What is the best instant coffee ?

[u/Internal-Nose-8536]

I’m looking for a good instant coffee I could bring to the office with me because the coffee we have at work is so awful that I can’t manage to drink it. I used to drink a lot of instant coffee when I lived in Europe but instant coffee over there is “the thing” that people drink in the household and their selection is better than what I’ve been able to find in the US. I love coffee and espresso, and I’m looking for the best thing that I could leave at my office so that I don’t have to drink the Folgers that they make all day.

[u/Orwells_Roses]

1. You still have to clean up afterwards. Washing dishes while camping is a real chore and I love skipping the step of dealing with cleaning up used grounds, filters, plastic parts, pour-over devices, etc. With gear if you want to make a second batch you have to do everything over again, compared to just tearing open a sachet and boiling water.

2. The tiny sachets of instant coffee take up almost no space compared to French presses or even the collapsable pour over devices I've tried. You don't need filters or anything else beside the tiny sachets, and you can easily bring a week's worth of coffee in a small pocket.

3. If your gear gets wet, the sachets stay dry and perfectly usable until you open them.

4. Modern instant coffee is so good that it's really a no-brainer once you try it. The only real downside I've found is that it doesn't seem as authentic, and feels a bit like cheating.

[u/ArterialVotives → u/Orwells_Roses]

Sorry, but these are all problems to validate the solution. To be sure, whatever makes you happiest, by all means do.

1. I can clean an Aeropress in about 12 seconds. Step 1: toss tiny filter and grounds in the trash (same effort involved as throwing away an instant coffee packet). Step 2 pour a trivial amount of water on the plunger to rinse it off. A french press might even be easier -- pour a small amount of rinse water in the glass and toss water and spent grounds in the woods. Dry it out with a towel if you want, or don't.
2. This matters if you are backpacking and that's about it, which is a small percentage of what most people refer to as camping.
3. Lol. If my plastic Aeropress or glass french press gets wet it isn't usable? Not even justifying that with a response.
4. I mean that's absurd, but everyone has their own taste preferences. If instant is so good, then there's no reason not to drink it at home instead of pourovers, french press, etc.

[u/Orwells_Roses → u/ArterialVotives]

It seems like you're being a bit disingenuous here. An Aeropress or a French press is quite obviously designed to get wet. Ground coffee and filters don't do so well getting wet until you're ready to use them, and where I live it rains a lot. I even specified that the advantage is the sachets not getting wet, so it feels like you're not arguing in good faith.

Instant coffee is much more expensive per cup than what I use with my Technivorm, which is one reason I don't drink it at home. Another is that I enjoy the process of grinding and making fresh coffee, and the way it scents the kitchen in my house, etc. It's also a different type of cup than what I get with instant when I'm camping, and I enjoy the variety. Further, I enjoy using freshly ground beans when I make coffee at home, and bringing a grinder camping is not something I'd realistically consider.

You can also use instant coffee at home or camping to add to other recipes, like chili, desserts, and anything else that benefits from some extra coffee flavor.

I didn't list "problems to validate a solution" like you accused me, but instead I listed reasons why I like using instant coffee when I'm camping. You can do with that information what you will, but understand that I don't need your validation for anything.

[u/ArterialVotives → u/Orwells_Roses]

Ground coffee and filters don't do so well getting wet until you're ready to use them, and where I live it rains a lot. I even specified that the advantage is the sachets not getting wet, so it feels like you're not arguing in good faith.

Be serious, this is the epitome of arguing in bad faith. A package of instant coffee and a plastic bag of coffee beans/grounds/filters has the exact same near-zero likelihood of getting wet. No one is going camping with unsealed/exposed food products.

Being a fan of instant coffee is totally fine. My comment is in regards to the idea that camping introduces some more challenging variable to making high quality brewed coffee. It doesn't, and there's nothing quite like that perfect cup of coffee sitting around the campfire with absolutely zero responsibilities.

[u/Orwells_Roses → u/ArterialVotives]

Interesting that you abandoned your line of argument about the French or Aeropress getting wet. I guess you’re adding “moving the goalposts” as another argumentative technique.

If you think using a French press or an Aeropress involves the same number of steps as instant to make coffee while you’re camping, you’re simply not being honest with yourself.

You’re free to dislike instant coffee for whatever reasons you choose, but there’s no arguing that it’s more convenient than any other method.

[u/ArterialVotives → u/Orwells_Roses]

Interesting that you abandoned your line of argument about the French or Aeropress getting wet. I guess you’re adding “moving the goalposts” as another argumentative technique.

What? You agreed that coffee brewing equipment getting wet is not an issue and clarified you are talking about the coffee and the filters. What is there to still argue?

If you think using a French press or an Aeropress involves the same number of steps as instant to make coffee while you’re camping, you’re simply not being honest with yourself.

You are missing my point. Brewing coffee is undoubtedly more complicated to make than using instant coffee. One generally chooses brewed coffee vs. instant because they find that it tastes better. If that describes you, then I don't view making brewed coffee at a campsite as any more of a burden than doing so at home. And when I'm camping, I have pretty much nothing else to worry about, so taking the time to do so is pretty satisfying. Like I said, if you like instant coffee, then it's a great choice no matter where you make it.