The Best Instant Coffee Brands To Stock Up On

Though instant coffee can often get a bad rap, there is certainly a time and a place for it. That time usually comes when you're without power and, thus, your coffee maker. Whether that happens on an unplugged camping trip or at home following a devastating storm, if you're a true coffee addict, going without just isn't an option. That's where instant coffee fills the all-powerful caffeine void. 

Instant coffee powder is essentially made of dehydrated coffee crystals that are water soluble — it only needs water (preferably hot but not boiling) to be transformed into a proper cup of coffee. Though it's certainly cheaper and more convenient than whole bean or K-cup coffee options, much of instant coffee's maligned reputation comes down to a matter of taste. Its faulty flavor can come down to a number of factors, from over-roasting to bean quality to grind size. Most commonly, spray-drying is the culprit, as this method of dehydrating the coffee crystals (as opposed to costlier freeze-drying methods) can make the product taste significantly more bitter. Sure, there are ways to make this all go down smoother (use filtered water to improve the taste of instant coffee), but your experience can still be pretty dodgy. 

Putting aside these pitfalls, coffee drinkers aren't doomed to accept a subpar cup whenever they go without their coffeemaker. Plenty of brands are making solid options for every kind of java craving, from Mexican-style cafe de olla to rich espresso. Here are some of the best instant coffee brands to add to your in-case-of-emergency pantry stash.  

Mount Hagen is one of my absolute favorites on this list for a number of delicious reasons. First and foremost, the brand is loud and proud about offering a product that is both certified organic and fair trade. With a convenience product like instant coffee, it's easy for corporations to cut corners and ignore both ethical business practices and health concerns. This made Mount Hagen instant coffee go down a little smoother for me. 

As for taste, the coffee had a nice medium intensity, perfectly enjoyable on its own or with a bit of cream and sugar mixed in. In fact, this is one of the few instant coffee brands out there that I could easily drink black. The improved taste is probably a happy consequence of the freeze-dried method Mount Hagen uses, rather than the cheaper, less appetizing spray-drying that other brands use. Mount Hagen keeps it product lineup pretty simple. You can buy instant espresso, instant coffee, and instant decaf options in jars, resealable bags, or in single-serve sticks. 

You may already be familiar with the Café Bustelo brand, as the company also has a pretty big foothold in the world of K-cup and regular coffee as well. Instantly recognizable with its bright yellow label, this espresso instant coffee mix has long been my go-to for bringing coffee-flavored nuance to baked goods like brownies and chocolate cake (yes, just like Ina Garten). When I finally tried it as a stand-alone instant brew, I was very pleasantly surprised at its intensity and richness. 

As a decidedly darker roast, I liked this best when it was tempered by a bit of cream and sugar, but for those who like it strong, I think this cup of coffee would satisfy. What really wows me about Café Bustelo espresso instant coffee is its affordable price point. At 75 cents per ounce, this was easily one of the cheapest options on my list. Beyond the tried-and-true original espresso instant coffee, Bustelo offers a decaf option and two instant specific blends, Mexico and Colombia. The brand has also expanded into more high-brow territory, offering a decaf and regular Supreme by Bustelo instant brew. This line is set apart by the fact that it freeze-dries rather than spray-dries the coffee granules. Though these varieties come at a steeper price, they should pack a tastier punch too. 

Similar to big names like Folger's and Maxwell House, Nescafé is more commonly associated with instant coffee than traditional coffee products. Unlike the aforementioned brands, Nescafé has the kind of instant brew that I'm more than happy to stock up on. One particularly nice product is the Nescafé Gold Espresso Blonde, an offshoot of its original Gold series. When I was searching for recommendations for a Nescafé standout, reviewers highlighted that this blonde roast ensured that the brew wasn't too bitter and that it delivered the best part of an espresso: the crema.

Indeed, the "gold" part of this drink has to come down to that delicious velvet crema that pools at the top. Getting that luxurious topping sans espresso maker or even a regular coffee maker is beyond impressive. If you want something less espresso-intense, you can easily make this into the low-key Americano version using 6 ounces of water versus 2 ounces. Either way, this instant brew promises the most luxurious texture. If you'd still like it darker, you can get the "intense" version of this product as well as a decaf option. Keep in mind that a Tasting Table review also called out the brand's clásico and cafe de olla varieties as equally delicious options. 

Love it or hate it, Starbucks is a dominating figure in the world of coffee. Sure, it can't claim to be one the best artisan coffee roasters in America, but being a whale in the industry has some perks. One of those perks is a commitment to consistency. If you like your Starbucks Chai Latte offered in the Colorado Rockies, you'll probably be equally satisfied with the same order served in a Starbucks near the Everglades of Florida. That brings us to Starbucks VIA Instant, the chain's coffee line that offers instant takes on some of the brand's most popular roasts. 

In the VIA Instant lineup, you can get light roast Veranda, medium roast Pike Place, and dark roast Italian (plus a decaf option of the Italian. I went with the Starbucks VIA Instant Pike Place initially, as a kind of Goldilocks option. It delivered exactly what you want from an instant coffee: a better-than-expected brew. Can it beat the stuff you get at the café? No, but instant coffee as a whole can't compete anyway. Still, this is as close as you can get to a normal, everyday cup of coffee, a barely noticeable change in your regularly scheduled programming. It hit the spot enough that I'm looking forward to trying the Sweetened Iced Coffee option, an exciting addition to the instant coffee game. 

