Published January 3, 2019 04:42PM
First Look: STOKED Instant Coffee
Price: $9.00 per package, $184 for a case of 24
Best Features: 100% organic, pretty good taste for instant coffee.
Room for Improvement: Try to allow for 30 minutes to an hour before hitting the trail. Be sure to mix with 8 oz. of water or less.
Self proclaimed as the “official coffee of the outdoors,” Oregon-based STOKED Coffee Roasters offers a premium roast instant coffee that can be mixed into eight ounces of water, hot or cold. The STOKED instant coffee is 100 percent organic and comes in medium and dark roasts.
Each packet contains 70 milligrams of caffeine (a normal cup of joe is about 95) and there are eight packets in a box. STOKED has set up a subscription service so if you love their brew, you can have any STOKED item delivered to your door on a regular basis for a five percent discount.
The instant is useful for alpine runs, pre-sunrise sufferfests—where starting early gives you a larger margin of safety—fastpacking adventures or really anytime you need some yummy organic coffee ASAP. The fact that it will brew in cold water makes it especially clutch for warmer adventures when you’re not carrying a stove or ready to build a fire.
This is one of the better instant coffees out there, as far as taste and quality. Oftentimes, in situations where instant coffee is the only option, people forego it completely or have to add a ton of sugar and flavor to get it down. STOKED is great for an instant option.
—Tim Nooney placed third in the Grand Mesa 50 Miler and runs 80 miles per week, typically with a new piece of gear that Trail Runner makes him take along and review.