Is There Any GOOD Instant Coffee?

Canadians have always looked down on instant coffee that those overseas seem to love - not because there isn't any good quality on the market, but because Canadians prefer their coffee to be not pre-packaged. Think about the smell of your freshly brewed pot of coffee, and now imagine trying to live without that. Instant coffee just doesn't provide that level of satisfaction.

While we're not big into instant coffee, we do want our coffee instantly. This can be easily seen by the rise in individual coffee makers, that can prepare a coffee in under a minute. With our lives becoming quicker and more hectic, the pressure is on to get your cup of coffee quick. This hustle has spilled over into our lives a bit though, with instant coffee starting to make it's way into Starbucks and other coffee shops. Know you won't have time to stop by and wait in line for 5 minutes for a coffee? Grab a pack of instant coffee and off you go.

While today's equipment and availability of coffee almost eliminates the need for instant coffee, there is still a market. Single cup, on-demand coffee makers allow you to pop in a pod or "k-cup" and move onto something else, then come back less than a minute later to a freshly brewed cup of coffee. While not "instant", it is "in the blink of an eye". The single cup, nearly-instantaneous coffee makers let you get coffee fast, without resorting to instant coffee.

There are a couple brands of individual cup coffee brewers, and the biggest are Tassimo and Keurig.

Tassimo's machines are the most automated solution of all, with a digital barcode reader that determines what kind of coffee disc (known as a "T-Disc") you put into it and automatically selects the best setting for it. It's capable of making multi-cup coffees like Lattes or Cappuccinos with it's software.

Keurig's machines require you to select the type of coffee pod you put in, but are simple and intuitive to use - and just as fast as the Tassimo coffee makers. Their pods are known as "K-Cups" and are used by a wide variety of machines that have licensed the Keurig technology. Many brands have jumped on board with their own flavours and blends of coffee, as well as teas. Among them, you can find Emeril's K-Cups, Timothy's K-Cups, Green Mountain's K-Cups, Van Houette K-Cups, Celestial Tea K-Cups and many more. The wide variety of K-Cups makes it easier to find than Tassimo's, though the Canadian market is odd at times.

With individual coffee makers popping up everywhere, it won't be long until nearly every business or home has the ability to make a single cup of freshly brewed coffee just for you.