Back in the day when camping wasn't just condos on wheels; when the best a poor man could hope for was a pop-up tent trailer in a campsite with a picnic table and one of those swiveling barbecues on a post, Instant coffee was my jam.

Early morning. Mist from the lake still not fully burned off. No constant background hum from power lines. Just me, getting the barbecue fire started while drinking my cup of instant coffee that I made with my portable kettle that plugs into my trucks cigarette lighter port.

Instant coffee will always be special to me.

Not in general, but the cheapest beans are miles ahead the cheapest instant coffee by quality and price to weight ratio (the latter perhapsobvious, since more processingis involved). If buying instant, I would never recommend cheaping out on it.