 cup Maxwell House in my pantry at all times and have 3 other coffee makers just in case. If the power goes out, I can still make 2 cups of coffee with a strainer, pot and my gas stove. Nope, no more instant for me, ever.

 

[yogitunes]

we have coffee makers of all types, seems endless......from electric to stove top...

I like the Bunn VPR because its fast....but always like a percolator with a glass top to see the coffee bubbling up as it brewed...

as for instant, Mom always had Sanka available for anyone wanting DeCaf coffee....

does anyone add chicory to their coffee anymore?....I have some, but never noticed a difference with or without...

 

[alr2903]

Kevin your pot/carafe looks a lot like the one in thread #57758. 

Yogi, coffee with chicory is very common in New Orleans, lots of Luzianne.    IIRC,  Chicory is in the blend in the green bag.

 

[petek]

Never a big instant fan. I tried it for a short period when I left home and got my first little apartment many moons ago and later bought one of the newer fangled drip machines. I think it's one of those things that if you grow up drinking it you prefer it over real coffee.. not in all cases mind you.

 

[xraytech]

A great uncle used to always have Tasters Choice instant coffee, I remember how vile it tasted, as soon as I started reading this thread I very quickly recalled that horrible taste.

I keep a small jar of maxwell house instant in the cupboard for a few baked goods that call for it

 

[circlew]

I don't drink coffee, but like the flavor in ice cream, frosting, etc. I occasionally buy a jar of Maxwell House if I need it for a recipe.

 

[polkanut]

Just the smell of instant coffee makes me want to run to the bathroom with my hand over my mouth.