@@hazaubel6532By the way, that song is called Shakey Jake. Full version is 13 minutes long. Highly recommended as an auditory palate cleanser. Love that tune and that scene. Some fuuuuuunky moves goin on there.
It's the same as when I tried to explain to my friends how much the music of their favorite band did absolutely nothing to me. They were saying that I hated it, but no, I was just profoundly neutral about it. I think that sentiment confused them hahahaha
I've found that adding a little cold water to dry instant coffee to rehydrate first, then topping off with hot water, really helps with the flavor. Adding hot water directly seems to add some burnt notes.
was going to say a little about this since they are already processed, most likely she could have used too hot water for every one. don't go overboard with heat for coffee or tea - you do indeed over cook, and get less than optimal flavors
On reddit, I received a very good tip for instant coffee for backpacking or camping. If you use water that isn't boiling. Closer to 180, instant coffee tastes a lot better. I have found it to be true.
My two cents is that with instant you have to mix to your preference instead of the instructions. I have always kept Medaglia D’Oro around for baking, and only used it once as espresso when I ran out of coffee one morning. Since then, I keep it around for coffee, too. I mix it about twice as strong as the instructions, and it’s an incredible stand-in for espresso if you’re making a flavored latte. Black coffee? Probably not. But made with milk instead of water, and a little sugar, it kicks butt.
I picked it up for backpacking, and kept it in our pantry for normal drinking too. It's a solid product. Also comes in glass, and sealed with foil. It seems to have a good shelf life. The river website has it by the case for a good price.
My mother always kept a can of Medaglia D'Oro ground coffee for the moka or Neopolitan coffee pots and I grew up drinking it. With milk and sugar, of course, which is still how I prefer my espresso. Back then, it was about the only pre-ground espresso around here in Virginia until Cafe Bustelo came along at some point. Though, also back in the day, you could grind whole beans right in the store down to espresso fineness. We never encountered the M D'O instant until I was an adult, but it was nice to have for when you didn't want to fool with the pot. I still keep both the ground and instant around to this day. But, yeah, if you follow the directions on the instant, it comes out somewhere in-between espresso and regular coffee. So, you do have to go heavier on the powder, if you do want it full strength. Damn. I think I want a cup now.
I am disabled, I used to drink dark French press daily. After my last fracture standing became difficult, so I switched to instant. Waiting for the water to boil, pouring, waiting for the brew and then the clean up became too difficult. I would have given up on coffee but I need a hot drink in the morning for a medication. Instant works but the quality can change year to year depending on the coffee they make it from.
My daughter bought us a kurig when I got sick and had such a long recovery from cancer the first time round. I do still occasionally buy good beans and grind/French press them as I love pressed coffee but the ease of the kureg when I'm just too tired is nice. I just am recovering from cancer part 2, and it's slower going this time. But the quickness of the coffee pods really helps. And you can buy such a variety and I even have refillable cartridges for my own coffees.
Morgannnnnnnnn did you know that speaking of "all these concentrates look like soy sauce", they actually use soy sauce in coffee commercials instead of coffee itself cause it looks better lol.
Indeed I did. And here’s a funny little story to go along with that. I once was on a commercial shoot for the launch of a major product line and we fully ran out of coffee near the end of the day and had to resort to using heated soy sauce instead. So, technically, there is footage of me somewhere on the internet where I’m happily sipping what is actually a cup of soy sauce.
@@asteria4279 Not at all, you'd be surprised to learn but many food products they use for commercials or promo pictures are entirely inedible lol. You should look up a video that goes over what they substitutes they use, it's pretty interesting
@@asteria4279very few commercials use the actual product as the end consumer would in real life... especially in food advertising... they hire food stylists to create the image of the product they want to sell you without it actually being the product... most of the food in commercials is inedible... things like glue and paint and motor oil and shaving cream and dry ice are used because they look better on camera and hold up better under studio lights
@@asteria4279 maybe in your communist country, but here in America we let the the people decide what is best for us, the people in charge of the corporations.
Just a note that if you live here in the USA you can find Cometeer coffee at some Sprouts grocery stores so you don't have to go the subscription route if you're lucky enough to have a store close by that carries it. That being said, I've come to love Cometeer coffee ever since finding out about them through your channel. Thank you for the great videos!
