The 98-Year-Old Instant Coffee Brand That Outshines Starbucks, Folgers, And Maxwell House

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Short on time? The breakneck pace of modern life shouldn't separate foodies from a solid morning brew. That's where instant coffee comes in. Although, to that end, not all offerings are created equal. To get to the bottom of it, Tasting Table embarked on a definitive taste test — and in our ranking of 9 instant coffee brands, Café Bustelo out-performed Starbucks, Folgers, and Maxwell House.

Despite its "instant espresso" moniker, Café Bustelo's entrant into the instant coffee category is more of an espresso-style dark roast coffee. On the palate, it arrives strong and robust, yet nuanced and smooth with Latin inspired-flavor notes — very unlike the weirdly bitter, burnt taste of the Folgers instant coffee we tried. With Bustelo, foodies can savor all the depth and heftiness of an espresso roast with the accompanying satiny mouthfeel they'd expect. It tastes like it was brewed in a moka pot, but instead, it's ready to enjoy in seconds.

Texturally, Café Bustelo stands out for its consistent, even, thorough dissolving when stirred into hot water — praise which could not be said of Starbucks' unpleasantly grainy instant coffee, which left bobbing clumps even after a round of vigorous stirring. As for poor old Maxwell House, this allegedly "good to the last drop" brew failed in both the flavor and texture categories, leaving us with a stale taste and a sludgy mug.

If we were going to dock points anywhere for Café Bustelo, they would be in the approachability department. As we mentioned in our review, "It had that signature dark espresso bite and might be too harsh for coffee drinkers who enjoy something lighter." But, if bold is your style, this instant brew performs fabulously on its own. 

We aren't alone in our take, either. Walmart customer reviews praise Café Bustelo for both quality and overall value: "Most easily available instant coffees taste dull, bitter, and lack all the rich depth of 'real' brewed coffee. This is the only reasonably priced and available instant coffee I can find. Even the more expensive instant coffees aren't better than this." Elsewhere online, in a Reddit thread, even self-professed "coffee snobs" say they swear by the Everyman prowess of Café Bustelo. "It's a 'cheap' brand but it is very quality and it has a good value IMO," writes one commenter. Indeed, Café Bustelo delivers much more than just affordability — but that price point is something to sing about, too. 

At Walmart, a 7.05-ounce jar of Café Bustelo espresso-style instant coffee currently costs $7.92. Thanks to instant coffee's virtually-everlasting shelf life, stocking a glass jar of Café Bustelo in your pantry is a low-cost investment that can stretch far into the future, ready and on-hand whenever you need it. To ensure the best fit for the job (now or later), Café Bustelo is the brew with a near century of brand history that leaves flashier competitors in the dust.