Supermarket instant coffee crowned better than Nescafe, Kenco and Douwe Egberts and it’s 22% cheaper

A SUPERMARKET instant coffee has been crowned better than a host of branded counterparts including Nescafe and Kenco.

M&S’s Fairtrade Gold Freeze dried coffee came out on top of a taste test carried out by Which?, scoring 69% overall.

A group of tasters scored 10 instant coffees based on appearance, aroma, flavour and mouthfeel, with M&S’s crowned the winner.

Half of the group branded the bitterness level and strength of flavour of the retailer’s instant coffee perfect.

Costing £6.25 for 200g or £3.13 per 100g, M&S’s instant coffee wasn’t the cheapest tested.

But it did outperform all the branded versions in terms of shopper rating and price.

Tasters scored the Kenco Gold Indulgence instant coffee, costing £7.20 for 195g (£3.69 per 100g), well overall in terms of flavour, aroma, looks and mouthfeel – 68% overall.

Most enjoyed its bitterness levels but nearly half said they would have preferred a stronger coffee taste.

Douwe Egberts’s Pure Gold instant coffee (£7.50 for 190g or £3.75 per 100g) came third overall in the taste test, with an overall 66% rating.

Which? said the coffee was well-liked among tasters with flavour, aroma, mouthfeel and appearance all rated highly.

Meanwhile, almost half praised its bitter kick, though fewer were happy with its flavour. Nearly a half wanted a more intense coffee taste.

Nescafe Gold Blend instant coffee (£7.60 for 200g or £3.80 per 100g) came in joint third in the test. Tasters rated its flavour, aroma and mouth feel highly, with it getting a 66% overall rating.

Half said the bitterness levels were perfect while a similar amount said it had good strength levels.

Aldi’s Alcafé Gold Roast came in joint second out of all the own brand instant dried coffees tested, below M&S, and with a score of 64%.

Nearly half of the tasters enjoyed its bitterness but around 60% said they wanted a stronger coffee taste from it.

Shoppers can get a jar for £2.25 for 200g, or £1.13 per 100g.

Co-op‘s own brand Fairtrade Gold Roast instant coffee scored the same as Aldi’s in Which?’s taste test – 64%.

The £4.78 for 200g (£2.38 per 100g) jar received an average score overall by tasters, but half wanted a stronger flavour while a third said it wasn’t bitter enough.

Ocado came next with 64%, with tasters branding its Gold Roast (£3 for 200g or £1.50 per 100g) spot on in terms of flavour.

A third of tasters also found Sainsbury’s‘ Gold Roast, which came eighth, to have the right strength of flavour.

The supermarket’s instant coffee scored 62% overall.

However, more than half wanted it stronger and a third said it was too bitter.

Which? said shoppers can pick up a 200g jar for £2.75 or £1.38 per 100g.

Second from the bottom and bottom of the taste test were Asda’s Gold Roasted and Lidl‘s Bellarom Gold Freeze instant coffees, respectively, with 61% and 57%.

More than 40% of tasters wanted a stronger coffee flavour from the own brand item, costing £2.25 for 200g (£1.13 per 100g).

Meanwhile, two-thirds of tasters for Lidl’s coffee (£2.45 for 200g or £1.23 per 100g) said it wasn’t strong enough.

Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: “A strong coffee is an important part of the day for many people across the UK and our taste tests reflected the competition between big brands and supermarkets to produce the best blend.

“While M&S emerged as the top scorer in our taste tests with high ratings for aroma and mouthfeel, Aldi’s offering also impressed the panel for its looks and bitterness – and is a much cheaper option.”

The instant coffee taste test is the not the first run by Which? in recent months.

The consumer website had tasters look at own brand cheddar cheese, with its winner revealed in October.

It also revealed the results of a blind taste test of Irish creams before Christmas.

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