There are definitely pluses to each selection, and I think that it depends on what each person wants from their coffee, and also what equipment they have. In my family, my husband prefers the whole beans and he grinds them fresh each morning when he makes coffee. He likes regular coffee and I like the flavored coffees, especially the chocolate raspberry flavors. I like the fresh coffee beans also; but because mine are flavored, I can’t use the same grinder for my coffee as my husband uses for his, or he will have traces of my chocolate raspberry in his coffee, which he hates. Usually, because of this, I only get the already ground coffee beans for my coffee; but when i find a good sale on the wholes beans, then I can use the Ninja blender to grind mine up, so that works for me. The Ninja is not really made for coffee grinding; but it does the job, and eventually I might get another coffee grinder and then we can both grind our blends of coffee and not get them mixed up. The pre-ground coffee is great when you do not have the time or the inclination for grinding your fresh coffee, and most of the time, it is also substantually less expensive.
In the UK we have mainly instant coffee or what is called in the USA granules or crystals and they are freeze dried and taste good. It's much cheaper, less messy, more convenient, and quicker to use. Sadly when I was in the USA there were not many good versions and ground coffee was better. In fact, I'll admit I brought coffee over from the UK to use in the USA for home use. Time is a factor, and you can make an instant coffee that tastes good (percol and kenco are favorites) within a couple of minutes with no residue or bitter after taste. To me it just makes sense, and I'm an espresso drinker so I like it strong and it's taste over quantity.
I think buying ground coffee can save you a lot of time, if you are really short of time though- and this could be the best way to go. If though you have the time, the whole bean experience will give you a fresher and stronger cup of coffee which is nice. The bean oils evaporate once you grind the coffee beans up though, and also the whole beans do stay fresher over a longer period of time than the ground coffee. I like the convenience though of ground coffee because the whole bean method is more labor intensive.
Pre ground coffee beans to some people might not be of the same quality as whole bean coffee since they feel it's not as strong.
I sometimes use instant coffee also, although my husband would have a fit if he didn’t have his fresh-ground coffee each morning. One of the nice things about instant coffee is that there is no mess, and it is quick, just heating up the hot water and pouring it into the cup with the instant coffee granules. The best one that we have here is probably Taster’s Choice, which is a freeze-dried brand with larger granules, but most of the stores have their own brands of instant coffee which is much cheaper that the brand name ones. I think that instant coffee is also great when you only need one cup (as opposed to a whole pot full of coffee), and you can also get the de-caf for later in the day when you do not want to drink regular coffee. They also have the little coffee bags that look like a tea bag, and you just pour the hot water over them and let it steep, just like making a cup of hot tea, and those have good flavor, but are also expensive.
I'll have to send you some fine instant coffee over there I don't think the husband would be able to tell the difference! Another thing about using beans is the mess it can make and noise. In the morning I like it quiet and the whistle of a kettle is fine, but nothing more. I have a feeling there are a lack of brands for instant to choose from in the US because many people use coffee makers which to me makes awful coffee. Coffee should be hot and drunk on the spot and not sit in a pot for however long. The same goes for a French Press, you should only make what you know you will drink as afterwards that coffee won't taste as good if you try and warm it up.
Those are ALL excellent points, @Theo , and I agree that coffee loses its freshness when it sits in the coffee pot for very long. We actually DO have a lot of different types of coffee here, and what has become really, really popular are those little Keurig K-cups which make each cup of coffee hot and fresh, and they come in a multitude of different types and flavors. You can get the plain little cups and use those if you want to have your own favorite brand of coffee, too; but the Keurig coffee maker is seriously expensive, and some of them are several hundred dollars. I think that Amazon has an amazing selection of coffees from everywhere, and you can get whole beans, ground (from espresso to coarse grind) and there are also some brands of instant coffee, too, although I have never actually browsed through those to see what all they have. One brand on Amazon that I like best is called “Coffee Fools”, and they have more flavors of what Bobby calls “Foo-Foo Coffee” than I thought were possible. Sometimes they will have some of the flavors on closeout, and then I can get one as an add-on with an Amazon order.
