Mellow Bird's Coffee (100g)

Product Information

The granules smell of boiled-over milk (that’s the caramel note); the coffee brews dark, but the slight bitterness is balanced out by milk. Not much length of flavour though.

And wow, what a difference. While the various grades, granules, arabica beans, robusta beans, mellow and rich roasts all had distinct characters, there were stark differences between the individual coffees themselves. The best were balanced and satisfying, the worst plain rough, often with a distinctly burnt taste. Unwanted Food or Drink Products - Once supply conditions are broken, there are a number of factors outside of our control that can affect the quality of a product. Therefore perishable goods such as food and drink cannot be returned.Then there is the extraction, as coffee experts call the brewing of the coffee. Coffee we make at home is infused for a short amount of time, so that only the nicest flavours are drawn out. Leave it too long and it becomes murky and acrid. But to make instant coffee at the price we want to pay, manufacturers may need to get every scrap of flavour out of the beans, meaning that it’s brewed for longer and can develop astringent or muddy tastes. That bitter note means instant coffee is often better drunk with milk.

The coffee in the jar smells like Crunchie bars. The drink delivers a classic instant-coffee taste, mellow, with a caramel length. The brand has not been actively marketed since the 80s and early 90s, when ads featured the straplines 'For Mellow moments', 'Mellow roasted for more flavour' and 'Mellow Bird's will make you smile'. There’s a bit of caramel depth to the coffee flavour and it doesn’t taste burnt, despite that being the smell of the granules. No length though.

per cent arabica coffee with a little bit of bright acidity and caramel notes. A bit weak but the only one that could be mistaken for filter coffee. Not cheap, but better than pricier premium brands. More acidity than the competing Sainsbury’s own-brand version, and no bitterness. It’s quite bland (as you’d expect), but with a roundness and a little malty length. If this is your style, it’s a good buy.

For reasons of hygiene and safety, personal grooming products, cosmetics or items of intimate clothing cannot be returned. The dried granules have a brighter smell than some but the coffee is murky in colour and very weak in flavour. Delivers powerful, fruity acidity but I’m not getting the caramel and chocolate notes it advertises. Takes milk nicely, which does give it more of a chocolatey quality. No balancing bitterness but it’s not at all burnt and the fruitiness really lingers. The other reason for the bitterness is the type of beans. Most instant is made from robusta beans, a cheaper variety with an earthy flavour, while more expensive arabica, even when lower grade, tends to have a brighter, sharp fruitiness. Brews to a reddish colour and a very rich, Italian-style flavour with a slightly treacly intensity. Has a great length, if you like that flavour.An Italian-roast style, but with no over-roast “burnt” flavours, this is clean flavoured with some dark caramel length. Similar to Gold Blend but less bitter. Some nice acidity and a rich fruitiness; the end is a very dark Italian-style flavour. You wouldn’t mistake this for freshly ground coffee but it’s not bad.

Fairtrade. Caramel notes and a mild flavour. Adding milk makes it a bit bland, however, and the aftertaste is musty. Traditional disposal techniques. Being subtle is sometimes best, so swiftly and casually pouring the coffee into that plant pot is a good option. Other trusted techniques that have proved successful over the years are secretly pouring down the sink or into the dog bowl.It helps to know what you’re buying. There are, broadly, two different kinds of instant coffee: spray-dried (cheaper) and freeze-dried (more expensive). Both start the same way: by coarsely grinding beans, then infusing them to make a strong coffee.