Carte noir gone, recommended me a instant coffee
Carte noir gone, recommended me a instant coffee
Author
Discussion

ssray

Original Poster:

1,257 posts

246 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
quotequote all
Carte noir was my fave instant coffee, its been discontinued for a while now, not sure why?
Anything out there like it? Can't stand gold blend type stuff as the aftertaste is g
Horrible, carte noir was strong with no.nasty aftertaste
Ta Ray

rix

2,891 posts

211 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
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Nescafé azera seems pretty good to my plebeian palate...

sherman

14,760 posts

236 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
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Buy a small french press (250ml).
Buy nice ground coffee.
Drink better coffee.
It only takes a few minutes to make.

Tisy

1,247 posts

13 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
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ssray said:
Carte noir was my fave instant coffee, its been discontinued for a while now, not sure why?
Anything out there like it? Can't stand gold blend type stuff as the aftertaste is g
Horrible, carte noir was strong with no.nasty aftertaste
Ta Ray
I used to like CN too but either my taste buds have changed or it was down to pot luck whether I got a 'good' jar as I found them to be very variable in recent times. Then I disliked it just like I've ended up disliking NGB. I don't know what they've done with them but they all taste rancid to me now (taken black). I've tried all of the supermarket and discounter's own label premium offerings but they are all nasty. Let me know if you find one!

I've been meaning to start a thread asking if there's a quick, easy and cheap way to produce a decent Americano at home without a machine and only hot water but I fear the only answer will be AeroPress which is useless as it only produces about 3 mouthfuls of coffee when I want a pint pot of it.

Lotus Notes

1,300 posts

212 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
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Carte Noire tastes OK, but packaging it in a glass jar with a glass lid is criminal.. The product designer needs a cattle prod where it hurts biggrin
Replaced with Kenko.

And for the coffee lovers, we have bean to cup at work.

MitchT

17,067 posts

230 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
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Bean to cup at home. Baristas in the café at work. Get a French press or, if you must drink instant, Nescafé Azera is the most tolerable in my experience.

Super Sonic

11,415 posts

75 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
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Douwe Egberts.

ssray

Original Poster:

1,257 posts

246 months

Friday 3rd October 2025
quotequote all
I've got a small percolator type thing,
I'll try Dow experts and see how it goes
Currently I've got some aldi stuff with a red lid, it's OK

jonott

230 posts

223 months

Monday 6th October 2025
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Give Truestart a try. I drink their decaf and it’s the best instant I’ve had, and I’ve tried a lot.

Digger

16,025 posts

212 months

Monday 6th October 2025
quotequote all
ssray said:
Carte noir was my fave instant coffee, its been discontinued for a while now, not sure why?
Anything out there like it? Can't stand gold blend type stuff as the aftertaste is g
Horrible, carte noir was strong with no.nasty aftertaste
Ta Ray
Nescafé Espresso - fine powdered instant.

Well, I like it! wink

dickymint

28,010 posts

279 months

Monday 6th October 2025
quotequote all
Digger said:
ssray said:
Carte noir was my fave instant coffee, its been discontinued for a while now, not sure why?
Anything out there like it? Can't stand gold blend type stuff as the aftertaste is g
Horrible, carte noir was strong with no.nasty aftertaste
Ta Ray
Nescafé Espresso - fine powdered instant.

Well, I like it! wink
For an instant it's really good stuff - needs two spoonfuls though thumbup

TIGA84

5,495 posts

252 months

Tuesday 7th October 2025
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Yep, best one by miles. Not cheap now though for the bigger jars - saw £8 the other day.

Dunclane

1,427 posts

190 months

Tuesday 7th October 2025
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dickymint said:
Digger said:
ssray said:
Carte noir was my fave instant coffee, its been discontinued for a while now, not sure why?
Anything out there like it? Can't stand gold blend type stuff as the aftertaste is g
Horrible, carte noir was strong with no.nasty aftertaste
Ta Ray
Nescafé Espresso - fine powdered instant.

Well, I like it! wink
For an instant it's really good stuff - needs two spoonfuls though thumbup
I like Nescafe Azera as well, I always take it when camping.




dapprman

2,671 posts

288 months

Tuesday 7th October 2025
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When I tried it years ago I was not a fan of Nescafe Azera, however if you are interested it is presently reduced at Waitrose.

Inbox

1,337 posts

7 months

Tuesday 7th October 2025
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I gave up with Nescafe Azera, too expensive and bland, dirty brown water with bits in.

Tried Cafe Direct Machu Pichu and I'm converted plus it is cheaper! Considering the first coffee(s) of the day is freshly ground and from an espresso machine, the Cafe Direct stuff isn't half bad.

But you need to try a few and see what you like, plenty of surprises out there.

Tisy

1,247 posts

13 months

Tuesday 7th October 2025
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I'm trying the Aldi Barrisimo pretend Azera strength 4 Americano now (100g tin £2.99) and it's "ok" if you put 2 heaped teaspoons in. Certainly a considerable improvement over the NGB, CN and Douwe Egberts options but it's still lacking. It tastes about the same as the Nescafe Azera but without the stupid price.