Kenco Millicano Tin, 100g

I have always loathed any kind of instant coffee, and have never had the slightest difficulty in telling it from 'real' coffee. I dislike it so much that I find it hard to understand how anyone could drink it, let alone see it as an acceptable substitute for the real thing. Just one sniff of that burnt caramel odour that all instants seemed to me to have is all it would take for me to recognise it as instant. Until now. I originally bought it for my husband who did sometimes drink instant on the grounds (sorry!) ;-) that if you didn't think of it as coffee but just another kind of hot drink it wasn't too bad. (I was never convinced.) So when this arrived I immediately opened it to find out if it smelled any better than the top-of-the-range instant he normally uses. It smelled like a rich blend of coffee. But I still wasn't convinced: I've known instants that smell great, until you pour water on them. So then I made a cup for him, the first thing I noticed was that it still smelled like coffee! So, obviously, I had to taste it. It tasted like proper coffee! I was so impressed I made a cup for myself too! Now we both use it daily, and rarely use our cafetière any more. I like to make mine with just a slighky mounded teaspoonful in a mug whereas my husband prefers a more robust flavour so uses a heaped teaspoonful, but it tastes equally good either way. One tip: I think it does taste better if you follow the instructions and avoid using freshly boiling water, just as you would with grounds in a cafetière. It just means waiting a short while after the kettle has boiled before using it. Now, here's the bit that astonished me: most of the jar's contents are just instant coffee, with a small amount of finely ground coffee beans added. But that small amount makes a huge difference. Finally, the old dinner party test. Could you serve this to guests as real coffee? I actually think you could, unless your guests were coffee brokers or real coffee aficionados with highly discerning palates. Even then I think they might still enjoy it. I certainly think they'd be surprised when you tell them - and you would tell them, wouldn't you? (If only to see their surprise!)

Excellent bargain would recommend.

I work from home and usually make real coffee, or use my Tassimo machine, and tend not to drink instant coffee. However, I was going to a meeting and needed to take some coffee with me and this was on offer in my local Co-op, so I thought I'd give it a go.I am very impressed by; the packaging - a good, solid container with a peel back seal and a tightly fitting lid; the smell is divine and the taste is very impressive.I use a heaped teaspoon full for one mug, and use water that is just off the boil (as per the instructions). This makes a great tasting cup of coffee, and really doesn't have that artificial instant flavour. It mixes very well too, with no undissolved bits floating on the top.I'm certainly going to carry on using this coffee. Very impressed, just a little expensive when it's not on offer

Lovely flavour coffee like real filter without the hassel. Quite expensive but worth it for the taste

The coffee is great. I tried it on a visit to the UK last year. I'm happy to know it can be shipped over the pond to Canada.

I was desperate. I spend 3-4 months in UK every year. I love good coffee, but my tastes are very American. The brewed coffee there is so strong and bitter to my palate that I had to try something else. I tried brewing my own coffee from the market there, but it was still too much for me. I believe it is the way the coffee is roasted for the UK palate. At any rate I tried this Millicano coffee at the suggestion of a friend. I was very pleasantly surprised. Whole bean instant is just that, finely ground coffee beans within the instant coffee. The end product is a coffee that is very aromatic, simple and delicious.I felt like Goldilocks with the bears' porridge. The last attempt was just right!

I just love this instant coffee since I tried it in England in 2013 !

Tastes like burned coffee

Favorite instant from the UK.