Alpine StartInstant Coffee Medium Roast Original Blend from High Altitude Arabica Beans, Enjoy Hot or Cold, Dairy Free, Soy Free (0.11 Oz) Pack of 8

I love this instant coffee/cream for camping.It’s far and beyond above the usual name brands that Ives uses in the past. They go well with a literal honey added for sweetness. I’m sure sugar would work as well.

I live in Seattle, which unfortunately means I'm a de facto coffee snob. Until Alpine Start, there really was no drinkable instant coffee to enjoy on long weekend in the surrounding Cascade and Olympic mountains. Glacier climbing at midnight? Easy. Week-long section hikes on the PCT? No problem. Bad coffee? HUGE CHALLENGE!! My husband and I used to wince, plug our noses and try to choke down the bitter sludge of the best instant coffee we could find, but it was only barely passing as a tolerable experience.Fast forward a few years to a trip to Boulder where we heard about this new instant coffee called Alpine Start. We decided to spring for it and subsequently had our minds blown. We have been loyal fans for years and haven't looked back. I had no idea instant coffee could taste this good! We take it everywhere now, even on day hikes, because it's better than rural espresso stands or gas station coffee. It's seriously on par with a good cup of coffee you'd get in the city, and when you d the math, comes out to be MUCH cheaper.Coffee is such a huge part of our routine that we have come to rely on this morale boost when backpacking or mountaineering. When you strip away the clutter of life, and you get back to basics, knowing you can still have a good cup of coffee is just so important. It dissolves quickly and easily, has none of the bitterness or acrid taste I used to associate with instant coffee, and manages to be both full flavored and smooth.I don't know what kind of sorcery they're up to over at Alpine Start, but whatever it is, it makes a fine cup of coffee. Highly recommend!!!

I take it with me camping and make a double batch in the a.m., on the camp stove so I have a comforting hot steamy and delicious morning cup to watch the sun come up, then save the other in the cooler to ice for a super pick me up after an afternoon of hiking and what not. Only reason four stars and not five is because a little pricey but I cannot argue with the quality, taste, and convenience when camping, hiking, and at home.

Dirty Chai: 5 stars! Wow, delicious! I needed some instant coffee for an upcoming back country trip to Kyrgyzstan. This is the fourth instant coffee I've tested and my search is over! I love the spicy flavor, the milkiness of it, and how quickly and thoroughly it dissolved in cold water. The chai flavor is strong and delicious, both cold and hot. I love it! Be mindful that many coffee mugs are actually 12-16oz, and you could end up diluting it as it calls for 8-10oz per packet. Highly recommended! My only wish is that the plastic packets were compostable or recyclable. I will even drink this at home, where I have easy access to fresh coffee.Coconut Creamer: 3 stars. This is a decent latte. The initial flavor is excellent, but the aftertaste is a bit sour which puts me off. For an instant coffee, it is quite good. I would put this in par with a fresh latte from Pret Manger: reliably decent, just very OK. I would reach for this over Starbucks, but likely wouldn't pick it over a fresh cup at home.

I purchased this coffee to try after seeing a good review of it by two campers on Youtube. My daughter and I have been trying all sorts of instant coffee, looking for a good brand to pack for recreational camping, but this Alpine Premium brand is not going to earn its way into our backpacks. The only two pros we thought of for this coffee is that it doesn't taste "terrible" and that one packet is good for 8 - 12 oz of water, depending on how strong you prefer your coffee to taste. We started out with 10 ounces of water per pack and it seemed a bit strong, so for the "strength" test, 12 ounces of water per pack works for us even though the instructions recommend 8 - 10 ounces. Most of the other coffee packets we've tried are designed to to be used with 6 or 8 ounces of water and even with the decreased amount of water, those others taste weak. For the cons though, we have to start with the price. This is called a Premium instant coffee and it has a "premium" price. It's actually the most expensive premium coffee we've tried. In this case, we don't feel we got what we paid for. It tastes strong, but it doesn't have a good "coffee" flavor. We tried it several different ways - black; then with cream and sugar, then only with sugar, and also with sweet and low. No matter how we dressed it up, it didn't taste any better than other instant coffees we've sampled. It is ground very small, so when you try to pour the coffee out of the packet into the water, a lot of it just sticks to the inside of the packet. That's just plain annoying. And for some reason, when we tried a few cups; one after another, each successive cup tasted worse than the previous one. Sorry, Alpine. More hype than taste and the price just isn't worth it.

I fell in love with the alpine start instant coffee sachets (amazing for instant!) and thought I would give these a try since it’d be nice to have the creamer included. Unfortunately, the amount of creamer was not near enough for me (the coffee is still pretty dark brown) so I had to add more of my own anyway, but the biggest issue was the taste. The original (even though it says medium roast) has a rich, dark, full bodied taste, while this one seems to have that high, bright, acidic taste a lot of coffees have that is sort of cereal-y or syrupy or something. Perhaps it is the coconut creamer contributing to that taste, I would imagine they’re using the same coffee. Anyway, it’s just not for me. And it’s more expensive. I really wanted to return it and get more of the original but it is unreturnable. I’ll be sticking with the original from here on out. I’d love to see a decaf and one with dairy creamer eventually! I’m just glad someone is making delicious instant coffee, my camping experience thanks you!