[Lazy Hen]

I've lost track of the thread/argument about which instant coffee brand was best, but would like to report the results of an imperical study made on my last trip, where I compared three brands. The results (in my opinion): Starbuck's Via: indeed tastes like burned sawdust. Ugh. Folgers: tastes like the stuff your mother used to make, stewed in the pot all morning. Safeway Select: pretty good, actually tastes like coffee. I had a second cup.

[joker]

It's worth calling out which Via if you know, as they have multiple types, and the taste varies a fair bit across them.

[Randito]

Here is a lighter, cheaper way to get your fix. Not very tasty and doesn't fulfill the ritual aspects of a morning cup o'joe. If a truly decent cup of coffee is the goal -- this does the job with little weight penalty -- at least if you are already using a JetBoil.

[More Cowbell]

My favorite http://www.enjoybettercoffee.com/Mount-Hagen-Coffee-s/113.htm

[Dante]

[Frosty]

For a hot instant non-tea beverage, I use caf-lib, dark roast. There's no caffeine but it is drinkable. If I want coffee, I bring coffee.

[MLHSN]

I've got the Jetboil French press. I use a jetboil pot with a different stove.

[Lazy Hen]

The little packets of instant serve my purpose of having something coffee-like to sip while sitting in the sun on a beautiful morning, enjoying the view. Weight and pack space are top priority. On a rainy morning, packing up early to get on the trail, a chunk of chocolate does well enough. And the discussion goes on.....

[robertjoy]

I would never use the French Press in my Jetboil... the cup is for Pure WATER ONLY; no cooking, no cleaning. If you want real coffee in the wilderness, try the AeroPress. It makes great (real) coffee and is fast and easy to cleanup. If you want to leave no trace, you can pack out your coffee grounds, which is a small price to pay for real coffee.

[joker]

For car camping, we've started using the Clever Coffee Dripper - gives the best of French press with the best of filtered/drip. As with all methods of extraction, you have to get the grind right! The small version is not wildly different in weight from the Aeropress, I believe. For car camping, we also use one of these to get fresh ground (from, of course, fresh home roasted beans...):

But for backpacking, we've pretty much succumbed to the crystals. So light and so simple. I think the charbucks Italian Roast is what we arrived on as being at least half decent from their lineup - if memory serves the Columbian was not very good for our tastes, and we haven't tried the others that they've come out with lately. Will have to try Safeway Select and perhaps the Mount Hagen as well.

[wakerobin]

I use this, instant espresso powder, just re-packed in a baggie instead of a glass jar. It does taste a little different than regular coffee, but better than Via or the other alternatives. (Also, it is about half the price at Fred Meyer, not sure where Amazon is coming up with the price.) http://www.amazon.com/Medaglia-DOro-Instant-Espresso-Coffee/dp/B002BTI9B0/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1409694052&sr=1-1&keywords=instant+espresso

[mountainbug]

I too have run the gamut of the instant blends and have discovered one that at least tastes like coffee...viola "Haggen Organic Instant Coffee". Other than this one I will use Granville Island Pucks, they are made for a kurig type machine but if you let them steep in your cup....'real joe in the morning"! The only downside is disposing of the grounds.

[joker]

There are a variety of other threads on that food question elsewhere in the Food forum, fwiw...

[contour5]

[joker]

No argument there! Lazy Hen removed the post (about non-coffee food questions) which prompted that comment from me.