Instant Coffee?

[washer111]

Instant...

Having switched to ground coffee brewed in the French Press, I'm not partial to the stuff as much as I used to.

Granted, the taste is reasonable enough for the convenience and price, but unfortunately, the coffee lacks body and especially aroma in my case.

Yes, the Swedes, Norwegians and I suppose Danes and Fins all LOVE their coffee. Scandinavia officially has the highest consumption in the world. Its equivalent to the Russians/Poles and Vodka - their houses are "open," i.e. you can invite yourself around to your friends place whenever, and there is always coffee and cake ready, or Vodka - or it is shameful.
Perhaps we're just wired for the stuff. Coffee helps me relax, stay awake and even fall asleep!

 

[vacbear58]

Russell Hobbs

It always amazes me what makes it over to the other side of the pond, I had no idea the Russell Hobbs K2R kettle was sold in USA or Canada. In this country RH introduced the first kettle to automatically switch itself off in around 1956. The design was updated to the style Sandy shows above sometime in the early 1960s - I know when I changed primary school in February 1965 the staff room had one of these kettles. The design went right on into the 1980s although I do have to say the build quality was not that good - I purchased on myself in 1977 and I had replaced it by 1981. The design was updated to be in the style that PhilR shows and a cordless one was introduced. I bought one of these in around 1991 or so, and again by 1995 it had to be junked - this has always been a TOL design with a price to match so I was not impressed.

To date the best (as in most reliable) kettle I have ever had is my Siemens one (designed by Porsche no less) as has been the matching toaster.

That said, I do have a RH kettle in the collection along with the S/S Perc that Sandy showed in another thread as I do think they are design classics.

Al

 

[danemodsandy]

Alistair:

You're quite right, it is amazing what makes it to the U.S. That Russell Hobbs kettle had a tremendous vogue here - an '80s yuppie status symbol.

You'd be surprised how popular Midwinter and Langley (later Denby) pottery was here in the '60s and '70s, as well as Viners cutlery. In fact, cutlery was a favorite British import here for a long time, particularly Robert Welch's Alveston.

One huge lack was that we did not usually get British furniture, which would have been nice in the case of Ernest Race's designs. It's very rare to see a Race piece here (there have been Chinese copies of the Antelope chair; I almost dropped my teeth the first time I saw one, before I realized it wasn't real). For some unaccountable reason, you will see a piece of G-Plan furniture here once in a very great while.

 

[vacbear58]

Sandy

I have to hand it to you - you certainly know your stuff, in four and a half lines of text you have provided enough cues for a whole evening's enjoyable reading.

Here are a couple of links relating to a couple of the designers Sandy mentioned:

http://midcenturymagazine.com/furniture-objects/ernest-race-english-modernist-design/

Race Furniture is still in operation and still manufactures some of the old designs (at eye watering prices!) although it seems the bulk of its business is now in auditorium seating

http://www.racefurniture.com/

Also, Robert Welch
http://www.robertwelch.com/Content.aspx?id=1108293

returning to the thread topic but I mostly drink Nescafe Gold Blend coffee and as a treat for my new home (more about that coming soon) I treated myself to a retro coffee service. Not Midwinter nor Denby (still available but if I am honest I don't much care for it) but Hornsea whose products (or imitations of same) seemed to be EVERYWHERE in the 1970s

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=h...ei=lH6tVP_ZMor2UuCUhPgB&ved=0CC0QsAQ&dpr=0.95

I bought Hornsea Contrast, a design I have always liked - picture 2 - although I actually prefer drinking out of china cups or mugs. I suppose I will now have to get a shirt with a big collar, kipper tie and a jacket with wide lapels. By the way my "new" house was built in 1970 - at the rate I am going I will be living in the set of Abigail's Party!



Al

 

[lordkenmore]

Folger's instant

is good enough to be served in the finest restaurants!

Link to Folgers ad on YouTube:

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=91IlMsIJGUU

 

[lordkenmore]

Folgers' ads aside, I can't say I'm particularly taken by instant coffee.

My mother did keep it around for years, typically on the counter behind the cooktop. It was probably mostly used as a "I feel like having something to drink, but don't feel like brewing a full pot" things. IIRC, she called it "fake", not "instant" coffee...

