I name this coffee Luke (warm) (Nescafe Hot When You Want)

Member Name: BizzyB

Product:	Nescafe Hot When You Want
Date:	03/01/02 (275 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice gimmicky idea

Disadvantages: Expensive, Small amount of coffee, Not hot

Just as you thought it was safe to read dooyoo...yes, after a long absence (in which my heart has grown fonder of dooyoo) I am back, and what better category to return to than food & drink after the excesses of the festive season.

In fact it was the very buying of this product that had me yearning to write for dooyoo again after a very busy Autumn which saw me retire (gracefully I hope) as Sports guide and not write an opinion.

As I wandered around the Co-op my eye was drawn to the large stand alone shelves advertising the new Nescafe Hot When Not coffee in a can. I must buy it...I must try it...I must dooyoo it...

So I handed over my £1.20 grabbed a can and rushed off home. I read the instructions - simple enough. The coffee comes in what looks like a normal drinks can but you will notice it is heavier when you lift it and feels weighted. Turn the can upside down and there's a clear, strong panel with a moulded button and filled with a red liquid. So I read the instructions again, just to make sure. Yes I was activating the can at room temperature and no I wouldn't do anything silly like pierce the bottom or play football with it. However I've been horrified to speak to people who think you put it in the microwave - unless you want a scale model of Chernobyl this is not the way. No it's much easier...

Turn can upside down and push button, this breaks a seal on the other side. Then gently shake the can back and forth until the red liquid has all gone. Stand for about three - four minutes and hey presto - a hot can of coffee...well so the theory says.

Unfortunately the practice isn't as impressive. The can did feel very warm to the touch which was encouraging but I'd class the coffee's temperature as luke warm rather than hot and it tasted repulsive to my tastebuds...looked at the can and realised in my haste I'd picked up the version with milk and sugar. I've only ever see
n the two versions - with milk and with milk and sugar, no cans for the black coffee drinker then.

So it was a rematch. Off I went to the shop again and made sure I picked up my preferred choice of coffee with just milk. And then things got sadder. That evening I had friends around for a meal and this wasn't what they expected by after-dinner coffee.

All armed with a cup we went through the motions again, push, shake and wait. Then we all took part in the taste test. Once more it was lukewarm. Looked at the tin which suggests for best results the can is activated at room temperature as at lower start temperatures it may not heat up as far. Not as far? It was hardly hot now when started in a warm living room so what hope would you have on a camping trip etc?

So the taste test. 3 yuks and one okay. With more investigation we found all the 3 yuk voters drank their coffee without sugar and the 1 okay with. So I double checked the can in case I had made the same mistake as the first time. No, this definitely was with milk only, looked at the ingredient list...sugar??!

We all agreed the actual taste of the coffee was good, and of the Nescafe quality we'd express but we were all agreed that it was a dud of a product. Not hot enough and certainly not enough in the can - it fills a small mug at best.

My friends also concluded that I am sad as I sat with my notebook and pen.

This product screams gimmick at me. As someone who is often out and about in the cold whether it be trapping feral cats or days at the motor racing track I was hoping this product would be a revelation but it is too expensive and does not deliver. Nice try Nescafe in this fast moving world, but I think it's back to the drawing board.

If you want a decent, warm cup of coffee my advice is to invest in a decent thermos and spend all of five minutes making a flask up before you go out.

Summary: