The 7 Best Instant Coffees (To Wake You Up at the Speed of Light)

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So, I’m addicted to coffee. Need it to wake up. I’ve totally come to peace with it, too. The only time it’s presented a bit of a logistical headache has been when I’m out hiking or mountain climbing and have left the fancy pour over kit behind in the interest of saving weight.

I’ve slurped down my fair share of instant coffees all up and down the trails and peaks of New England, the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and Hawaii. Mostly, I was looking for a daily caffeine delivery system that was, at least, palatable.

Others truly don’t have time for the song and dance of learning how to use a French press, pour over kit, espresso machine, or even an AeroPress, and they’ll use instant coffee at the office, at home, or while traveling.

Regardless of whether you’re looking for a campfire brew or a quick, easy afternoon cup when you can’t really afford a break at work to spend long making it, I’ve rounded up seven of the best instant coffees that’ll power you up like Super Mario gobbling down a ‘shroom (or a cup of mushroom coffee?).

quick look at the best instant coffees

• The peak of flavor – Alpine Start Medium Roast
• Widely Available – Starbucks VIA Pike Place Roast
• Bittersweet symphony – Verve Buena Vista Craft Instant Coffee
• The ultimate classic – Nescafé Clásico Dark Roast Instant Coffee
• Leave the gun, take the coffee – Illy Classico Instant Coffee
• That’s that me (instant) espresso – Café Bustelo Espresso Dark Roast Instant Coffee
• Bezos’ beans – 365 by Whole Foods Vienna Roast Instant Coffee

how we evaluated

Tastiness. D’uh. Instant coffee gets a bad rap, and I think that in general it’s warranted. Most of it is passable rather than delicious. But there are a few that I can sit back and enjoy, even if they’re not brewed cups of masterpiece art.

Ease of blendability is another important criteria. Some instant coffee crystals clump together and don’t dissolve fully in hot water. Lastly, we looked at transparency.

We liked to see companies state from where they sourced their coffee and whether it was Arabica or Robusta. Tasting notes were nice to see, too. It makes picking them out more easily if you know this one has honeydew notes and this other one has hazelnut notes.

Tip for brewing instant coffee: don’t quite boil your water. It’ll scald the beans and leave a burnt taste. Aim for 203-206 degrees Fahrenheit (95-97 degrees Celsius). If you don’t have a thermometer, boil the water, then remove it from the heat for about 10-15 seconds before pouring to cool it down slightly.

the peak of flavor – alpine start medium roast

These are said to contain 100 percent Colombia Arabica beans, which are appreciated for better flavor than the other family of coffee, Robusta. And the flavor is the best of any instant coffee I’ve had. And normally I’m a picky pour over or French press user who snubs instant.

These crystals blend quickly and easily with hot water. There are no issues with clumping. The taste was good enough for me to actually enjoy. There’s a little more char to the flavor than a medium roast should have, so I’d call it more halfway between medium and dark roast.

“Our original formulas that we developed for the backcountry are still the team favorites,” writes Alpine Start. “It’s great one-handed coffee for new parents on the run, backpackers and constant travelers.”

An alpine start refers to the mountaineering practice of waking up very early, typically around 3 AM, to leave camp on the day of the summit attempt. So yes, I’ve had Alpine Start on morning where I was getting an actual alpine start before summiting the mountains.

widely available – starbucks VIA Pike Place Roast

I’ve never enjoyed Starbucks coffee from its brick-and-mortar stores, so it’s funny to me that I’ve had more of it, through these VIA packets, kneeling in campsites and on glaciers than in airports or the drive-throughs of American suburbia.

Starbucks says VIA is made with the same 100 percent Arabica beans as their non-instant coffee, too.Taste is not as good as the Alpine Start, but it isn’t far off, either. I’ve had the Pike Place Roast, Colombia, and French Roast.

Pike Place Roast, “a smooth, well-rounded blend of Latin American coffees with subtly rich notes of cocoa and toasted nuts,” according to Starbucks, was my preferred one because it was less dark, with Colombia in second place. (With instant coffees, I’ve noticed the darker roasts can accentuate burnt flavor notes more so than regularly made dark roasts.)