Seeing BOTH of my instant brands on a Morgan video thumbnail was not on my bingo card 😂😂😂 (I’m a diehard instant lover, always powdered espresso in milk with ALL the sugar, yet I make dirty chai with top of the line tea & masala. The green cap is the “good stuff” and the big yellow jar is “everyday.” Both jars are top shelf for reusing.
I’ve used the Medaglia in baking quite a bit and I find it works really well there. When I wanted to drink it though, I used 1.5x times the suggested amount and found it was much better!
Love the smell of Medaglia, makes sense it would be great for baking. For me I've found adding it to a "regular" instant coffee really punches up the cup.
“Quenchiest” and “squeeze my coffee paste”… I learn more from Morgan’s videos than I did in any English or creative writing class 😂 All kidding aside, instant coffee is fine by me, sometimes folks just don’t have the time or the energy (or even the money) to make pour overs or even a drip pot, I know I’ve been there! As long as their coffee is tasty to them, then I’m happy.
When I travel internationally, I like to take Bustelo "sticks" and Vietnamese single coffee packs just in case. So easy to pack and use on the go, though the Italian Pocket Coffee is handy to have as well!
As a James Hoffmann watcher, I always appreciate the slurp. 😉 Thank you for being so thorough on instant coffee. I know it can be looked down on in the coffee word but some really enjoy it and some don't have a choice about their coffee source. Great to see you investigating all avenues of coffee prep.
I lost the worry I had with instant coffee when I started to prepare it with milk. Surprisingly, the smell was very nostalgic to me and my mom told me that was my grandma’s favorite way to drink coffee. They’re definitely different than my regular coffee, but still solid! ❤
Did you pour the hot water directly into the powder/crystal coffee? That's been somewhat known to often burn the coffee. I saw a video saying "use a little cold water to dissolve it, then add hot water to fill up the rest of the cup" and it's made a huge difference in how the crystalized instant coffees taste.
Yes, I was going to bring up both of these things. In Asian markets I've run across a sort of Chinese origami fold-out pour-over situation that comes in packets, and I sort of like it on an instant coffee level. And also when I was in Wales recently, I grabbed some fancy-looking coffee bags as M&S Food and they really saved my mornings on the road, especially since UK hotels always have kettles but their instant coffee game varies wildly.
i remember way back in the mid 90's long before good instant coffee was available Folgers had a single serving of coffee grounds in a tea bag. at the time it was a huge improvement over instant. would be interesting to see how that stands up to todays offerings of instant coffee.
I had the decaf tea bags and I'd say it stood up pretty well against a percolation brewed coffee. But I've only used instant for baking or really really weird flavors that I wouldn't recommend.
Not sure if you have this in America but here in the UK we have Nescafe Azera. It is in a tin rather than a jar. It is soluble instant coffee with 5% roasted and finely ground beans added. The ground beans end up sinking to the bottom of the cup and being left there when you have finished, but they add a very nice flavour to the drink.
As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve found good enjoyment with Starbucks’ Blonde Roast instant. I mostly drink tea, so only have a kettle, and for the infrequent times I’m craving coffee, it’s just not worth having bespoke pour-over tools; the Starbucks Blonde Roast has a really bright, smooth flavor that’s a treat to drink, and I love that it’s packaged completely in recyclable aluminum pots, too.
It's not super unconventional, but my instant coffee of choice is Nescafe Azera. It's a mix of instant coffee and ground beans, made into a very fine powder and intended to make an Americano style drink - all 3 variants are labelled as such (Americano, Americano Intense and Decaf Americano). The fineness of the powder means it dissolves very quickly and smoothly, even in cool water (a nice shortcut when I'm in the mood for an iced drink!) and theirs is probably the best tasting instant decaf I've had, at least in terms of super easy to obtain options (it's in most UK supermarkets, even the smaller local branches). It's probably still not going to live up to these fancy options, but it makes a very pleasant iced caramel oat milk latte and that's my main concern!
instant coffee, Starbucks - medium or dark (intense I thing) 1.5 teaspoons. + 1/8 teaspoon turmeric + pinch of black pepper (have to make sure you body absorbs the goodness of turmeric) + 1.5 teaspoon honey (or more if you need) boil 1 ounce of water and pour onto the coffee turmeric honey black pepper mix. Add 5 to 6 ounces hot Vanilla Silk Soy Milk (Blue cartoon). I just pour cold into the mix above after I stir it and microwave it for 1 minute 15 seconds. mix with a frother and enjoy. Earthy...sweet...rich...oh yeah. Other plant milks might destroy the experience since their flavors, or even other brands of Soy milk might be gross. No idea what it tastes like with dairy milk but I would think 4% (sometimes labeled 'Whole Milk' at the store) should be pretty good and rich.
