Tesco French Fresh Ground Coffee 5

£2.20 for 227g. Creamy texture with pronounced burnt flavours. No character or charm, just straight ahead black toast. There's some bitterness, but it's acceptable. And the whole thing is quite drinkable, even if it does leave a greasy chemical burnt toast flavour on the tongue. This is not a great coffee, nor is it one I will be buying again, but it is easy drinking and it really doesn't matter how you make it, as you can't exactly ruin it. Robust, forgiving, and easy drinking. Use as a cheap base for milky coffee like cappuccino - why pay more?


3/10

Tesco tea and coffee

Mokate To Go! Cafe Cappuccino

Tastes like a coffee flavoured milky drink, just like all the other cappuccinos I've tried. It's not really coffee, but it's fun. I prefer the mocha.

Date: Nov 2014   Score: 2/10

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Creamy instant coffees

Mokate To Go! Cafe Mocha

Three packs of instant coffee powder with creamer for 99p at a 99p store. The Mokate company date themselves  to 1900 in what is now the Czech Republic, though the modern version of the company, which deals with coffee creamers, started in 1990. The company developed an instant cappuccino for the Polish market in 1992 and has grown steadily since.

This is a drinkable product. Easy to make, and attractive to look at. There's some coffee flavour and some chocolate flavour, and it's sweet and creamy. This is not a quality product, but it's fun and cheap.


Date: Nov 2014    Score:  3/10

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Creamy instant coffees

Sainsbury's Continental Fairtrade ground coffee

Cheap and very cheerful. £2.30 for 227g, which is around a £1 per 100g. I found this to be a coffee lacking in character or interest, but great for everyday drinking. Fully roasted so the full flavour of the coffee comes forth, yet not harsh or bitter, this makes an easy drinking coffee packed with roasty, toasty flavours. There's no acidity (Continental is an extreme roast, usually used for espresso, so all acidity and local character is burned away in the roasting), which suits me. I am perfectly happy with this. It's very flexible and forgiving as regards amount of coffee or length of time, so I don't need to be fussy when measuring out the coffee nor when timing the brewing. Makes a decent and satisfying brew every time. Nice roasty flavours combined with a smooth oily sweetness.

I'll be trying more continental blends.

4/10

Sainsbury's own label tea and coffee

Coffee roasts