By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

I have friends who make barfing noises whenever I mention I drink instant coffee at home. While I do like a good cup of coffee, I’m no connoisseur. But when I was offered samples of three different coffees made by Atomo Coffee, I accepted. That’s because I thought it would be a perfect excuse to get together with these friends. (Our lives can get busy, so I don’t see either of them as much as I would like.) Doing this in an evening didn’t seem like a good idea, though, because some of us don’t sleep well after drinking too much caffeine at night. (OK, I can’t sleep. Those young folks who are my friends can.) But one of them said she would make a Sunday brunch, which seemed a perfect time to do a coffee taste test.

Atomo sent the coffee samples because the company thinks its “beanless” coffee is perfect for Hanukkah – whether to drink yourself or give as a gift. The included PR material noted that the coffee is kosher and vegan, and is made from “upcycled, eco-friendly ingredients,” which might appeal to those on your gift list. You should check the list of ingredients, though, to make certain the person isn’t allergic to them. (The different coffees can contain millet, guava, fructose, date seeds, ramon seeds, pea protein, baking soda, sunflower seeds, lemon and fenugreek.) 

Back to the coffee tasting: four of us tried three coffees. There was a clear favorite: we all liked the dark roast best, followed by the Flagstaff Remix and then the medium roast. Of course, that just means we all like our coffee dark and strong. Those who prefer a lighter, milder roast will probably find the medium more to their taste. But, perhaps the most important thing, none of us would have realized that the coffee was beanless: it tasted just like regular coffee. The only difference might have been that we didn’t feel wired after the taste test, although it’s hard to say if that was because we didn’t drink three full cups of coffee, or because the coffee contains less caffeine.

What was funny was mentioning to a different friend that I took part in a coffee taste testing. She asked, “What is there to taste test? They are all bitter.” I laughed because, unlike my friends, I usually drink my coffee black. I did put some cream in the Atomo dark roast after tasting it black to get rid of a hint of bitterness. That makes me wonder about my friends’ reaction to my drinking instant coffee: they need cream and/or sugar to drink coffee. I take mine straight. Maybe that makes me the real coffee maven.