12 Instant Espresso Brands, Ranked From Worst To Best

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I am a former Starbucks barista, and since those long-passed days behind the bar, I've been absolutely in love with coffee. I love trying different flavors, brewing methods, recipes, and machines. One area I haven't fully explored is instant espresso. To remedy this, I collected a range of instant espresso brands, prepared them, and compared the tastes and textures. To give each espresso its fair shot, I prepared them as both black espressos and ones dressed up — this is explained in further detail in the methodology slide at the end of the article.

Being a coffee lover, I wondered how instant espresso would stack up to the drinks I prepare at home and the espresso shots I enjoy after a meal at my favorite restaurant. I thought it possible that it was an even better way to brew up espresso-like coffee without expensive gadgets. Over the years, my husband and I have spent a fair amount of money to craft our ideal espresso set up, from beginner-friendly espresso machines to more advanced ones, but with instant espresso, I wondered if all of those tools would become wholly unnecessary.

Opening the container, G7's instant espresso immediately lost a few points as my nose met the most unappetizing espresso scent I've ever experienced, forcing a nose wrinkle and grimace. Notably, this was the only espresso with such a bad scent that I actually winced at the assault. Water did nothing to temper the smell, and I found myself dreading actually sipping the espresso.

Admittedly, I am something of an espresso snob, preferring blonde roast beans and a manual espresso shot, but I forged ahead to see if I was missing something. One thing was for sure: If the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup, then this espresso is sending me right back to bed. Unfortunately, the flavor wasn't any better. It had a burnt, overly processed flavor. While I would find this to be a trend throughout my tasting, this espresso's bitter flavor took the cake for strength, and not in a good way. My sip from the cream and sugar espresso was much better, but with that smell, the espresso plummeted to the least favorite of the instant espressos.

G7's coffee wasn't the only brand with a particularly unpleasant scent: Ferrara was pretty bad, too. While G7 was just terrible, Ferrara's scent was more peculiar. In fact, I glanced at the expiration date to see if I'd somehow gotten an expired batch, but this was not the case. Anytime I've needed to check if something is expired, only to find out it's within range, it's rarely a good sign.

When prepared, Ferrara's instant espresso produced nearly no crema, instead offering minimal bubbles around the rim, something like a typical cup of coffee might. Unfortunately, that odd, off-putting smell permeated into the taste of the espresso, descending into a burnt, bitter flavor that again improved with cream and sugar but not enough. While the scent wasn't as bad as G7, it was enough to make Ferrara's espresso nearly at the bottom of my ranking, and the flavor didn't help here either. From first sniff to final sip, Ferrara was one of my least favorites.

When I typically make espresso drinks, I mix it with ice and all kinds of sweet and milky additions, but I've also been known to have a straight shot of espresso and find that quite enjoyable. In the case of yet another brand, however, Cafe Tastle needs its additions to be anything close to palatable. Without them, the espresso (as I expected at this point) tasted burnt.

There's such a balance when creating the perfect shot of espresso, and the freeze-dried quality simply can't do it on a black espresso alone. Still, I really enjoyed the way that this espresso played with the cream and sugar. So if you're looking for an instant espresso to use in lattes, especially if they're iced and mega modified, this is the first option I feel decently good about recommending. However, I can't put it any higher on my list because the black espresso taste was just not enjoyable, even offering only the smallest amount of crema along the inside of the espresso glass.

The labeling on Cafe Caribe made it feel tropical and even playful, but the espresso was anything but. Instead of reminding me of a warm vacation, it felt more like the depression at the end of a long, satisfying trip.

This espresso had a very dark, very burnt smell to it. While other espressos typically needed only a teaspoon of coffee, Cafe Caribe called for a full tablespoon. I grimaced as I dumped it into my espresso cups. Even with a reasonably good smell, it had a slightly flat, even dingy taste, though the espresso improved dramatically with the addition of cream and sugar. Still, I had this aftertaste that took quite a bit of water to shake. Ultimately, I placed this one lower in my ranking because of its muddy flavor.

When a company promises perfection, I can't help but be skeptical. Especially since coffee is so diverse and full of subjectivity, perfection will always be in the eye of the mug-holder. Still, Mount Hagen claims on its website: "It doesn't get better than best, so we stopped at perfection and packaged it in three convenient ways." Fascinatingly, the convenience of Mount Hagen is that all of the coffee is instant in regular, espresso, and decaf varieties.

Sipping on Mount Hagen's espresso revealed a very big bite right from the beginning but tapered off very quickly. I didn't find the flavor to be particularly enjoyable with it being closer to a Nespresso pod's taste. Like some of the other espressos, with cream and sugar, it brightens up, but Mount Hagen's flavor was muted quite a bit. I hoped for a little more breakthrough of that bite than the freeze-dried coffee offered, like many instant coffee brands that have an intense flavor even with the cream and sugar. I just wanted that flavor to be more enjoyable.

Caffe D'Vita is responsible for my early coffee confusion. In addition to instant coffee, the brand also makes canisters of powdered cappuccino flavoring, an odd type of drink to offer in a powdered form since cappuccinos require foamed and steamed milk to achieve their form. Neither of these is happening with a powder, making them poorly marketed. The instant espresso is in the same type of can, and as soon as I went to pull the foil cover to reveal the opening, I could see those cappuccino canisters on my family's counter, just waiting to make my mom's favorite type of coffee.

Like many of the other espressos, Caffe D'Vita espresso had a burnt taste that was familiar at this point but still hard to ignore. Still, it tasted much better when adding cream and sugar to it, even if the crema was isolated to the sides of the glass. Truly, this espresso was just so basic that it wouldn't be anything you'd look forward to, but was still capable of getting the job done in a pinch. It's a reasonable container to take camping as it won't break but still offers some espresso when you're away from your home espresso bar.

When customers first had access to Butter-Nut in 1913, the brand offered something different with a coffee bean roasted using gas in lieu of coal, resulting in what it claimed was "coffee as sweet as a nut." I was skeptical about the relative sweetness but was impressed by Butter-Nut's smell as I opened the jar. The instant espresso had a slightly chocolatey scent that was as surprising as it was enjoyable.

Unfortunately, Butter-Nut's scent profile doesn't really transfer to the taste of the espresso, but it was a nice surprise in any case. Of course, the espresso mixed well with cream and sugar, but black was a little too bland. This one had a smoothness that some of the other espresso varieties did not have, however. Not to mention, the crema was impressive, especially at the top of my cream and sugar espresso cup. While Butter-Nut wasn't a bad instant espresso, the smell definitely set my expectations perhaps a little too high for the flavor.

As the brand name suggests, Fire Department Coffee was founded by former firefighter Luke Schneider. The company remains committed to providing a helping hand to first responders and firefighters in need, especially in disaster relief situations. I tried the skull-crushing instant espresso coffee, which comes in little packets, making them easy to take on the go.

The skull-crushing instant espresso had a little more bite to it than other brands I had tried. The theme of the skull with the red company logos in the eyes seems to fit perfectly, and I appreciated the unique take on branding. This espresso isn't trying to be anything too fancy. It knows exactly what it is, and it is admittedly not a terrible-tasting instant espresso. I placed it in the upper half of my list because the strength came through without creating an overly manufactured flavor, and the espresso got better with cream. There were other brands I enjoyed more, and with a little bite, it might not be for everyone. But it's easy to see why it's ideal for people on the move, like the firefighters of its branding.

I have had my fair share of diner coffee, which always tastes different from your home brew. And while I didn't expect to find an espresso that reminded me of those porcelain mugs with advertisements all around the edges, 365 instant espresso definitely got me there. It's the kind of coffee you expect to get from a diner when you order a latte, and it's prepared on a somewhat forgotten machine in the back of the kitchen. It's perfectly acceptable with its agreeable coffee flavor and slightly flat taste, but your typical specialty café will easily outperform the drink.

Thankfully, adding cream and sugar helped liven up the flavor, but the espresso was mostly just bland. While it was far from the best-tasting espresso I tried, I found it to be the most middle-of-the-road, baseline of the espressos. This feels about right for a grocery store espresso, even if it is from Whole Foods' private label.

With a name like Medaglia D'Oro, you probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that this is an Italian-style roast. This espresso claims itself to be unusually rich, and says that it is even double-roasted, a distinction that has lent to a familiar taste and impressive crema atop the espresso.

I enjoyed it with cream and sugar, and it felt closer to the type of espresso you might enjoy sipping during an al fresco meal on the streets of Italy. Still, I can't say I enjoyed the dark version. It definitely needs some help. However, if I were served this at a restaurant in a white espresso mug, I would struggle to taste the difference between this shot and one pulled from an espresso machine. Unfortunately, I can't rank this higher than its current seat because the black version left some flavor to be desired, even if it was a convincing espresso.

Cafe Bustelo's labeling is bright and happy, and it's hard not to be drawn in. The brand offers an instant espresso in jars of regular and decaf, and on-the-go single-serve packets in regular.

Regular brewed espresso has a nice layer of crema and produces a liquid that looks perfectly thickened. Cafe Bustelo, unfortunately, created a much thinner-looking espresso shot with nearly no crema at all. It looked much more like a tiny cup of coffee. However, the flavor was mild and pleasant, not biting like some of the other brands I have tried. Of course, cream and sugar made it even better, but this was a very agreeable espresso without being too much. I found it tasted a little bit more interesting than something you might find at a basic diner without being too far out of the ordinary. It had a purity to it, making it not taste like an instant coffee. Still, it certainly didn't taste like freshly made espresso, but for what it is, the flavor was quite good. The only thing keeping this espresso from my first-place spot is its lack of crema and its thinness.

Nescafé offers several Gold espresso variations. You can get it in a blonde roast or something darker that the brand calls intense. There is also a decaf option and even two flavored coffees in vanilla and caramel. All told, this was a good espresso line, and it immediately reminded me of the Nespresso capsules I have had from the full Nespresso machine experience. After a trip to Germany, my husband and I fell in love with Nespresso, and I had it almost every morning. We have graduated to other methods since then, but it remains one of our first espresso machines. The taste will always bring a little bit of comfort, even if it's not the best espresso out there. It is nothing short of impressive that the Nescafé instant espresso tastes so much like these little pods. Truly, it begs the question whether the Nespresso made in such a machine and the instant espresso are actually the same product.

The scent of the espresso in the container is also quite pleasing and has an enjoyable, warm smell. Blonde espresso roast is definitely the way to go with this brand, and it was tasty with both milk and sugar and even when I enjoyed it black. On top, you can get a little bit of that crema, though it is still less than a typical espresso machine. Still, it was easily my favorite instant espresso from the brands I tried. One thing is for sure: I will use this leftover instant espresso for faster martinis and to upgrade vanilla ice cream.

After assembling my collection of instant espresso brands, I prepared each one according to the package instructions. With only a few exceptions, the labels recommended mixing one teaspoon of the instant espresso with hot water. I prepared two servings of each espresso brand: one unaltered and another with a little sugar and heavy whipping cream, just as I would typically drink my shots of espresso. That way, I could assess the flavor of the espresso all on its own as well as the way I would prepare it for my own enjoyment. From there, I ranked the espresso brands from the worst to the best. 

The best espresso would be ones that would taste smooth with some bite and a dash of sweetness, smelling like espresso, and offer that espresso texture. Ideally, the best espresso would also have a nice crema on top.