Now, you might think that after all these years you’ve nailed how to make a damn good cuppa. But there are a few small things you can do to make your coffee even more delicious. Below are some tips for brewing a kick-ass instant coffee.

Pre-heating

First thing’s first, fill up the kettle with freshly drawn water and pop it on. Freshly drawn water will have more oxygen than water that has already been boiled. You’ll need to boil more than you need, as we suggest pre-heating the cups with boiling water to ensure your coffee stays warmer for longer.

Coffee to water ratio

The amount of coffee you’ll need really depends on your desired strength of coffee. For the optimum flavour from our flavoured instant coffees, we suggest a ratio of 2g (roughly one heaped teaspoon) of instant coffee granules for every 200ml of hot water. We know it sounds geeky, but it might be worth finding out the capacity of your favourite mug so you can work out exactly how much coffee you should be using. If you prefer your coffee a little stronger or a little weaker, you can just add more or less instant coffee to taste. Easy peasy!

Water temperature

We get it if you don’t want to get your thermometer out, but nevertheless, water temperature is always important however you chose to brew coffee. Ideally, water needs to be at 94 degrees Celsius to ensure it doesn’t burn the coffee and makes the most flavoursome cup of Joe. We suggest boiling the kettle and waiting a minute for it to cool slightly before pouring. Alternatively, you can cut the boil short by turning the kettle off just before it starts bubbling.

And to finish…

Milk is optional but, if you’re a latte lover, we’ve got a little secret. We love to mix whole milk with some single cream to make a super creamy and silky, smooth coffee. This method tastes great with our entire flavoured instant coffee range. Sugar is optional but, because we don’t add sugar to any of our flavoured coffees, some of our flavours are brought out more with a touch of Demerara sugar. We’ll leave that one up to you!

You’ll need:

• We Are Little’s flavoured instant coffee of your choice
• Your favourite mug
• Teaspoon
• Water
• Kettle
• Milk/cream (optional)
• Sugar (optional) 

Method:

• Boil the kettle (remember to boil a little more than you need)
• Pre-heat your mug by filling it with hot water from the kettle. When the cup feels warm, discard the water
• Add 2g of Little’s flavoured instant coffee to the mug (approx. 1 heaped teaspoon)
• One minute after the kettle has boiled, pour 200ml of hot water over the coffee granules
• Stir until the granules dissolve
• Add milk, cream or sugar to taste
• Serve and enjoy!

Nothing says Pancake Day more than a messy frying pan and the smell of burning batter. Here is our version of the pancakes you should be making this Shrove Tuesday.

Ingredients:

Makes 8 small pancakes

• 1-2 tbsp of Little’s double chocolate instant coffee (but you can use any flavour you like!)
• 1 cup of sifted plain flour (wholemeal if you wanna be healthy)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg

Double chocolate coffee pancakes method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 70ºC (this is just so you can keep the finished pancakes warm while you’re finishing the others).
2. Throw the sifted flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl and stir together. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and milk. Now add the Little’s Flavoured Instant Coffee granules and whisk until the coffee dissolves.
3. Now it’s time to introduce the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and give them a little mix together, without over-mixing. The pancake batter should have small lumps in it, don’t worry, this is normal!
4. Heat your frying pan on a medium-low heat and brush the pan with a tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil). Fill up a ¼ of a cup with the batter mix and pour into the pan. Cook the batter until bubbles form along the sides and in the centre.
5. Now the fun part... flip your coffee pancakes like a boss. It’s easier said than done and there’s bound to be a disaster, but it’s all part of the fun, right? Cook on the flip side until golden brown. Transfer your pancakes to the oven to keep warm until you're ready to eat.
6. Serve with warm maple syrup, honey, yoghurt, fruit… pretty much anything you fancy!

Shop Little’s Chocolate flavoured coffee.