Colombian beans have a sterling reputation in the coffee realm. There are several reasons for that, one of which is that in Colombia only arabica coffee beans are grown there, a variety cherished for its smooth brew. The country is so proud of its connection with coffee that a mascot trio of a donkey, mountain, and mustachioed Colombian was introduced in 1958 by the Colombian Coffee Growers Association. That well-groomed, fictional Colombian? His name is Juan Valdez, and he can be found on every jar and can of Juan Valdez instant coffee. Though the brand has many traditional coffee options, its instant brew is the main subject for today. 

Like the Mount Hagen brand, Juan Valdez also uses the more expensive, better-tasting freeze-drying method for preserving the coffee crystals. This pays off in dividends for flavor and, surprisingly, doesn't raise the price point that much. For instance, compare its nearly $6 price tag to Mount Hagen's price of over $12 (both for 3.5 ounces of coffee). Satisfying like any other cup of Colombian coffee, this instant option is great for a pared down, simple flavor that still delivers plenty of caffeine. As an added bonus, I hear it makes a great iced latte as well. 

If you've ever tried your hand at making Vietnamese-style coffee at home, you've probably stumbled across the Trung Nguyen brand before. Specializing in coffee from Vietnam's Buon Ma Thuot province, but sourcing from all over the world, Trung Nguyen may not be an obvious choice for an instant coffee selection, but this brand has one of the most convenient options on the market. The Trung Nguyen G7 3-in-1 packs the three most common elements of a morning brew: coffee, sugar, and non-dairy creamer. 

As someone who loves to indulge in a creamy, sweet coffee every once in a while, the G7 promises all that without making me spring for a bottle of non-dairy creamery and box of sugar cubes too. While this is one of the more mild options on the coffee front, you can also get Gu Mahn Strong X2, which packs a heftier punch. Trung Nguyen's G7 offers even more customization, also selling a 2-in-1, which cuts the non-dairy creamer out of the equation, as well as a straight black instant coffee. 

One of my main complaints with instant coffee is that it's either much too weak or much too bitter to resemble the real thing. Death Wish Coffee Co. definitely solves this common conundrum, particularly with its dark roast option. This brand of coffee made its bones specializing in robusta bean-based coffee, a variety less used than arabica because it packs a ton of intensity and caffeine that can be too strong for the casual java drinker. On the upside, this is a much hardier strain of plant that can withstand the temperature changes courtesy of climate change. 

Along with the many other robusta coffee products, Death Wish Coffee Co. sells a premium dark roast instant coffee that has a particularly cool back story. Originally formulated for NASA, this brew has been enjoyed by astronauts at the International Space Station. It packs 300 milligrams of caffeine in one cup compared with the typical cup of joe that offers only around 95 milligrams of caffeine. While it's not a brew for the faint at heart, it offers plenty for those who long for their coffee to be strong and powerful. 

Variety is the spice of life, especially if your life includes a morning coffee ritual. A Mexican classic, cafe de olla is ground coffee with the aromatic additions of ground cinnamon and piloncillo, a solid cane sugar product often shaped into a grate-able cone. Slightly sweet and spicy, it seemed like a great flavor combo to bring to the realm of instant coffee. In my search, I kept landing on one brand in particular: Amorcito Corazon. 

The coffee here is on the milder side, while the cinnamon and piloncillo notes are light but nuanced. When I added a splash of creamer, I was pleasantly surprised by how balanced it all tasted. Sure, it can't beat the incredible brew you can get if you have it made the authentic way (clay pot and all), but it's a nice option for the java drinkers who like to add a pinch of cinnamon to their morning cup. 

Korean coffee, much like Vietnamese coffee, has been experiencing an international renaissance. Putting aside the specialty Dalgona coffee (aka whipped coffee), the Korean coffee market actually has a pioneering foothold in the instant coffee field. Though it used the Maxwell House instant coffee formula, Dongsuh Food was the first to add in powdered creamer and sugar into the mix, inventing the 3-in-1 instant coffee stick in 1976. By the 2000s, Korea was consuming more instant coffee than any other country, leading to the rise of instant coffee vending machines in public spaces. Today, Koreans still view instant coffee as the everyday essential, while freshly brewed coffee is an expensive luxury. With that history in mind, you can better appreciate the allure that the Korean Maxim brand (made by Dongsuh Food) has for an instant coffee drinker.

If you shop around on Amazon or on other Asian specialty food websites, you can often find a fairly inexpensive variety pack of multiple Maxim flavors. In my one box, I got five sticks each of the mocha, white, original, and arabica flavors, with each variety offering an increasing level of coffee intensity. Like Trung Nguyen, Maxim leans heavily into the cream and sugar aspect of the coffee order, but this is a feature rather than a bug. If you're looking to explore a more international side of instant coffee, Maxim is a great place to start.

I tested each instant coffee brand with hot water (not boiling as that can affect the taste). I drank it plain and with cream and sugar. Many of the brands were selected because I myself had previously enjoyed them or had seen numerous online recommendations attesting to their quality. 

I was either able to order these products directly from Amazon or by shopping at Walmart. Expense was a consideration, as I don't consider instant coffee sold at high prices (think $2 a cup) as something you should stockpile for a rainy day. I did not include pour-over pouches of coffee in this list, even though they have recently been on the rise in the convenience coffee arena. I don't truly consider them a version of instant coffee — more like finely ground coffee packaged in tea bags. 

Though I sampled some specific flavors of instant coffee, each brand listed has numerous tasty options worth trying as well, so a recommendation for one type of instant coffee, say Starbucks VIA Pike Place Roast, should work as endorsement for most Starbucks VIA instant coffee products.