My dear friend and gracious host doesn’t share my chemical dependencies in the mornings. So I brought instant coffee with me. Don’t judge; it’s 2020 and we’re all making the best of what we have to work with. I went looking for Mount Hagen, the instant coffee that George brings on our more rural excursions, because it’s surprisingly acceptable. But I couldn’t find it, nor could Amazon get it to me in time. As I wandered the aisles of my HEB, I found this brand that I’ve seen at REI before. If it has REI’s blessing, I figured it was worth a shot.
It rises far beyond instant coffee’s reputation as a general concept, and it does the job “medium,” as Evan would say. Although any box that has to go out of its way to affirm its achievement of a basic expectation (“It actually tastes good!”) is immediately suspect, it actually does taste good beyond decent. I am legitimately impressed. A strong palette of “yeah it’s coffee,” modestly aged on the burner, with subtle notes of airplane galley. Luckily, I drink motel room sludge black with confidence, conviction, and desperation. The first step is admitting you have a problem. The second step is instant coffee.
3 of 5 stars, a solid recommendation for anyone under duress.