Still more work than instant maxwell house, and still missing the point about the article. It isn’t about the coffee, it’s about the experience and the people you drink it with.
Frou-frou coffee has a way of making the experience about the coffee, rather than about the company and environs. At least that is the author’s point.
And I say this as someone who grinds their own beans every day.
I've come to this conclusion. Growing up in an italian-american household, the moka pot was a major part of that experience. Loved it as a kid (mainly adding milk and sugar in my younger years, now adding a little sambuca). But it was more the ritual - you would have it with others.
Since then I've gone down the espresso rabbit hole, and my set up makes some fantastic espresso, way better than the bitter lavazza moka pot coffee. but somehow, it doesn't replace those memories I made as a kid. Mostly because the ones who I drank espresso with have passed on.
I think lots of us have places we loved growing up, that in became nostalgic keystone locations for our childhoods. For me, it is an ice cream place. And it becomes all the more apparent that these locations were actually about the people, because at some point we realize actually it is just kinda mediocre soft-serve otherwise.
And maybe frou-frou is distracting. But the instant coffee doesn't induce the authentic experience, it just makes it noticeable in retrospect. Although, the author didn't explicitly claim that it did induce the experience... Anyway there's a big gap between frou-frou and instant coffee where all sorts of lovely little coffee shops live.
I dunno. This became kinda train of thought. In conclusion, I have no conclusion. It is good for people to enjoy things and we should definitely find little rituals to indulge in with our loved ones.
Starbuck’s Via instant coffee is the best instant coffee I’ve ever tasted, and it’s not close. Like a real cup of coffee, somehow. I’ve been looking for an off-brand version of it (micro ground coffee beans?) considering it’s much more expensive than regular instant coffee but haven’t found any.
I'm not sure if it comes out ahead on price, but I find Waka instant coffee to be great. Similar to your experience with Starbucks Via, it's the first brand that convinced me that instant coffee could be good. You can buy it on Amazon in little single-cup packets, or a bag of it.
Yeah. The conversation would go something like this: (spewing noise) “What did I just put in my mouth!? Hey. Lets feed this swill to the plants and go grab coffee at Methodical.”
Frou-frou coffee has a way of making the experience about the coffee, rather than about the company and environs. At least that is the author’s point.
And I say this as someone who grinds their own beans every day.