A middle seat on an airplane, a folding chair around a campfire, or a hotel room with an unhygienic coffee maker. You deserve great coffee everywhere, even when you don’t have proper pour-over gear. Since the beginning of the 20th century, caffeine lovers have been tinkering and tasting in the pursuit of making coffee completely soluble, delicious, and convenient. In other words, “instant.” Let’s admit it. The results have never really lived up to the real thing. At least until now…
Innovative minds have taken “instant” coffee from grandma’s cabinet to the specialty coffee arena. The crème de la crème of the latest and tastiest developments in the instant coffee game are on the market right now. Don’t believe us yet? Wait to hate until you try the six coffees below.
VOILÁ SPECIALTY INSTANT COFFEE
(Photography courtesy of Voilá)
Just add water. Voilà is meticulously hand-crafted from some of the best specialty coffees in the world to near-perfect extractions that uphold the quality from farm to cup. Presta, Augie’s Coffee, and Cirque are only some of the top-notch roasters providing beans for this instant hit.
How To Brew: Add 10 oz of clean filtered water at 155°F/68°C and stir.
Steeped Coffee
(Photography courtesy of Steeped Coffee)
Available in light, medium, dark, French, and decaf roasts, Steeped is as easy as brewing tea. Each single-serving bag of 100% specialty coffee
is freshly ground and nitro-sealed inside of compostable packaging.
How To Brew: Steeps
like a tea bag in 8 oz of hot water for ~5 minutes.
SUDDEN COFFEE
(Photography courtesy of Sudden Coffee)
Sudden Coffee is crystalized
coffee made from single-origin beans that are brewed with a revolutionary secret method and then freeze-dried in small
batches. From the New York Times to Fast Company, this spiffy tube has made a big splash in specialty coffee.
How To Brew: Add to 8 oz of hot or cold water (or milk!) and stir.
DRIPKIT
(Photography courtesy of DripKit)
Roasted weekly in small batches, ground, and packaged to order in Brooklyn, DripKit’s branding it not only super fresh but the coffee is too. The
instant coffee most akin to a pour-over dripper, this handy pouch lets you easily brew barista quality coffee in two
minutes.
How To Brew: Tear off the top of your DripKit, place it on your favorite mug
like you would a dripper, and pour 10 oz of 195°F-205°F hot water over a span of two minutes.
COPPER COW COFFEE
(Photography courtesy of Copper Cow Coffee)
If you’re craving something sweet, Copper Cow is our pick! This portable pour-over Vietnamese coffee kit comes with a packet of sweetened condensed milk from Californian cows. Stick with the classic cream flavor or experiment with lavender latte or rose flavors.
How To Brew: Tear open the 100% biodegradable pouch, hang it on your cup, add hot water, and then squeeze in the sweetened condensed milk.
SWIFT CUP
(Photography courtesy of Swift Cup Coffee)
Using a proprietary process, Swift Cup carefully brews the coffee to a very flavorful concentrate before slowly dehydrating the coffee through freeze drying. The resulting solubles are preserved in time and ready for you to enjoy a great cup of coffee anywhere.
How To Brew: Add 8-10 oz of filtered hot or cold water and stir.
Do you have a favorite instant hit? Tell us at @fellowproducts.
(Lead photo courtesy of Sudden Coffee)