These days, I will drink it, but it's not a routine thing. It can be handy to keep around for power failures, assuming one has a way of heating water (e.g. wood stove, or small campstove), although, of course, it can be argued that if one can do it, one could heat the water just a bit more and make French press coffee, which is better.

 

[danemodsandy]

Alistair:

And you have provided a flood of very wonderful memories - by mentioning Hornsea.

In my Atlanta house, which was nearly all midcentury, I had Hornsea Heirloom canisters, designed by John Clappison, in the green, blue and brown colors.

Again, these were something popular here; I found mine in Atlanta thrift stores, back when thrift stores were worth more time and effort than they are now.

And to bring the thread back to topic, there was an instant coffee jar in this range.

 

[lordkenmore]

when thrift stores were worth more time and effort

Nice to know my area isn't the only one with thrift shops that are increasing "not worth bothering with!"

 

[sudsmaster]

Water Kettles

I've been using a Seaco water kettle for about four years now. Costco had them at a good price ($30 or less). It's reliable and easy to operate. Four temp settings: 100, 150, 200, and 212/boiling. The three lower settings will keep the water warm for up to two hours. The boiling setting will come to a boil and then shut off. Each temp has an LED internal glow, and there's a distinctive beep when the water reaches the set temp.

 

I typically use the 200 setting to make tea, and things like instant mashed potatoes. The boiling setting of course is good for quick noodles (sou/noodle cups and bowls).

 

 

 

 

 

[joeekaitis]

Never drink it as a beverage, but . . .

. . . a heaping teaspoon of freeze-dried de-caf per cup of hot cocoa is heavenly. It doesn't taste like cocoa with coffee. It gives the cocoa a more intense chocolate flavor.

 

[michaelman2]

Joe, this is a great idea...sounds really good. I now have a good use for the jar of instant coffee I purchased for baking this season. My grandfather used to drink Taster's Choice and I remember the very unusual shape of the jar. I do not recall ever drinking instant coffee.

 

[sudsmaster]

Just picked up a big 4 lb. can of Cafe D'Vita Mocha Cappuccino powder. It's not bad with just hot water if you add more powder than recommended. LOL. Have not yet tried it with milk, ice, ice cream, whipped cream, etc. It might be good at work.

 

 

[frigilux]

A friend at work loves this cappuccino powder. She whisks a couple of tablespoons of it into her coffee, which must up the buzz factor, LOL.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I'm not partial to instant coffee, but Taster's Choice is about the best I've found.

I'd like to find an instant espresso that's not vile. I've had no luck with that at all.

I do tend to keep a jar of instant de-caf on hand for when I'm in the mood for an evening nightcap: coffee and Bailey's, coffee and Kaluha, etc.

I agree; whether de-caf or regular, coffee definitely improves the flavour of hot chocolate.

 

[mark_wpduet]

You know -

I RARELY, if ever drink instant coffee - but I think it's improved drastically over the years or something, because I remember trying some a LONG time ago and it was terrible.....but a few years ago I had no choice but to drink instant coffee for a couple of days and it was not bad at all, much better than I had remembered it being years before when I tried it. This was Kroger brand too, it wasn't even a name brand. I don't even know why it was in my cupboard to be honest. It may still be there.

 

[sudsmaster]

An instand espresso that's not vile...

Have you tried Medaglia d'Oro?

 

 

[whirlpolf]

Instants? Have drastically improved here

While some 5 years ago I wouldn't have trusted anyone offering me an instant coffee, I do tend to think differently now.

Penny's "Sofortwach" (= instantly alert/awake) just got me grabbing the jar just by the name. Jacob's "2 in 1" (milk + coffee = café au lait) or "3 in 1" sachets (café au lait with sugar) are able to stand up to their promises.

While I still prefer a nice cuppa with friends at a breakfast table, sometimes there isn't the time for it at all and you have to get going in no time.

So:
Less than 20 mins to go: Instant (and thus keeping my coworkers from my own grumpyness) = taste is reasonably well today.
More than 20 mins to go: Either multipresso wonder machine with zillions of presso-esso-matics to go haywire for no reason at all / good old grandma's own hand brew or some nice freshly ground filter or perk coffee and a nice "wakeywakey" chit chat in the morning.

Bad about it all: With the instant coffee quality having improved as it has, there is no more excuse for any "bad hair day" for me. *gg*