Super Expensive but is it Super Nice? (Nescafe Alta Rica)

Member Name: chipmunk67

Product:	Nescafe Alta Rica
Date:	11/09/08 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells great, Tastes better than cheaper brands

Disadvantages: Expnsive and doesn't have that real fresh coffee taste

Alta Rica is a super premium brand of instant coffee made by Nescafe.

This brand must be aimed at people like me who enjoy their coffee but are too lazy to make fresh coffee from ground coffee beans. At least this brand proves I am not the only lazy person in the world - if I was Nescafe wouldn't make it!

It is expensive compared to other brands of instant coffee - much more expensive than Nescafe Original and more expensive than a regular premium brand like Nescafe Gold Blend even.

For example at Asda 100g of Nescafe Original costs £2.14, 100g of Nescafe Gold Blend costs £2.67 and 100g of Nescafe Alta Rica costs £3.37.

In fact Nescafe Alta Rica is generally too expensive for me and I normally buy a cheaper brand. However at the moment it is on special offer at Tesco at £5.00 for 2 100g jars - and as this makes it cheaper than Gold Blend for 2 jars I was swayed by good deal and bought some.

So what do you get for the extra money?

When you first open a jar you notice that the aroma is much richer than that of cheaper brands. The smell of the granules really does remind me of coffee beans. However, once you have opened the jar, this great smell gradually gets less pronounced and after a few days it is barely noticeable.

But I buy instant coffee to make a hot drink and not so that I can sniff the granules - and I'm sure you do too - so what does the actual drink taste like? Well it has a richer flavour than cheaper brands, and that slightly metallic taste that is characteristic of instant coffee is less pronounced. However no instant coffee comes close to the taste and texture of real fresh coffee - and unfortunately this brand is no exception.

In summary what's good about this brand is that it tastes and smells better than cheaper brands of instant coffee - and is as easy to make as any other brand of instant coffee.

What's not so good is that is very expensive and doesn't compare with real fresh coffee.

Summary: A brand that aims to give us a little luxury - but does it deliver?