The Best Instant Coffee in the UK? What to Look For (and Why We Built Kinlett This Way)


Instant coffee has a reputation problem

Search for best instant coffee UK and you’ll mostly find supermarket jars that taste like Monday morning meetings. Burnt, bitter, either watery or weirdly sharp. No wonder most people graduate to gadgets, grinders, and a small army of coffee toys just to get something half decent in the mug.

But here’s the truth: instant coffee doesn’t have to taste like compromise. The technology exists, the beans exist, and—if you start from flavour instead of faff—it can actually be the coffee you want to drink every day.

That was our starting point with Kinlett. We didn’t want “the best instant coffee” as some marketing line. We wanted the only instant coffee you’d actually look forward to drinking.

 

What “best” should really mean

If you strip away the hype and the “notes of wild blueberry harvested at dawn” pretence, the best instant coffee should tick a few non-negotiables:

  • Smooth, not bitter. No harsh aftertaste, no metallic tang. Just drinkable.

  • Low acidity. Because no one wants a stomach that sounds like a kettle.

  • Consistent flavour. Every mug should taste the same—no roulette.

  • Easy to drink black. No disguising burnt notes with milk.

  • Fast. Ten seconds, kettle, done.

That’s the checklist. And it’s not unreasonable. It just hasn’t been delivered—until now.

 

How Kinlett did it differently

While the rest of the coffee world obsessed over single origin storytelling, we went full Caractacus Potts: tinkering, fiddling, Frankensteining our way to one blend that actually makes sense in real life.

  • We blended backwards from flavour. Not origin. Not “story.” Just what made us happiest in the cup.

  • Premium Arabicas + a dash of Robusta. Arabicas for the smoothness, a whisper of Robusta for body.

  • Freeze-dried into our Swiss-made Chips™. Odd little shards that lock in oils and dissolve cleanly, hot or cold.

  • Lifted with microground magic. A sprinkle of fresh-ground coffee to give it that brewed-coffee depth.

The result? One instant coffee that tastes balanced, smooth, and—dare we say—actually decent.

 

What makes Kinlett stand out

Most “best instant coffee” lists recycle the same jars. Here’s why Kinlett plays in a different league:

  • No bitterness, ever. The big one. Sip it black and it still behaves.

  • Gentler caffeine hit. Around 30% less than ground, so you get a lift without the shakes.

  • Versatile. Hot kettle in winter, iced latte in summer—it dissolves instantly either way.

  • Consistently consistent. Every pouch delivers the same flavour. No batch roulette.

  • Sustainable simplicity. No pods, no filters, no gadgets to landfill. Just coffee + water.

It’s not about bells and whistles. It’s about making a cup you’d actually go back to.

 

Who it’s for

  • The coffee lover who’s tired of faff. You like good flavour, but you don’t need it to come with a TED talk.

  • The commuter. No space for a grinder on the 7:42 to Liverpool Street.

  • The health-tuned. Lower caffeine, low acid, easier on the gut.

  • The realist. You’ve got kids, meetings, deadlines. You want ten seconds to good coffee, not ten minutes.


 

FAQs people actually Google

Is Kinlett vegan?

Yep. It’s just coffee. Add oat, almond, cow, yak, whatever milk you want—or none at all.

Can I drink it black?

Please do. It’s smooth enough that you don’t need to hide it under milk or sugar.

How many cups in a pouch?

Industry standard says ~50. We say 35–40 if you like a proper mug. Depends how heavy your hand is.

Can I make iced coffee with it?

Absolutely. Stir into cold water or milk, throw in some ice, done. The Chips™ dissolve just as easily cold as hot.

 

The bottom line

When people ask what’s the best instant coffee in the UK?, they’re not really asking for awards or origin stories. They’re asking for something they can actually enjoy every day—smooth, consistent, drinkable.

That’s why we built Kinlett. Instant coffee that’s finally worth drinking. No bitterness, no faff, no compromises. Just a pouch of flavour that hits the same sweet spot every time.

👉 Try Kinlett today — one pouch, ten seconds, fifty cups of actually decent coffee.