Why did people stop using freeze-dried instant coffee?

I've wondered about this, too. It's surprising, because Americans usually want everything as fast and easy as possible.

"Coffee crystals" were supposed to be a space-age advance over old powdered instant.

Because it tastes nasty.

Back then when you made fresh brewed coffee you made Folgers or Hillsbros or Maxwell House which all tasted exactly the same. Coffee had basically one level of quality and it wasn't great. There were a few devotees who bought beans and ground their own, but that was very niche and not really common. Late 70s early 80's coffee became more "upscale" and better quality beans began being stocked in pretty much all grocery stores. Instant didn't stand a chance against good and even decent tasting coffee. Instant is ok if you're comparing it to the middle of the road swill, but it doesn't stand a chance against good, fresh brewed made with quality beans.

IIRC, the crystals became popular during the percolator days. Then came drip coffee with the Norelco, Mr. Coffee, etc. Drip took over. Why? Maybe because, once you had a pot of drip, you could keep the pot on the burner. Coffee addicts and office people could just pour another cup throughout the morning.

Also, diners were using drip makers and maybe people thought that was the way to go.

Personally, I think that the crystals taste good.

Because of Kuerig pods.

I still drink instant coffee (Taster's Choice). I don't like the palaver of brewing coffee to only drink a single cup.

Nescafe instant is huge in many parts of the world in all classes.

I thought those General Foods International Coffees looked classy in the commercials as a kid.

Instant coffee is meh at best.

If Nescafé can please the whole wide world, it can sure please you.

But then why did they drink so much of it in the late 60s and 70s?

Instant coffee is still very popular outside the US.

[quote] I thought those General Foods International Coffees looked classy in the commercials as a kid.

Yeah, something about that rectangular tin just made me want to cradle a mug next to a fireplace.

Because it tastes like canned ass.

Next stupid question?

Remember that French waiter we fucked? Jean Luc!

Keurig

Use a tablespoon in chocolate desserts, it makes it even more chocolate tasting and rich, I don't even like coffee and I can't tell there's coffee there.

Kuerig pods are probably the death knell (not completely, there are still some people who drink it) but instant coffee consumption was going down even before Kuerig. Coffee culture changed a lot starting in the 1990s. I have the feeling (I can't back it up) that another factor could be that grabbing a coffee someplace other than home became more common - so more single servings switched from instant to places like Starbucks, Dunkin, other big chains, and also local places, gas stations, etc.

Remember international coffees orange cappuccino? That was the best!

Starbucks

I was going to say that everyone who drank those General Foods International Coffees died of diabetes, since the No. 1 ingredient was sugar, but then I remembered that they just rebranded and became Maxwell House International, and they're still sold in supermarkets and places like Walmart and Target. This is the ingredients for the Cafe Vienna.

Something to do with the FLAVAH.

To use a quote from Father Ted (which was originally in reference to UHT milk)….there’s not much demand for it because it’s shite.

I got off the whole-bean-and-grind train several years ago. Too much folderol for the one mug of joe I drink daily.

Coffee taste is what you get used to. And to me, of the widely available brands of soluble coffee, Taster's Choice French Roast is the gold standard.

Folgers Crystals fulfill my caffeine needs adequately.

Never understood the fetish of making a tea out of burnt beans.

Deep brewed flāvah!

My dad took a thermos of Sanka to work with him every day.for 40 years. My mom was not a coffee drinker and we didn’t have a coffee maker. I guess he just got used to the taste of powdered coffee in WW2. Plus he was maniacally cheap.

I remember in the seventies my parents only drank the freeze dried coffee, but then around 1980 a convenience store/gas station arrived less than a mile away that had fresh brewed coffee. Well they started running out to the store for coffee and that led eventually to buying a coffee maker. So I am going with the humble Cumberland farms type stores as the cause of death.

I don't miss instant coffee. We didn't have much of it in my home, growing up. But I do sometimes miss the taste of big name brand ground coffee that came in a vacuum can, and then made in a drip or percolator. I also miss the baked goods made with butter or lard, which we enjoyed with the coffee.

R22 That’s too much sugar. Then again, I drink coffee at home and don’t order those drive through coffee milkshakes that 14 year old girls drink.

There was a funny line about instant coffee in “Tales of the City.”

Mary Ann, disillusioned with San Francisco, wanted to back home to Dayton, Ohio. You didn’t have to apologize for making instant coffee.

We drink a lot of it in the UK. I always have a jar in the cupboard. I prefer my Nespresso pods, but Nescafe is fine when I want something quick.

