sbux via. hands down

Never tried the Starbucks instant coffee. Some of their coffee drinks I like. But, I can't go in the place without thinking of comedian Jackie Mason's bit on Starbucks: "They soive boint (translation: burnt) coffee in Starbucks! You can go down to the corner diner and get great coffee for a quarter. But you go in Starbucks and pay $3.50 for a cup of what? Boint coffee!!"

Also, I know Susan said "straight" coffee, but for those of you who might be interested, I found a gold mine of instant coffee for those who like Thai coffee (sweet, creamed, moderately strong coffee). It's the DeDe brand (made in Thailand) of "Instant Thai Coffee Drink". It's another example of the 3-in-1 stuff, but unlike a lot of it, this one doesn't list corn sweeteners as one of the ingredients--only sugar. It's delectable, even better with some hot half 'n half added. I can lift my pickup with my non-dominant hand after drinking a cup of it. The only place I've seen it, though, is at the Hawaiian Grocery in "new" China town in Alhambra east of Los Angeles. FYI, they also make DeDe Instant Thai iced tea drink that's phenomenal. The secret to that is to mix it up in a half cup of very hot water, then fill the cup the rest of the way with ice. Deeeeelectable, and so convenient, too!

I like the Melangeris Colombia Blend. Its pretty expensive though from the local discount store, costing $2.30 (£1.49) for 18 Coffee pods (bags) i.e $0.13 per pod.



Real brewed coffee, not the instant or as Starbucks would say 'soluble' with their Via instant brand coffee tastes much better. Apparently soluble coffee is 5-10 times the price of other instant brands and is really no better than British Army Coffee in their latest Multiclimate Ration Packs with their Kenco smooth roast instant sachets at $0.11 per sachet compared to the Starbucks Via at $0.58 per sachet.

I've experimented with making my own coffee pods using large tea bags and fresh ground coffee. No matter what grind I use the infusion takes too long and the oils don't make it out of the bag. Then again, I use a french press so everything else tastes like brown water anyway. As I understand it, Via has 1/2 ground coffee 1/2 instant, so you get some direct mixing of grounds/water. Trust me, I'm no fan of instant coffee. Even starbucks Via is a barely tolerable replacement.

Susan, that's very nice of you. I absolutely agree with many of the votes for Starbucks Via. Even if it is the most costly. With Tasters Choice or Folgers singles, I really have to use 2 to get any flavor. FWIW, the Starbucks is by far more compact, too.

Although I do not recomend this, I am going to say... Military Espresso!! It is simple, 1 pack of Via, 1 pack of creamer, and 1 pack of sugar! open all 3 packets, pour in mouth, and wash it down with hot water! I never tried it because it sounds Gross! but +1 on the Via!

Individual serving, that would be 3/4 cup of generic coffee, double that for night shift widening, and two quarts of water. Drip is okay, but to get the most umph use a percolator, electric or stove-top, and run it for north of twenty minutes to get the most lift. Serve black and hot, by the quart.

Military style also included cutting a strip from your Israeli bandage,& Rolling it full of Instant coffee&used coffee grounds that were saved/salvaged,tied up with thread,& pushed into your 1/2 full canteen with some thread hanging out,cap back on,& Shake the daylights out of it,Voila!You then had something other than boring water,to drink!I recall a few guy's adding Snuff to their concoction,to give it a Kick!

Best for me? Definitely not cheapest. . . First I looked around and found the Snow Peak Ti French Press, that's what I will use as a container for the truck coffee kit. Next I will pick up some non-ground coffee beans. Next I will need a decent hand grinder that can do a consistent coarse grind. . . any suggestions? Grind them too soon and they oxidize, and then the flavor is flat. . . Does smashing beans get a consistent grind? Either than or I use a knife and just cut them. . . too slow. A 12 volt grinder would be great. . .

I have a hand grinder from REI purchsed years ago and the grind is inconsistent and too fine for a press. Tried smashing beans with a mortar and pestle set ($10 IKEA) and that seemed to work much better for emergency home use. Although not as efficent you could always use an inverter. My Braun grinder says 150W which the inverter should be able to handle for short periods.