Backcountry coffee has long been a hot topic on TS forums, with threads lasting weeks or months devoted to it and members sharing their individual preferences for instant beverages without additives that were enjoyable enough for drinking outdoors. Now however, with more and better options like Mount Hagen Organic Instant Coffee available than the main alternatives such as Starbucks Via or Nescafe being readily available on the market – this discussion should no longer need to continue!

Alpine Start’s Organic Instant Coffee stands out as my top pick. Packaged in 100-g jars that provide enough coffee for 50 8-oz cups and 25 single cup sachets at $0.25 each cup it is an exceptional value and I particularly appreciate its freeze-dried nature as opposed to pre-packed coffee crystals which may become waterlogged during storage or transport.

Starbucks Via and Nescafe both come in sachet form; both offer cheaper but less lightweight coffee, and I find the latter does not contain as much liquid for each teaspoon as does its jar counterpart.