i have a little jar of the medaglia around all the time. i sometimes have it hot, but i prefer it in hot almond milk as more of a latte. black isn't too bad in small amounts. it does burn if your water is too hot. as an added bonus, i also buy larger containers of a more neutral yogurt, and sometimes i add some crystals and mix in well to flavor a serving. great tasting video!
There are two instant coffee products here in Australia that you can get that are quite interesting. We have one that’s coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk, which is, of course, super sweet and milky. The idea is you’re meant to just be able to tip boiling water in, and you get a coffee with milk ready to go (black drip coffee is almost non-existent here, we favour espresso based drinks, usually on steamed milk and we use less added ingredients) The other is a coffee bag, which mixes instant and a more traditional coffee that you steep like a tea bag. And it’s not bad, all things considered.
I'm a Nescafe Clasico fan, I find the Clasico has the nicest flavor of grocery store available coffees that I have tried. That being said, I almost always use it for iced coffees which I think are more forgiving of instant. I mix it with a little lukewarm water to dissolve it, then add in the ice and milk and any additional cold water to get it to the strength one likes. I did just buy their new Iced Coffee specific instant, but I haven't gotten the chance to try it yet.
Idk if it counts as “instant”, but Cometeer frozen coffee pods have been my favorites. You can make hot or cold with them, and they’re the only instant or quick coffee that I could drink hot and unsweetened because it was just that good.
I use the megdalia d oro as the espresso shot in my daily cup. If im putting it into an iced coffee, i rehydrate it first with just a splash of water and it works wonderfully for me. It adds a decent amount of depth to my keurig pods of generic/whatever was on sale coffee.
Don't feel bad about having all of that coffee concentrate now. As an ingredient, coffee concentrate is astounding in baked goods, especially things like chocolate chip cookies and brownies. It amps up the chocolate flavor enormously.
This was quite fun to watch! I see I am an odd man out though because I prefer instant coffee when I make coffee at home. I like the taste better than regular coffee with all 3 ways I regularly make my coffee ^-^
A few years ago I signed up for a Jot subscription to receive a really neat Fellow mug. The mug is awesome and I use it all the time. The coffee was honestly pretty bad imo and I regret letting the subscription go on for a few months.
Recently a younger colleague watched me make and drink a cup of Moccona with utter fascination. Somehow he'd managed to get through 20-something years without ever being introduced to instant, so his entire experience of coffee was espresso. What a blessed life
I have always preferred espresso over most other forms, however thanks the instant coffee info…. I love having a little not terrible instant around for baking..
Love that video so much, I use instant cofee a lot while camping, on trail etc..., and I often use central mountain cofee Kubees (they're instant cofee cubes) It's practical, no need to measure it and pretty good to drink on the trail, it also exist with already mixed in powdered milk etc... Now I wonder how it would have done in that panel.
My folks drank instant coffee for a long time, it was like instant mud to me, compared to a good pour over, and I have not tried it since, that was 20 plus years ago, but I value your opinion on all things coffee
While not in the lineup in this video, I would recommend checking out Black & White Roasters for some killer instant coffees. Savage Coffee also has some really interesting premium ones.
Very interesting video! I personally use instant coffee to make my iced lattes at home since I don't have the space or money for an espresso machine. Maybe you could do a video trying them as lattes or something! That would be another cool video. Maybe even the rankings would change? Idk just a suggestion! The coffee paste is a bit intriguing, I've never heard of it!
I love Nescafe 3 in 1 coffee. When I visited the Philippines my fiancee introduced it to me. It's only available in the Philippines, but you can find it in a Philippine grocery stores.
I didn't see anyone mention it after some light scrolling, so I'll suggest Starbucks Via would have been a good one to include. That's our family go-to for camping / backpacking / travel to non-coffee places.
You should go to the biggest Chinese and Japanese grocery stores where you live and check out all the instant/convenience coffee offerings. They're becoming more common in standard western markets. I don't know if I'd call them good, usually the coffee is a little dark, kinda flat, and usually already sweetened. But there's liquid concentrates, blendy sticks, pop open paper pour over things, cans and cans and more cans. Coffee and tea and powdered milk and sugar all mixed together.
