Student + Coffee 11 September 2018 at 2:39PM in Food shopping & groceries 25 replies 3.6K views

Amyotexus

Hello everyone!

I'm looking for some advice to cut down on costs when it comes to my (minor) caffeine addition.

I am a student at university and am unsure of what instant coffee I should buy - I don't really want to make the wrong choice.

At the moment I do not know a lot about which coffee I want but, here's what I do know:
1. I'm not looking for an instant that has too bitter of an aftertaste
2. Currently I am spending way too much on Costa (are there any instants that are similar the costa blend?)
3. Any sort of Starbuck's is a complete no no because I find it tastes acidic and generally unpleasant
4. I also know that I do not like Kenco

Thank you so much!

coffeehound

All instants are horrible IME. The ones that include some real coffee grounds are somewhat better, but also more expensive.

Since you like real coffee you would probably be best to buy a cafetiere (french press) perhaps froma charity shop and try out some supermarket ready ground coffees.

esuhl

You like Costa and hate Starbucks coffee? Same here! :-)


Instant coffee will never taste as good as the real stuff.



I'd also go for a cafetière and ground coffee. It's literally the best way to get a good coffee for little money.


You can also get special mugs that have a filter you can clip on and push down. Not quite as good as a cafetière, but "unbreakable" and very portable.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zyliss-Cafetiere-Hot-Mug-Grey/dp/B00COEXKJI/

---

If you do decide to get ground coffee, what kind of caffeine strength and flavours do you like? Something mild, floral and "winey", or something dark, rich, spicy, chocolatey...?


If you really must stick with instant, the best I've had are the ones that add in a bit of super-finely-ground coffee.

PasturesNew

I'm more than happy with Lidl/Aldi 200g jars of granules at about £1.49. I don't drink coffee shop or restaurant coffee as I find them nasty and bitter.

ajbell

!!!!!! buy instant coffee put it in a cup and pour boiling water on it.

boliston

i'd go with an aeropress and hand grind your beans with a porlex - i would avoid pre-ground coffee if possible as it does not keep once ground

zagfles

You can get ground Costa coffee for cafetieres in most supermarkets, eg

https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/product/Costa-Cafetiere--Filter-Roast--Ground-Coffee/373722011

You can get a cafetiere for around £5

zagfles

boliston wrote: »

i'd go with an aeropress and hand grind your beans with a porlex - i would avoid pre-ground coffee if possible as it does not keep once ground

Once opened it needs to sealed fairly well, I just fold the ends well and use a bulldog clip, seems to do the trick. Also store in fridge once opened.

coffeehound

ajbell wrote: »

!!!!!! buy instant coffee put it in a cup and pour boiling water on it.

So youre not interested in coffee - not sure why you need to post that.

boliston wrote: »

i'd go with an aeropress and hand grind your beans with a porlex - i would avoid pre-ground coffee if possible as it does not keep once ground

Well the OP was looking to save and so might not have £70 to spend on hardware. When someone is wanting instant i think we have to be realistic in the steps they can take towards good coffee. If they get the bug maybe that GS3 and EK43 rig will come in its own good time

robin58

ajbell wrote: »

!!!!!! buy instant coffee put it in a cup and pour boiling water on it.

Tend to agree. Don't hum and ahh! about it.

If you want an instant, buy a small jar and try it out. If you don't like it, keep going through the other brands until you find one you like.

That's basically how everybody finds a favourite coffee, tea, wine, beer, food etc.

If you don't like any of the brands you try, don't bin it, pass it on to a fellow student. You just maybe helping them to save money on coffee shop purchases.

It you want the sweetness that a Costa gives don't forget to buy bag of sugar or sweetener plus at least semi-skimmed milk.

The only minus with an instant is it's too easy to make another just after the one you just drunk.

robin58

coffeehound wrote: »

So youre not interested in coffee - not sure why you need to post that.



Well the OP was looking to save and so might not have £70 to spend on hardware. When someone is wanting instant i think we have to be realistic in the steps they can take towards good coffee. If they get the bug maybe that GS3 and EK43 rig will come in its own good time

I think you answered it by your second answer.