Since HN is probably a caffeine-heavy crowd, I'll launch into this here... I understand the pitch, and I'm happy someone is pursuing better instant coffee. The

Since HN is probably a caffeine-heavy crowd, I'll launch into this here... I understand the pitch, and I'm happy someone is pursuing better instant coffee. The status quo is really, truly miserable. If you have the need to carry coffee on your person at all times so you can have a decent cup wherever you are, Sudden sounds like a good option. However, I suspect most people drink their coffee at home or work, and while everyone will have their different "optimal" coffee scenario, I'll offer my experience to great coffee without spending unnecessarily on pods or instant: If you want better coffee, you'll get most out of your investment by buying fresh, whole beans and a grinder. The $15 blender-like grinders? Just fine for most. As long as your beans are fresh you'll have a vastly better cup of coffee. Grind up whole beans in like 30 seconds and stick it in your regular drip coffee machine and enjoy 10 minutes later. You've now improved your coffee game 100%. Find a local roaster, or a roaster that will ship coffee within 24-48 hours after roasting. The reality is you can often get fresh, locally roasted coffee for the same price or less than what you can get national brands for like Starbucks, Pete's or premiums like Stumptown. If you're a 2-4 cup a day, expect to need 1.5 - 2 pounds (~1kilo) a month. That's probably ~ $30 in fresh beans. (depends on what a "cup" means to you in terms of volume, but 2 pounds of beans makes quite a bit of coffee). YMMV, but that's a conservative estimate. After that, investment in fancy equipment is much more marginal so make investments that fit your needs. The next big step up in quality comes from temperature (regular drip coffee machines just don't get hot enough for the best flavor extraction), but solutions to better temperature brewing usually require more direct attention at brew time. Pour-over is great and inexpensive, and even if you don't take the time to carefully poor for 5 minutes and just dump, you'll get decent results. The Aeropress is another option in the same price range that can be marginally faster and also has really good flavor results. I use one frequently. Impatient? Well, if you're thinking of spending $2+/cup on instant (where you still have to heat the water for those that want hot coffee) because you're in such a hurry, consider what that will cost you in a year and look at investing in something like a Breville Barista Express* or independent burr grinder and espresso machine. You can grind beans and pull a shot in less than a minute. Drink Americanos (espresso + hot water to yield what is essentially a regular cup of coffee. Flavor IS different than drip/pour-over though. maybe taste at a good coffee shop first (not starbucks)) or drink cafe-au-lait (warm milk+espresso) or even just espresso shots. You'll be net positive in about a year if you're drinking around two cups a day. This route also ends up wasting less coffee than making a whole pot and never finishing it (to be fair, also a pro of Sudden/instant). * This isn't a plug for Breville explicitly (I DO have one, though), it's just that the Breville is really the only machine of it's type on the market (a grinder and true-espresso machine in one housing, not a super-automatic like the Jura). You CAN get great (maybe better) results with separate grinder and espresso units that have better qualities independently, but you won't necessarily be saving money. Imho, never buy a super-automatic. You can easily spend ridiculous money on coffee and equipment. For most people, it's not worth it unless you want coffee to be your other hobby, (or, "snobby" as I'd probably call it). For me, it's just sourcing fresh beans at ~$20-$30/month and that gets me most 90% of my enjoyment for my multiple daily cups of coffee. I enjoy my Aeropress, Chemex and espresso machine, but they'd be useless without good, fresh beans.