The nescafe 3 in 1, and Starbucks via in the sticks aren't too bad. However the Korean 3 in 1 sticks are amazing compared to others I've tried especially the G7.
Over here in the UK I believe instant coffee is more common than ground, there's a vast array when you go into the supermarket. I'd say try the barista style powdered instant coffees like Nescafé Azera, or the Carte Noir (can't remember the variation but it's the same thing) Personally my every day go to is Dowe Egberts, the one with the gold label or sometimes the black label one, really good instant coffee 👍 Maybe do a video on UK instant coffee to see the difference?
There are a bunch of coffee concentrates on the market now. They’re refrigerated. Some do have some added ingredients, I guess mostly for body. I use one on a regular basis for ice coffee called Cool Brew. It’s nothing but coffee, chicory and water. That’s the original blend. Being from New Orleans, it taste like the most like to me. They recommend water to concentrate ratio of 1 to 1 but I tend to light my coffee strong so I do 4 to 1. They have a French roast that’s just coffee and water as well. They also have some flavored which I have no desire to try.
If you happen to have a Korean Supermarket nearby you should try the Maxim 100 Arabica instant coffee that comes with a brown cap in a borosilicate container. its one of my go to instant coffee.
Absolutely love the cafe bustelo decaf. I don't think I have ever read the directions, I just mix creamer with the coffee then add hot water. I agree with the other comments on here that suggest it may be better if dissolved in cold water before adding hot water. Another great usage for instant is to up the coffee flavor strength in some weaker coffees or flavored coffees :) Also makes great quick iced coffee
i think you should've also included a very standard brand like Nescafe or Folgers in the comparison; i think most people around the world would picture a bottle of Nescafe when they hear "instant coffee".... and although Folgers isn't known for their instant coffee, it does exist, and i believe Folgers would be the brand most associated with at-home coffee in the US... and if you want to pander to the people of India, pick up a packet of 'Bru' (brand of coffee from India) 😁
I am a die-hard Cafe Bustello stan, but also, I use about 3x as much as directed per cup, put it directly into hot milk, and also use an equal amount of sugar to balance it out, as well as flavors and extracts and spices as desired. Sometimes I'll even make it into a syrup itself (equal parts powder, sugar, and water) and just put it over ice cream or into cold milk, etc. though maybe some of the other options would also be good! But the 17¢ a cup, even accounting for my concentration that's still only 51¢ a cup, that's a big draw.
Asian grocery store. There is several dozen varieties of South Asian instant coffees in single use satchets. Almost all are sweet, but vary in cream. The instants are labeled from Black, to Brown, to White coffee by the amounts of instant creamer included. Additionally some have a spice added that is the way it is consumed there, like dark chocolate (Viet Nam) or Cardamon (Indonesia).
You should try UCC Craftmans Drip Coffee Bag Rich Special Blend. It's sold in Asian markets and it comes in this tea bag like pouch that opens up into this pour over device that sits on the rim of your coffee cup. Best "instant" or travel safe coffee.
I've been drinking Medaglia d'Oro for YEARS now, almost exclusively. It's very nice with honey and half and half. I will say, I haven't tried other instant coffees, and I do this one solely for convenience, as I value sleep over most other things. I like that the flavor is adjustable, and I've managed to find it for $3.60-$3.80/jar this whole time, and we buy it by a dozen jars. I think yor rating is very fair, altho I...don't think I've ever had it plain. May have to try that. I'm glad it ended up on your list! ❤
I’d love to see the Asian instant coffees in the next video. And I’ve been wondering if you ever try out the Asian coffee scene in Portland? I want to see Morgan in the wild ❤
I feel like Cometeer should almost be in a different competition, and is more akin to pod coffees and pod espressos. In the same way many pod coffees require a plugged in device, Cometeer requires the puck to be frozen and thus a freezer. It isn’t office, travel, work friendly in that it has to be kept frozen the whole time until use. This is just an opinion, but everytime I see instant reviews, I feel like they fall into these two categories. Quick at home vs somewhere away from home with no contraptions.
You have to do a lineup of Korean instant coffees. They're a huge thing over there and some of them even have tiny chocolate bits or french cafe style!!