Blending is easy with these, too. I had no problems with clumping or a failure for all coffee crystals to smoothly dissolve.

Bittersweet symphony – Verve buena vista Craft instant coffee

Verve says Buena Vista “showcases apricot and honeydew flavor notes, a balanced mouthfeel, and aromatics of toasted hazelnuts,” but I got more of a gut punch of dark roast coffee than delicate flavor notes.

These had a problem clumping up when mixing them. It wasn’t even cold water, but 200-degree water. Taking each packet and crushing up the coffee inside, which had a tendency to stick together into discs, was an imperfect trick for getting these to blend well.

The taste was on the level of dark roast, gas station coffee, I’d say. Perfectly acceptable, but not the best of the ones we tested. The beans come from Antigua and Colombia, although it doesn’t say whether they’re Arabica or Robusta.

The ultimate classic – Nescafé Clásico Dark Roast Instant Coffee

I drank so much Nescafé in Southeast Asia that by the end of month one, you could cut me open and I’d bleed dark black, like those baddies in the X-Files. Nescafé says they use a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans, but doesn’t name any source countries. Bummer.

The Robusta is likely what contributes to a slightly penetrating taste than the more delicate Arabica, but overall it tastes fairly good for an instant coffee. Compared to most instant coffees, this one scores high on taste.

The downside is that while dark roast is easy to find online, locating lighter roasts is more of a treasure hunt. If you don’t like dark roast, keep moving. But if you dig a robust, dark cup of coffee, this is one instant brew you might appreciate for its surprisingly smooth mouth feel.

Leave the gun, take the coffee – Illy Classico Instant Coffee

Illy is, alongside Starbucks, another powerhouse chain brand that’s gotten in on the instant coffee act. Unlike single-serving packets, you get more value from this can, although it doesn’t work as well for traveling or outdoor adventures.

“Smooth, not (acidic), didn’t mess with my tummy,” says one customer reviewer. Another writes, “Crystals dissolve easily especially compared to other brands which typically leave in dissolved bits in the coffee. Taste is slightly acidic and moderately bold.”

Made in Italy, these 100 percent Arabica beans don’t mention from which countries the beans are sourced. It’s not too surprising from a large brand that likely has to blend beans from many sources to reach the needed volume, but it’s a bit of a downer.

That’s that me (Instant) espresso – Café Bustelo Espresso Dark Roast instant coffee

Made from Arabica beans, Café Bustelo can be an acquired taste, due to its strong flavor. Although it says, unlike most instant coffees, that this is an espresso dark roast, you can use it to make a normal cup of coffee by adding water. It’s not for use in an espresso machine.

It’s an aggressive coffee, and personally I like it. But if you prefer gentler, lighter roasts that sip sweetly with suggestions of delicate flavor notes rather than bold, burly dark roasts that kicks like a Ford F-350 backing up into a garden shed.

Popular initially with Cuban-Americans, Café Bustelo has become a cultural touchpoint for many groups of Latin Americans here in the U.S. It’s also wildly affordable. You can buy a one-pound brick of the stuff at a price that would land it on a fast food joint’s value menu.

Bezos’ beans – 365 by Whole Foods Vienna Roast Instant Coffee

Whole Foods’ own instant coffee contains 100 percent Arabica beans, though we don’t know from which countries they come. “All I do is put a tablespoon of hot water to dissolve and then use cold water, cream, and ice. Quick iced coffee that tastes great!,” says one customer.

If you’re looking for an instant coffee that mimics, at least a little bit more closely, a standard cup of drip coffee, some customers say that this does a better job than Folger’s.

“If you follow the coffee to water proportions correctly—i.e. 1 tsp to 250 ml—then this tastes and feels like drip coffee,” writes another customer. “Because it is not in powder form, you can still feel the oiliness as you would with drip coffee. Not bitter at all.”

That’s it for our guide to the best instant coffees. If you have a bit more time on your hands, be sure to check out our steaming fresh review of the Atlas Coffee Club coffee subscription. More caffeine, more better, I say.