Camp Coffee: Trader Joe's Instant

Status: 80% In
Weight: 12 grams each packet
Mods: None
Alternatives: Vinacafe or espresso powder in Carnation Instant Breakfast  (too gritty)

I like my coffee in the morning. I never drank coffee much until we lived in Utah where coffee was "naughty" and where people who liked it really knew about it and could help a coffee newbie like me learn to appreciate it. So now I like a nice Americano when I can get it and do just fine with some locally roasted stuff in my Mr. Coffee the rest of the time. I really don't know whether I will want coffee first thing in the morning on the trail, but I think I will like the ritual of it, so I've been on the hunt for the easiest decent instant coffee I can find.

I do have a French Press for my Jetboil stove, and while it's nice when I have plenty of clean water for clean-up and a good place to dispose of the leftover grounds, I can't see myself messing with it day after day. Plus, if I'm having some good French Press coffee, instant creamer just doesn't cut it.

For my bicycle tours and other travel, I've tried making my own coffee packets out of Starbucks Via with a bit of sugar and instant creamer, but while Via was better than some of the alternatives, it still wasn't satisfying enough, and pre-mixing the creamer and sugar with the coffee left the coffee kind of stale. Plus, it was just kind of a pain in the butt.

A few weeks ago, though, I picked up the Trader Joe's Instant Coffee packets that already have the cream and sugar in them. Cheap. Light. Not bad.

Well, they aren't bad as long as you put only about 6 oz. of water with them. They also aren't bad mixed in with Vanilla Carnation Instant Breakfast, which I plan to use on trail sometimes so I can get at least a few vitamins. Good enough for me for the trail. The only other kind I'm going to try is the
Vinacafe Vietnamese Coffee, which has much better reviews than the TJ's packets in terms of how strong the coffee is, but I haven't ordered any of that kind yet to test it. I'll let you know which one wins the coffee packet wars!

Edit: New alternative! My husband got me a nice burr grinder for Christmas, so the other alternative is grinding my own coffee on the lowest espresso setting to get espresso powder, which I can drink in the Vanilla Carnation Instant Breakfast packets I plan to take. Not ideal in terms of texture, but that would get me my caffeine! Update: This one is a no-go. Taste is ok, but the texture is too gritty for me to really enjoy. I want to enjoy my morning coffee, so this option is out.

I'll also take some tea for warming up in the evenings, but tea selection is less important to me than coffee selection...