Improving Instant Coffee

Great idea, Kay! I've also found that a good way to make instant coffee drinkable is adding a teaspoon of hot chocolate mix hehe I do this at work where they insist on Nescafe gold and reduced fat cadbury hot chocolate mix. Full fat is best, though 

cheap cafe mocha anyone? 

I sure miss Farm Rich non-dairy creamer! *sigh*
Oh! And amaretto coffee mate....irish cream coffee mate....

Well if all else fails there's always Starbucks if you can find one, they have amazing coffees! I just love the mocha frapaccinos

I have ti agree,.
In UK we are generally not very good at making coffee.
I have had bettr coffee in US and Canadian dockyerds than in up market UK restaurants.

Oh I wouldn't say you're bad at making coffee there, I've had some very good coffee, like once when I was in Safeway, they had a place where you could get a hot meal and coffee or tea and sit down to eat, I liked the packets of brown sugar in my coffee, much better than white sugar. They had a capaccino machine and I had one of those and it was quite nice. I also prefer Nescafe over our Folgers instant coffee any day. It's not the coffee really it's finding the right things to put in it.

My biggest issue about coffee when I was in England, was that I couldn't find a drip coffee maker with a timer.  I'm not a morning person, and I searched far and wide to find one with a timer so that I could set everything up at night, then wake up to the intoxicating aroma of freshly brewed coffee...  I never found one!  I'm sure they're out there somewhere in England.  There are a zillion different types of electric kettles, but a coffee maker with a timer eluded me...

Although I'm no longer in England, I'd be interested in knowing if any of you coffeeholics there found one.

We've had two with timers.  The last one we bought was from John Lewis.  A bit pricey, but it has the timer and makes coffee into a thermal carafe rather than using a hot plate.

Why didn't I think to go to John Lewis?   

in uk, using instant coffee.. i'd only pour in enough water from the kettle to fill the mug about halfway.. add 2 teaspons of sugar.. a tiny bit of pure vanilla extract, and then fill the remaining half with semi-skimmed milk.. worked well in a pinch

I don't particularly care for instant coffee, but every time I drink it I am transported back to the first time I came to visit DH here and he made me the foulest cup of coffee (instant) I had ever had.  It really is like those silly coffee adverts where the woman is transported back in time...

Anyway, I prefer to use a french press and real coffee.  Dead easy.  Plus it cools quickly and can be drunk in a hurry as I dash out the door!

I still can't figure out how much coffee to put in my French Press any secrets?  I either make it like mud or too weak... 

I still can't figure out how much coffee to put in my French Press any secrets?  I either make it like mud or too weak... 

Me too!  Does anyone have the wisdom of the right amount?

What exactly is a french press? Is that like a capaccino machine?

What exactly is a french press? Is that like a capaccino machine?

A french press is nothing like a cappuchino machine.  It is a glass container (not unlike a rectangular beaker) with a plunger (the press part) on top.  You put in the coffee grounds, the hot water, wait a few minutes for the grounds to infuse with the water, then you press the grounds to the bottom so that you can pour the coffee from the top without getting loose grounds into your cup.  It's a decent way to make coffee.  However, for me, cream is then a must because if I have to use milk then I have to use so much that my coffee is then lukewarm instead of hot...and, unless I'm drinking iced coffee on purpose, I want my coffee hot.

Has anyone here tried looking in ASDA for an American style coffee maker? Since they're affiliated with Walmart I would think they would have something in the line of a regular coffee maker.

What exactly do you mean by "American style coffee maker"?  Coffee makers are available here - from the very cheap to the upscale ones.  We have a very nice 10-cup one we got as a wedding gift.