For a while now, I've been drinking instant coffee at home. Michele put our coffee maker up in a cupboard and replaced with a hot water dispenser. It's great for tea, but it leads to instant if you want coffee. I've tried various Japanese instants and those found in the regular supermarket from Folgers and Maxwell. They are OK, but nothing great.
When I was in Europe I found these small coffee packets that held instant coffee for one cup. I really enjoyed them and had horded a few that I brought home. When I started searching on the net for how to get them in the US, I bumped into Java Juice. I started reading the site and was intrigued. I bought some and awaited it's arrival to Cruft Manor.
I opened the box and was pleased with the package. Quite a departure from standard supermarket style, the canister had a good tactile feel and appears to be useful for other things once the coffee is gone.
The coffee is made from organic beans and is even kosher. They even mention that the benas are 'fair trade'.
The coffee extract comes in a packet. It's not powdered instant coffee, it's a liquid. The idea is that it is easily mixed into anything.
Java Juice pitches their coffee as a product for people on the go, that want high quality coffee whether they are camping or at the office.
I open the package and poured the black gold out. A strong, delightful coffee aroma filled the air. I'm not sure exactly how they make it, but this is some serious coffee extract.
I add the hot water from the kettle. (Michele tried to clean the hot water dispenser with vinegar. It cleaned off the calcium deposits great, but the dispenser died. So we are back to heating water with a tea kettle until Michele decides on the new hot water dispenser.)
A little sugar and a little milk and we are ready. The taste? Pretty damn good. Much better than any regular instant coffee I've tried in the past. It's strong and has a more 'thick' feel to it that some of the thin coffees you encounter.
Michele gave it a try and she liked it as well. It's been offically added to the house staples.
Java Juice is great, but it ain't cheap. A single serving is 75ยข to $1, depending on the quantity you buy. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. I brought a packet to work today, added the hot water from the work kitchen and I had a great cup of coffee. Compared to my usual choice of crappy free machine coffee and expensive yucky Starbucks coffee, it's well worth the price.