What do you think of convenience stores selling instant coffee to go (instead of real coffee)?
Is it an acceptable alternative to freshly brewed coffee?
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There may be areas of the US where instant coffee MIGHT be accepted—cultural norms do differ and there are parts of the the world where instant coffee is quite acceptable.
Personally? If I would discover that situation…I would mount my trusty Internet Steed (Facebook) and let everyone know about the dastards. I would let everyone here at Fluther know. I would create both and Item and a Post on Linkedin. I would meditate on the fact.
And no, I am not kidding. Instant coffee, unless under the most dire of circumstances or in those parts of the world where it is the norm, is just not acceptable.
Unless it is Starbucks Via
I feel with instant coffee, I may as well not bother. I’d do tea if they served instant. I understand if you’re desperate, you’re desperate but I’m usually not desperate.
I bought some Via once and never made it, and now I am not sure where the packets are. I got it at Costco, just to try it. It was not cheap, if I remember correctly.
Is Via good coffee?
Are they claiming it’s freshly brewed? If so, shame on them. If not, well, ick, but it’s within their rights certainly.
No it’s not acceptable. Our coffee is swill enough already.
@jca Via is ok, but really not as good as a freshly made coffee, certainly not as good as the cup of Graffeo Roast I have in front o me right now.
I stopped drinking instant when I moved out of the fraternity into a place with a kitchen. No more immersion coils for me.
So what? It’s a store decision. If they have customers who will buy it, then who are you (or anyone else) to criticize it?
If customers feel it tastes like warmed-over dishwater, they won’t buy it. You can exercise your right as a consumer in a capitalist society to not buy it.
I know that coffee snobs bemoan lesser coffees, but… not everyone is a coffee snob.
I don’t drink coffee but I notice several of the smallest corner stores here have Keurig machines and sell coffee for $1 . Cheap enough and apparently people like the Keurig coffee so why not? at least they get the choice of coffees with those pods
It is the stores decision, but I probably wouldn’t patronize them for coffee if that was the case.
I like some instant coffee, but not compared to brewed coffee. They are different beverages to me.
The only examples I know of instant sold by the cup are vending machines at places that don’t sell much coffee, like gas stations. My expectations for those are set accordingly low.
I think it fits with the intended purpose of the store and why they are called convenient stores. I have found some high end instant coffees to be acceptable cuppas when a Bunn Coffeemaker is not available. Tasters Choice House Blend is not offensive. The problem with instant coffee is getting the right water to coffee right. When you have been driving for hours and your are tired, that tollway oasis vending machine coffee is a Godsend.
@jca – don’t be so sure. Trumps like to maximize profits,
I’m drinking instant Starbucks right now. I make it as I am running out the door to work. I rather like it.
I like Tasters Choice and keep it on hand for my overnight house sitting gigs. Not even close to my favorite home brew, Don Franciscos Butterscotch-Toffee I discovered recently but hey, if you’re desperate for caffeine one will drink what’s available. As long as they aren’t actually advertising it as home brewed brew well…kinda a first world problem ey?
I’m fine with it, as long as it tastes good.
Just to piss everybody off I’m now drinking Sanka.
@Rarebear – My grandparents drank Sanka – all day every day – for about 50 years, after they came to this country until they died.
It didn’t hurt them at all :-) and they died wealthy. (not that there’s necessarily a connection)
Sanka still exists? I thought Paul Harvey took it with him to the grave.
I looked at Wikipedia and discovered the name comes from the French sans caféine. Neat.
I think it’s fine as long as the store isn’t marketing it as drip coffee.
@Call_Me_Jay there’s a whole box of it in the ICU where I work. It’s an afternoon drink for me when I want to get warm.
Some convenience stores don’t sell more than 5 or 6 cups of coffee over a 12 hour shift. Hard to imagine anyone wanting to drink coffee that had been brewed hours and hours and hours earlier – and coffee brewed one cup at a time kind of takes it out of convenience timing.
Go with the Keurig (or instant or whatever) – that has to be better than 10 hour old brew.
A lot of convince stores have those coffee machines. The machines that give you the choice of latte, cappuccino, americano etc; then it just pours your drink for you. They are not as nice as freshly made coffee, but still better than a standard instant coffee. Unfortunately a lot of places with the instant only option tend to have Maxwell House instant (which is not good at all).
I’m telling these places what to do or anything. They can sell what they want. But I wouldn’t be spending my money on a product that to me doesn’t really taste like coffee.
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