Friday, May 15, 2009

Instant coffee

[Note: I tried to find a photo of instant coffee online, but it's so wretched and unloved that even Getty doesn't keep pictures of it around. I could buy some Nescafé and take a picture of it, but then I would have spent money on something that I'm about to say I wouldn't use for a million dollars, and that would be kinda, y'know, counterproductive. So I apologize for the lack of graphic, but I think you know what I mean even without a picture.]

I wouldn't drink instant coffee for a million dollars.

I order my beans custom roasted from CoffeeAM.com -- I get five pounds of Kenya AA and one pound of Sumatra Mandheling once every six weeks.

I grind up the beans just before I brew the coffee. (My husband's coffee is sometimes ground up five hours before it's brewed, but that can't be helped. The man works swing shift. I do the best I can, y'know?)

I'll buy coffee beverages from Starbucks, but I won't buy my beans from them. That's how picky I am.

So instant coffee? No. Never. It's barbaric. You can use it in recipes for mocha frosting for cakes, but don't expect it to be suitable for drinking.

Some indignities just cannot be borne.


2 comments:

  1. Go into the store and take a photo of instant coffee with your phone camera, then put the coffee back. Works for me and interesting Japanese sweets. ^^

    Your phone has a camera, right? And you know how to use it?

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  2. I agree that there is a hierarchy for coffee. Freshly ground beans are the best by far.

    However, in a pinch I will stir up a cup of Medaglio D' Oro instant espresso powder. With enough cream and hazelnut syrup it is at least drinkable. Much better than Folgers.

    http://www.medagliadoro.com

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