by Nigel Ong
Many regular instant coffee are in the market today, mostly catering to the mass market. However, some seem to be on the higher end of the regular instant coffee side, but not really where you can consider it as premium instant coffee.
Enter Cafe Bustelo. Rich in its Latin roots, Cafe Bustelo has turned its espresso-style coffee blends into many forms, including K-cups and instant coffee. The price is also rather affordable too.
But how good is Cafe Bustelo? Can it compete with more premium instant coffee, or is it more of a regular, mass-market stuff? I bought a bottle of the Cafe Bustelo instant coffee to try for myself.
About Cafe Bustelo Instant Coffee
Cafe Bustelo was started by Gregorio Bustelo in East Harlem, New York City. A young Spanish, Bustelo traveled extensively in Latin America in the 1920s, visiting many cities such as Havana, Cuba, and more.
As he settled in East Harlem, he opened the Cafe Bustelo cafe in 1929, serving Latin espresso coffee. It soon became the cultural and social center for the local Latino community.
He later started a roastery and supplied many Latin restaurants and Bodegas around New York. Cafe Bustelo soon became a popular household name and became an American favorite.
Today, Cafe Bustelo can be purchased in many forms. There are whole bean coffee, grounds, K-cups, and instant coffee.
What I have in my hand, and what we will review today, is the instant coffee version of the Cafe Bustelo. This is an espresso instant coffee, meaning it should be made from dark roasted coffee beans.
How Does Cafe Bustelo Instant Coffee Taste?
First Impression
The coffee bottle is made of glass, which is very good since it makes it feel more premium. Once I opened the top lid, I was greeted with a fresh seal made of aluminum and paper.
There are no handles to tear the handle away properly. You must puncture the foil and work your way around, similar to Nescafe Classic and Gold. This is messy, and even the humble Folgers have a nicer way to open the seal.
The granules are quite evenly shaped but on the smaller side. There’s also a lot of fine powder in the bottle, but not to the level of Nescafe Classic.
When I smelled the coffee, I could again pick up some dried seafood smells, common in many instant coffees I reviewed. I also picked up a bit of spice, perhaps some cloves.
Black
I got started with the brewing. I follow the brewing instructions on the bottle to mix one teaspoon with 6 fl oz (about 180ml) of hot water. I kept the water temperature around 185°F (85°C.)
What I got was a half-brown, half-see-through cup of coffee. The taste? Watery at best, and my tongue picked up little flavors. I added another teaspoon to the cup, and the coffee tasted much better.
From this point onwards, all my Cafe Bustelo cups will be made with two teaspoons of instant coffee.
The coffee, again, has that spicy aroma. I would say mainly cloves with perhaps a bit of cardamom. Sipping the coffee is surprisingly soft and does not smash my palate, even when it’s an espresso instant coffee.
I enjoyed the mild earthiness, without the dirt taste common with regular instant coffee. The bitterness is also manageable since the spicy flavor helped manage it well.
With Sugar
I then brewed another fresh cup of the coffee and slapped in a single stick of brown granulated sugar.
The sweetness helps to further reduce the bitterness of the coffee and masks the spices slightly. The coffee also looks silkier and shinier, perhaps from the sugar.
The sugar does not influence the smokiness of the instant coffee much, which should be good if you enjoy smoky coffee.
However, I prefer the spice notes, which means I do not think the sugary version of this coffee is a good mix.
With Sweetener
Next, I put a single drop of Equal artificial sweetener into a fresh cup of Cafe Bustelo. I continued using two teaspoons of instant coffee.
The sweetener helps to mellow down the spice notes in the instant coffee again. It does not mess with the smoke in the instant coffee, making it similar to the sugared version of this coffee.
The only difference is the lingering sweet taste at the back of my mouth after swallowing the coffee. This is, however, the characteristic of Aspartame, the sweetener in Equal. Not the issue with the coffee.
I am not a fan of this either and prefer the black version of the instant coffee so far.
With Milk
Now that I have experimented with sugar and sweeteners, I thought it was time to bring in some fat. Enter fresh milk. As usual, I brewed a fresh cup and slapped a single shot of whole, UHT fresh cow’s milk into the coffee.
The milk actually made the coffee taste creamier and mellower. It turns down the smoke and covers up some of the spicy notes in the coffee. It made the coffee much smoother to sip and glide easier in my mouth.
The lactose in the milk also somehow helps to sweeten the coffee slightly. I usually enjoy having fat in my coffee, so this is a pretty good cup.