It obviously doesn't taste as good as the 'real' thing, but I almost view it as a separate drink.

One thing that isn't big here is Coffee Mate, which seems more popular in the US. We just add milk to coffee.

Instant Coffee's gonna get you.

I get the impression that instant coffee (whether freeze-dried or otherwise) is big in the UK because they all use electric (or stovetop) teakettles for their tea, and obviously the hot water can be used to make instant coffee as well. So you can accommodate both coffee drinkers and tea drinkers with one appliance.

Obviously the hot water can be used to make a cup with a French press or a drip, just as easily as pouring it into a tea pot.

r36 True, but then you still have another appliance/utensil involved.

I've never understood the attraction of French press. The coffee gets cold very quickly.

French press keeps the heat if you make 4-8 cups. Not for 1 or 2 cups, true.

French press wastes a lot of coffee. You’ve got to put a pretty coarse grind in there and the extraction is low with all of those pebbles.

Mr. Coffee machines were launched in the 1970’s. Before that you had to deal with a percolator and they were usually very big and a pain to clean. So people preferred instant.

Then when smaller more convenient coffee makers became available people started using those and instant lost popularity.

I use Nescafé Classico instant. It’s not that bad and I only drink it in the morning for the caffeine.

International Flavored coffees were 50% sugar . Diabetes killed off their clientele.

I always travel with a handful of Cafe Bustelo or Starbucks instant coffees for my hotel room - beats the yucky stuff (or no stuff) hotels put in their in room coffee makers

I still drink Folger’s Colombian roast instant and have for about seven years now. I always drink my coffee black and like it very strong. I can manage the strength with how much I spoon into the cup. Sometimes I even heat it in the microwave!

My grind and brew friends are horrified, but I don’t care.

It’s what I like and how I roll.

[quote]International Flavored coffees were 50% sugar . Diabetes killed off their clientele.

Carol Lawrence is still with us at 91.

As someone mentioned above instant coffee is more popular in other countries, Europe, etc. because it’s more common in these places to drink a much stronger, darker brew with nothing added to it.

Instant coffee is sub par to brewed, but if you mix instant coffee too weak (which many Americans might) it’s indeed horrible swill. If you mix it very strong it takes on another quality.

I drink black coffee only. I usually buy it at a store already made or use a drip coffee maker at home. And I do like strong coffee. Reading the thread, I want to try instant just out of curiosity. Are there levels of instant coffee - like some better than others. Or does the being "instant" essentially make it all the same?

I think instant coffee has come a long way.

For someone wanting to try it, buy small jars and try out a few brands.

Look at this, r46

My parents drank instant coffee in the 1970's. I bought it over the holidays to make homemade Irish Cream (faux Baileys)

It was somethin’ to serve a beverage which utilized the Mary Tyler Moore Show font during the run of the series.

Why did people start using freeze-dried instant coffee?

Freeze-dried instant coffee probably fell out of favor with many when they finally realized they were never going to be an astronaut and/or travel to outer space.

I keep jars of instant coffee and instant espresso around to use in recipes. Always add a little bit of one of them to a brownie or chocolate cake recipe.

BIG FUN: pour packet of instant coffee and into a friend's toilet just before you leave his house.

As an adult I’ve always enjoyed the morning ritual of grinding my beans and doing a pour over (if I just want one cup) or a French press (if I’m having more).

But I recall not all that long ago I had moved into a new place, wanted coffee my first morning there, and hadn’t yet set up the kitchen. There was a small Italian grocery store nearby. I picked up a jar of an Italian brand instant coffee and I ended up surprised at how tasty it was. I wish I could remember the brand name now.

I bet it was Medaglia D'Oro, r55

i miss the aroma of fresh stove-top perked coffee when entering my kitchen in the morning or on a cold winter's day. With my Keurig coffee maker, there is no aroma. Even my old drip-coffee maker gave off the aroma.

Even the French aren’t that into French press. Countertop drip coffee makers are used in most homes there.

Fresh perc coffee is so good.

Some upscale restaurants still offer it.

I prefer Nescafe instant to Starbucks.

In the 60s and 70s, people weren't as fixated on appearing sophisticated and urbane, so there was no social embarassment about drinking or serving instant coffee. Mary Richards served instant! (Well, to Phyllis, anyway...) Now, especially with social media and the Internet, we're all hyper-aware that instant coffee is, well, gauche.

Me, I love instant. But I love Ring Dings and candy from Walgreen's, too.....

Instant is my standard--Cafe Bustelo. I usually stock up when it's on sale at Walgreens. Caffeine is really the point of coffee for me, so I don't need anything fancy.