I don't drink it, but I use Cafe Bustelo as an add in when I make like chili or curry, instant coffee adds some richness to the flavor and I find its bitter so it doesn't add sweetness
I call instant coffee "an act of desperation", but this is also why I have some in the kitchen cupboard. It's good to know, there are better options these days.
I may be the only person who prefers instant espresso. Instant coffee is evil, but both of my brands of espresso are in this video - I focus on the sweet flavors more than the coffee lol, most of the time, and instant espresso is a great ingredient for sweet coffee-esque beverages. I want hot ice cream, basically 😂
We refer to it as "medicinal coffee". You drink it because you need it, not because you prefer it. It would be nice to have actually good instant, though.
oooh im very intrigued by the liquid concentrate coffee. i might actually try that. i drink instant bc i wanted something that i could get for a reasonable price that wasnt packaged in plastic.
The Barn instant is a grainy little instant packet, like Nescafe but made from world class coffees and very expensive at over 3€ per cup i think. To make a true Greek frappe with its characteristic texture, it is absolutely necessary to use sugar, cold water, instant, and agitation. Splurging on Barn for a frappe is an enchanting experience. It truly becomes a starter to savor.
I like Cafe bustulo it's one of my favorite ones. But I also like the Mexican nescafe. We hike and I mix it with my creamer abd sugar in the raw in the ratio I like and I pack in little vacuum plastic pouches that I make with my food saver machine. That way all I have to do is cut open add water and im good to go. I make enough for my small thermos so it's probably about 24 to 30 oz One thing about instant is that you can adjust the strength to your liking. I had an Italian instant espresso once that I bought at the deli on a whim and it was lovely and I could never find it again and I was too silly not to have written it down. But coffee, like wine, is subjective to each person's tastes. You like what you like. I occasionally mix the nescafe with the bustolo to make a strong wake you up the morning hiking coffee.
Bustelo is pretty good in milk, its more robust than others so can still really taste coffee but the harshness is toned down. I don't even like it in water but its my go to quick fix in milk
I know it gets a bad rap but would love a video on powdered creamer. I know we’ve all heard of Nestlé carnation coffee mate but would also be interested to know what’s out there and the differences between them. I think in certain situations i.e. camping where refrigeration is limited powdered creamer does have its place.
When you said "Remarkably unexceptional" I somehow knew it was going to be Medaglia D'Oro, in spite of it being the only one out of the bunch I've ever tried! I agree with you, but it does go amazingly well with milk (oat for me) / probably creamers. I see others mention it for baking - must be that neutral taste.
I have started using the Nescafe Gold Espresso and the Starbuck Caned. Weight your instant. Start at 3 grams per 6 oz water then move up or down a gram at a time to determine what your taste prefers. Dissolve the instant in half to an ounce of cool water before adding the hot, not boiling water. I am not OCD about the water temp but a minute to two minutes off the boil gets it to about 180F. I have found measuring the instant helps duplicate future coffee when you find your ideal cup. You may want to try the Mexican instant. I like Legal which was the instant coffee that started me on this rabbit hole of instant coffee. Dollar Tree has a instant in a glass jar from Mexico that is really good. But not hot. I use it making a Cafe Leche with milk. Dissolve 6-7 grams of water in an ounce of cool water. Add 2 ounces of whole milk or heavy whipping cream. add a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon if you like that taste. Take a stick blender and blend. You will get a coffee froth. Add 4-6 ounces of the hot water and stir for a a few seconds Then add another 4-6 ounces of more hot water and stir again. It really changes the "chemical" taste of cheap instant coffee.
Ive switched to instant for travelling/camping now that they're better! It's not perfect, but 9/10 os good enough to not bring along all the equipment and grounds. The single serve sleeves are like having a variety of pods so everyone can drink what they prefer.
Not all the time, but sometimes my family would get Maxim - Korean instant coffee that comes premixed with powdered creamer and sugar, packaged in single serving tubes. Very sweet if I remember right, kind of like the Swiss Miss of instant coffee drinks.
I drink a gold roast home brand instant. I like it best sweetened as an iced coffee. (Made with just milk and sugar.) I drink properly made coffee when I go out places, when I can find somewhere that does good coffee.
I love the process of grinding and brewing, but I swear by Cometeer now for the days I don’t have the time or patience to brew it all myself. So convenient, tasty, and versatile even though it’s a bit pricey.
