Many of us rely on coffee to wake us up in the morning and get us ready to face the day, but how do you have yours?
From pricey coffee shops to at-home coffee machines, there are so many ways you can enjoy a cup of your favourite caffeinated beverage, but they all seem to come with a price tag that many of us just can't afford.
The humble instant coffee, however, is a cheaper and easier alternative to making coffee at home without the faff of a specific machine - just coffee, water, and whatever else you like to jazz it up.
But with every supermarket looking to win you over against the big brands, which instant coffee comes out on top?
We put blends from Morrisons, Tesco, and Lidl against Nescafe Original and the more pricey Nescafe Gold to work out whether spending over £3 per jar is actually worth it - or if you can enjoy the same test for half the price.
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In each case, I tasted the coffee in its most basic form - black with no sugar - and used one teaspoon of coffee per cup.
Nescafe Gold - 7/10
★★★★★★★
£3.65 for 95g
The gold blend from Nescafe is the usual staple of my household, after months of warring between those who like a rich and bitter taste, and those who prefer something milder in the mornings.
I picked this particular jar up from my local Spar in a pinch, but a 200g jar from Asda would set you back £5.70.
One of the most important things about coffee is the smell, and Nescafe Gold has one of the nicest scents of the coffees put to the test here. Not too overpowering, but it definitely has that classic coffee smell that would have you crawling out of bed in the morning.
But more importantly - the taste.
Nescafe Gold has a hint of sweetness alongside the traditional bitter taste, which helps to mask some of the unpleasant aftertaste that can be overwhelming in other coffees. It's a fairly average cup overall, and probably not worth the hefty price tag that comes with the title of a premium blend.
Nescafe Original - 6/10
★★★★★★
£3.00 for 100g (or £4.00 for 200g)
Nescafe Original is the basic version of Nescafe's coffee range and has a price to reflect that at almost £2 cheaper when comparing 200g jars.
But the cheaper alternative also falls flat in the taste department, as it's not nearly as smooth as the Nescafe Gold variety.
In fact, Nescafe Original is very earthy and bitter and leaves an aftertaste in your mouth that would have you worrying about coffee breath for the rest of the day.
It's not entirely unpleasant, and if you like a bitter coffee this one is definitely a more in-your-face taste than the Nescafe Gold alternative - but it's not the best for me.
Morrisons - 5/10
★★★★★
£1.50 for 100g (or £2.75 for 200g)
I'm usually a big advocate for Morrisons, but I won't be buying their own-brand instant coffee anytime soon.
Unfortunately, the coffee on offer at Morrisons failed to meet my expectations and fell short of the big name of Nescafe when push came to shove.
The coffee smelled very strong when first poured, and was so earthy and deep it almost reminded me of Bovril or a strong beef Oxo cube - which isn't exactly the smell I want permeating my nostrils when I first wake up.
But if it smells that strong, surely it tastes strong, right? Well, apparently not.
The flavour was incredibly bland and the coffee tasted watery - but somehow, without any flavour to the drink itself, I was still left with that nasty aftertaste to remind me (and everyone around me) that I had definitely had a cup of coffee.
Tesco - 8/10
★★★★★★★★
£2.00 for 200g
I was pleasantly surprised by Tesco's instant coffee offering, and after three mediocre cups, I thought I'd finally found the cream of the crop.
Reasonably priced at £2 for 200g, the coffee from Tesco is the perfect balance of smooth and strong. Giving it a whiff, the coffee didn't seem to smell like anything other than steam from the hot water, and I wasn't hit by an unpleasant scent.
Tesco also managed to banish the nasty aftertaste from their coffee, meaning you get this smooth but strong blend that doesn't leave you gagging at the bitterness that so often comes from a black coffee.
If you like that bitter twang then Tesco probably isn't the choice for you, but for me it was one of the best.
Lidl - 8/10
★★★★★★★★
£1.65 for 200g
As the home of bargain products, I didn't expect much from Lidl - but boy was my snobbery proven completely wrong.
It was incredibly tough to separate Lidl's offering from the Tesco one as they tasted almost identical, so in the end I concluded with giving them the same score of 8/10.
The cheapest of the bunch by far, Lidl's ability to match smooth and rich coffee without the bitter aftertaste and the desperate need for a breath mint minutes after finishing means it ties for first place with Tesco.
Final thoughts
Putting the instant coffees in order from worst to best, my rankings would see Morrisons come in last, followed by Nescafe Original and then Nescafe Gold, with Tesco and Lidl both sitting at the top.
For me, the only way to separate the final two is by price, which would put Tesco's £2 tag in second place, and would give Lidl the crown with a price of £1.65 per 200g.
In a time when our purse strings are tightening more than ever, it's good to know that you can skip out on the pricey coffees and still enjoy a full-flavoured caffeine boost for a fraction of the cost.
Where did your favourite rank? Let us know in the comments.
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