Instant coffee is not coffee at all. For me, it’s the slug in the salad, as enjoyable as a cup of instant mud, and bearing no relation to the wholly superior whole bean.
In today’s Irish Independent, journalist Tina Leonard talks to barista champions about the horrors of Carte Noire, Kenco, and the most grevious offender of all, Maxwell House. In spite of our propensity for lattes, espressos, and mocha-chocka-wockas during the boom times, instant coffee maintained its dominance, accounting for 70% of the Irish domestic coffee market.
Irish Barista champ Colin Harmon says that instant coffee often uses poor quality beans, hence its unpalatable, indigestible hatefulness.
And yet… according to Leonard, instant coffee is so much cheaper: the average price of a 100g jar of instant is €4, for which you’ll get around 11 cups. That compares to about €2.50 for a cup of take-away ground coffee.
I do like coffee, but I’m not addicted and can take it or leave it; I’ll always pass on the instant, thanks very much. But if you’re a caffeine junkie on a budget, would you consider changing to instant?