Instant Coffee Better Flavour

Master Cutler

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Something about my coffee habits I would like to share with everyone, for your feedback and views. For convenience I use a fair amount of instant coffee, but often the tap water where we live adds an unpleasant taste to it, even when boiled several times. To overcome this I use specially prepared water which gives the instant coffee the flavour of fresh brewed ground coffee. To do this I have a large stainless steel kettle on the gas hob, into which I put a couple of litres of tap water and half a cup full of whole coffee beans. Then when I make a cup of instant coffee instead of the usual electric kettle I use the boiling coffee bean water from the stainless kettle. When I pour the water out of the kettle I strain it so no beans are lost. The volume of instant coffee used in the cup can be varied for taste and how many boilings the kettle beans have made. I can get about 20 cups of instant coffee with one kettle of beans, topping the water up after every cup. My average consumption of coffee is about six cups per day, one or two of which are brewed from ground beans, but the rest now being from instant. My wife thinks I'm becoming more eccentric the older I get, can't think why.
 
Its an ingenious idea, I think, which presumably saves quite a bit of money. However, most (really pretty well all) people in the UK, like me, have an electric kettle so if I were to use your method I'd have to keep heating water in a saucepan on the hob which takes quite a while and uses more fuel. Maybe boiling water in a mug in the microwave with beans in it, might work.
 
I dunno man, I think that's too much effort for Instant coffee, but you do you.
I have been increasingly busy with work, thus I have been making more instant coffee recently, so I know where you're coming from. However, I boil filtered water to mix in the instant coffee and that's that. No fancy filter either, just the one from the fridge. Even when I make my preferred pot of coffee (cold brew) it starts with filtered water.

I think all coffee drinkers can acknowledge that water quality definitely affects a cup of coffee's taste, especially if you drink it black. So in your case, why not just invest in a water jug with a replaceable charcoal filter? That would treat the actual problem of the water quality by removing impurities, and 2 bonuses: (1) you can cook with that filtered water and (2) when you boil filtered water versus tap water you will notice on the inside of your kettle that filtered water doesn't build up as much calcium deposits over time.
 
Thanks for the replies. It's the added flavour I get from the boiled beans with the instant coffee that makes me go the extra mile. Boiling the kettle on the gas hob is a bit more involved, but well worth it when I'm satisfying my coffee cravings.
 
I haven't had instant coffee in decades. Maybe it is much better now, but back then, it was pretty bad.

I use a French press if I have the time to spare (mainly to clean it after use). I also have a Keurig k-cup coffeemaker for when I just want a quick cup of coffee.

CD
 
I haven't had instant coffee in decades. Maybe it is much better now, but back then, it was pretty bad.

I use a French press if I have the time to spare (mainly to clean it after use). I also have a Keurig k-cup coffeemaker for when I just want a quick cup of coffee.

CD
I'll take the instant coffee of a k-cup actually.
I love my french press, but I just have to be mindful that the last sip is mud and should be carefully avoided LOL🤣
 
The first time I tasted fresh coffee was in Caracas, 1980. The beans were ground in front of my eyes, the coffee dribbled into a tiny cup. I tasted that and have not drunk instant coffee since.
 
The first time I tasted fresh coffee was in Caracas, 1980. The beans were ground in front of my eyes, the coffee dribbled into a tiny cup. I tasted that and have not drunk instant coffee since.
Yeah, it's definitely a no comparison moment for sure much like the difference between truffle oil and real truffle or imitation vanilla and vanilla bean. Don't care at all for the French press. I prefer single serving pour over. I also partake in espresso daily.
 
I actually prefer instant coffee. I don't particularly like ground coffee. I drink one mug of coffee per day first thing.

But I eat salsa for breakfast so my tastebuds are well captained anyway.
 
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