this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2026
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Coffee

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it's fine. and I can have it hot or cold, and using it as an ingredient in anything else is a cinch.

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[–] balsoft@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

I am not a coffee drinker but I do have a jar of cheapest store-brand decaf instant coffee in my cupboard for the one time a month I'd like to have some. 6€ worth lasts me a year or so.

[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 101 points 4 days ago (1 children)

thats not anti-elitism.. thats sadomasochism

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[–] butwhyishischinabook@anarchist.nexus 42 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Look, there are times in my life that I had to smoke brick. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't exactly remember the brick fondly.

[–] shapesandstuff@feddit.org 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Non native speaker here. I've never heard that idiom, if it even is one.. What does smoking brick mean?

[–] SolacefromSilence@fedia.io 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I assume that they mean brick weed, a very cheap and low quality marijuana.

[–] shapesandstuff@feddit.org 2 points 11 hours ago

ahhh gotcha, i didn't know that was a thing :D I half guessed hash, but then didn't understand the comparison, since that's often the good stuff here.

[–] slickgoat@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

So enjoying a decent coffee counts as elitism nowadays?

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 35 points 4 days ago

Hey, if you like it, drink it!

It's not what I like. But who am I to tell you what to drink?

[–] farmgineer@nord.pub 7 points 3 days ago (4 children)

You have money for instant coffee? At least where I live, it's cheaper to buy pre-ground in bulk

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[–] CoffeeSoldier@sh.itjust.works 23 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

It's usually not elitism, it's compassion.

Almost everyone enters this world drinking crap coffee. We are surrounded by it, inundated by it.

_"Take a carefully blended, full-bodied, highly aromatic coffee and brew it carefully..., obtaining a heavy, delicate, enjoyable beverage. Give it to the average coffee-drinker and he will say, 'This is no good.' Then take the same coffee, boil it until all of its delicate characteristics have disappeared and a lye-like drink has been produced and give it to the same man, who will accept it joyfully, exclaiming 'Ah! that is coffee!".

-Charles Trigg, coffee researcher, 1917_

We grow accustomed to it and like Stockholm syndrome victims we learn to like it and even reject good quality brews that seem foreign and strange. With a little curiousity though and a bit of patience there is a world of flavor and variety that can take whatever elements you already like in lower coffee and expand upon them and introduce new experiences as well.

If you are going to drink instant at least make sure it's fair trade. I don't give a damn what you drink, but I've seen good Fincas and bad Fincas and you don't want to be a part of the abuse that still happens on the farm.

[–] MostlyBlindGamer@rblind.com 7 points 3 days ago

I’d say at the very least don’t drink infant-killing, water-rights-death-squad enforcing Nestlé and I’ve got no beef with you. But one can also hope for somewhere above the 6th circle of hell.

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[–] VibeSurgeon@piefed.social 13 points 3 days ago (2 children)

There's literally nothing wrong with instant coffee and it has its place for lots of use-cases.

Given the choice between instant and my other preferred coffee I will of course choose the latter but I would never turn my nose up at a cup of instant

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 days ago

Back in the day when camping wasn't just condos on wheels; when the best a poor man could hope for was a pop-up tent trailer in a campsite with a picnic table and one of those swiveling barbecues on a post, Instant coffee was my jam.

Early morning. Mist from the lake still not fully burned off. No constant background hum from power lines. Just me, getting the barbecue fire started while drinking my cup of instant coffee that I made with my portable kettle that plugs into my trucks cigarette lighter port.

Instant coffee will always be special to me.

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[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I strain it through a sieve as a topping for when I eat the whole container of

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[–] SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 22 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The espresso machine and burr grinder are on the counter, and I have a coffee shrine shelf with moka pot, an old school percolator, pour-over gear, a french press, a stovetop steamer, and hand grinder for power outages. I am not a snob, though, really! Just prepared.

So when my live-in adult children started buying instant, I was a bit dismissive, but sure, whatever, eh. Then I realized they were getting Italissimo instant espresso, and I smelled it and a flood of childhood memories came back, it was the brand all my relatives and their friends had on standby when the moka pot would be too fussy... and it's actually good.

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[–] Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Have your coffee how you want without fear. People who gatekeep over something someone else drinks/eats need to get lives

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[–] orenj@leminal.space 6 points 3 days ago

You know what? Good for you buddy. I hope you enjoy your next cup of instant coffee and I mean that with full sincerity.

[–] timmytbt@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago

I prefer to call it a “warm caffeinated beverage”.

The trick is, add the milk before the water so that the granules don’t get scorched!

[–] pineapple@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I don't actually mind an instant coffee. The taste is very consistent while regular coffee can easily get horrendous.

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[–] YeahIgotskills2@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

In the UK, instant coffee is still pretty much standard. Of course, many, many people buy 'real' coffee, but in most hotels and places of work there will be tea bags, and little packets of freeze-dried coffee. It's by far the most common option. Most cheap, independent 'greasy spoon' cafes will still serve it. Personally I think of them as different beverages. It's like a packet of ramen Vs an authentic Chinese meal. Both have their place.

[–] fonix232@fedia.io 14 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I've tried a number of instant coffees, and none were good. The only two options seem to be either tasting like the burnt sole of a decades old boot, or the most watered down Americano (or is it Canadiano now?) you've ever had.

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[–] Malica@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 days ago

No shade, but not for me

[–] Kennystillalive@feddit.org 7 points 3 days ago (3 children)

As longs as it's not nescafe it's good.

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[–] LazyOldPervert@lemmus.org 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

I literally don't even know how you would make coffee out of whatever is in this picture

[–] BurntWits@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

In case you genuinely don’t know what instant coffee is, it’s freeze dried brewed coffee extract basically. Add some to a cup, add hot water, and it instantly (hence the name) becomes a cup of coffee. No filtering or straining needed. It’s not actually coffee grounds, it’s basically solid brewed coffee extract. When it comes into contact with water it dissolves into the water completely, no grit or anything.

[–] LazyOldPervert@lemmus.org 2 points 2 days ago

I honestly didn’t thanks for the explainer

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (4 children)

You dissolve a teaspoon of it in a cup of hot water.

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[–] CubitOom@infosec.pub 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

Anyone notice how the cheaper a coffee is, the more corporate owend it is and the more suffering there is in the supplychain?

I'd much rather buy from co-ops that make sure the farmers get paid well, than to buy corporate products.

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

The Zapatistas in the Chiapas sell their coffee, which helps support them and fund their schools. I've never tried it since I'm not a coffee drinker, but I imagine it's pretty good.

(It looks like there's ways of getting it in Europe, too).

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[–] TronBronson@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

No absolutely not lol. I’m still getting bulk whole bean for $6-$8 a pound at the hannaford

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

Instant coffee is great for camping.

Pro tip: If you live by an asian market, you can get these coffee packets with creamer and sugar. Tasty and easy to transport.

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

I think one reason instant coffee gets a bad rap is because it's often paired with powdered "creamer" that's better used to make sparky explosive effects than put in your mouth.

And it's great as a flavoring ingredient that doesn't water down your recipe. The instant coffee, I mean!

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