Starbucks instant coffee reviewed, almost nauseating • Hacker News Board

Re: Starbucks instant coffee reviewed, almost nauseating

#11

Post by sounddust » Sat, Feb 21, 2009, 1:06 PM UTC

captainobvious wrote: post #9

sounddust wrote: post #4

Why didn't they just put coffee grounds in a tea bag and sell it that way? It seems like it would produce instant coffee almost on par with regular drip. They might have to adjust the density of the bag's paper, but that's about it.

If you google "coffee tea bag" the first link explains why not: "Unlike tea leaves, coffee grains release little flavor unless they come into contact with water that is not only hot but also agitated. The water may simply flow through a sock filled with ground coffee, or it may be thrust up through a percolator, but it must be moving. This limitation has traditionally made brewing coffee by the cup messy and ineffici…

You can buy disposable tea bags in Japanese grocery stores which are less dense than most paper tea bags. I have often made instant coffee by putting grounds in these bags.

You are correct that you must "agitate" the water.. You have to stir it for a few minutes. I think it tastes better than instant coffee (which seems to have some sort of bizarre chemical taste, at least to me).

Re: Starbucks instant coffee reviewed, almost nauseating

#12

Post by hapless » Sat, Feb 21, 2009, 3:14 PM UTC

This could be the best instant coffee ever developed, and it would still be branding suicide. It would be like Coach bringing out a Wal-mart exclusive line.

Starbucks is, at its heart, an aspirational brand. There's nothing aspirational about instant coffee.

Whether the product does or does not suck worse than Nescafe really doesn't matter. Competing with Nescafe is a problem in itself.

Re: Starbucks instant coffee reviewed, almost nauseating

#13

Post by Silentio » Sat, Feb 21, 2009, 3:23 PM UTC

I don't understand why Starbucks would release instant coffee at a time when it is being criticized for getting too far away from its core business, namely, good coffee. The title of this post might as well read, "instant coffee: almost always nauseating." This is a huge error on Starbuck's part. It's not going to kill the brand, obviously, but it can't help.

Re: Starbucks instant coffee reviewed, almost nauseating

#14

Post by tortilla » Sat, Feb 21, 2009, 3:40 PM UTC

pwk wrote: post #6

jrockway wrote: post #2

OT, but the key to instant coffee is to "brew" it with milk. It kills the acidity and makes it somewhat drinkable. Of course, if you don't have some sort of way to make one cup of real coffee, you don't deserve good flavor ;) (I use this: http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/line.asp?MD=1&GID=3&LID... ... and now you have my session id :P )

I've been using the AeroPress: http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress.htm -- an odd gadget from the inventor of the Aerobie. It's pretty quick to use, results are off in the direction of an Americano, and it's really easy to clean. I'm happy with the coffee it makes, though I'm no expert.

I just started using one about a month ago. I love it. Coffee is good to great. Previously I used a French Press with decent results, but didn't enjoy the sludge and cleanup.

You can hack the Aeropress by inverting it: http://coffeepress.blogspot.com/2006/12/aeropress-redux.html...

Re: Starbucks instant coffee reviewed, almost nauseating

#15

Post by jrockway » Sat, Feb 21, 2009, 10:11 PM UTC

pwk wrote: post #6

jrockway wrote: post #2

OT, but the key to instant coffee is to "brew" it with milk. It kills the acidity and makes it somewhat drinkable. Of course, if you don't have some sort of way to make one cup of real coffee, you don't deserve good flavor ;) (I use this: http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/line.asp?MD=1&GID=3&LID... ... and now you have my session id :P )

I've been using the AeroPress: http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress.htm -- an odd gadget from the inventor of the Aerobie. It's pretty quick to use, results are off in the direction of an Americano, and it's really easy to clean. I'm happy with the coffee it makes, though I'm no expert.

Ah, I've been meaning to try one of those.

The only thing I don't like is that it needs a paper filter. I know that I will run out of them at 3am one morning, and will have to go to sleep instead of drinking coffee. The horror!

Re: Starbucks instant coffee reviewed, almost nauseating

#16

Post by jrockway » Sat, Feb 21, 2009, 10:22 PM UTC

captainobvious wrote: post #9

sounddust wrote: post #4

Why didn't they just put coffee grounds in a tea bag and sell it that way? It seems like it would produce instant coffee almost on par with regular drip. They might have to adjust the density of the bag's paper, but that's about it.

If you google "coffee tea bag" the first link explains why not: "Unlike tea leaves, coffee grains release little flavor unless they come into contact with water that is not only hot but also agitated. The water may simply flow through a sock filled with ground coffee, or it may be thrust up through a percolator, but it must be moving. This limitation has traditionally made brewing coffee by the cup messy and ineffici…

Unlike tea leaves, coffee grains release little flavor unless they come into contact with water that is not only hot but also agitated. The water may simply flow through a sock filled with ground coffee, or it may be thrust up through a percolator, but it must be moving.

I'm not sure I buy this explanation. How does the coffee know if the water is moving? Also, the water isn't moving in a french press, but it still brews excellent coffee.

(I think the real answer has to do with the rate of diffusion and the saturation of the coffee/water solution. Near the grounds, the saturation is higher, and that water will extract less coffee from the grounds. Move that saturated water away, and more coffee can be extracted. I guess the teabag makes that diffusion even slower, resulting in incomplete extraction.)

This limitation has traditionally made brewing coffee by the cup messy and inefficient.

I also don't buy this. Single-cup french presses and drip aperatuses are not particularly messy or inefficient. You put a spoonful of coffee in them, add boiling water, and wait. Rinse, repeat. :)