With Creamer
Not all are happy with having milk in their drink and actually prefer non-dairy creamer. As a result, I thought I’d experiment with this too. I added a stick of Coffee Mate creamer to my cup. I stirred them up before sipping.
I do not think it gives me enough cream, so I added another stick. The coffee is now much nicer to sip.
The creamer naturally adds much more cream to the coffee. It lightens the color enough to make it appetizing to me. The creamer masked some of the spice and smoke and added a bit of sweetness to the coffee.
However, I think milk’s natural, creamy, and sweetness wins here, and I’ll go with that.
Iced
Finally, I made about 6 fl oz (about 90ml) of coffee and then added them into a glass full of ice. I did not have high expectations from this, as my previous experiments with iced instant coffee were usually pretty bad.
Cafe Bustelo is, again, giving me the same result. Blend, tasteless coffee.
I got sick of this and somehow want to get that satisfying, deep, dark bitterness from sipping iced Americano. I got a little out of my mind.
I brewed another 90ml cup and slapped three teaspoons of Cafe Bustelo instant coffee this time. I load in the ice, stir everything up, and start sipping.
The bitterness is there, but the earthiness also went up a lot, making the coffee taste dirt. Iced Cafe Bustelo failed, at least to my tongue.
Cafe Bustelo Instant Coffee vs. Regular Instant Coffee
I was unsure where to put Cafe Bustelo as a premium or regular instant coffee. I decided to brew cups of instant coffee from my stash and sample everything side-by-side.
These include the Nescafe Classic, Amazon Happy Belly Instant Coffee, and the Folgers Classic Roast. I brewed all using two teaspoons of instant coffee and 6 fl oz (180ml) of hot water.
After sipping everything side-by-side, I believe Cafe Bustelo has a taste profile that combines it with regular instant coffee.
However, it has more depth in taste than the rest, and I would rank it first among all the other instant coffee. The spice notes are unique and very pleasant, something other instant coffees here do not have.
Cafe Bustelo vs. Premium Dark Instant Coffee
Since Cafe Bustelo is Espresso instant coffee, I thought I’d also try it out with other dark instant coffee. I brew three cups of dark instant coffee and sip them side by side.
Again, I brewed all using two teaspoons of instant coffee with 6 fl oz (180ml) of hot water. This allows me to be consistent and sample the coffee fairly.
I first sip on the Starbucks Premium Instant Dark Roasted and then the Lavazza Prontissimo Intenso before the Cafe Bustelo.
I believe Cafe Bustelo cannot compete in flavor and intensity with the other two instant coffees.
It seems that two teaspoons of Starbucks Premium Instant Dark Roasted and the Lavazza Prontissimo Intenso produce stronger coffee with a much more intense aroma.
This further strengthens my viewpoint that Cafe Bustelo may not be a premium instant coffee. Still, it is definitely a very good regular instant coffee.
Cafe Bustelo Instant Coffee vs. Regular Coffee
Cafe Bustelo may be a nice regular instant coffee. However, how does it compare with regular brewed coffee? Yup, against those you get in gas stations or convenience stores.
Cafe Bustelo instant coffee tastes are probably within the performance of your gas station coffee. Despite having some spice notes, it lacks the intense, deep taste that makes coffee great.
This also means it should not taste too different from regular coffee. However, your regular coffee should taste slightly better since it is fresh from coffee grounds.
Seeing Cafe Bustelo similar to your regular coffee may be a great idea. Only drink them when needed or just want something quick to slam to the back of your throat. If you have better options, always pay more and get regular coffee instead.
Who Will Enjoy Cafe Bustelo Instant Coffee?
Cafe Bustelo instant coffee is a confusing one, to be honest. It tastes better than your regular, basement boys-type instant coffee. At the same time, it also lacks the qualities to compete with more premium instant coffee.
Price-wise, it also reflects its position in the market. They usually sell slightly more expensive than your regular Folgers, but not at the price range of a Starbucks Premium Instant.
Those who seek flavor in their instant coffee may find Cafe Bustelo a great coffee. If you enjoy some spice notes in your coffee, even better.
You may also consider Cafe Bustelo if you are sick of regular instant coffee and want something new but not too expensive.
However, premium instant coffee should provide you with more satisfying sips than Cafe Bustelo, which I can guarantee. Should you want to experiment with premium instant coffee, consider Nescafe Gold or Starbucks Premium Instant Coffee. You can also check out my favorite, Illy Clasico Instant Coffee.