What is Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend?
The default jar in a very large number of kitchens.
Nescafe publishes a mild roast described as refined, smooth and well balanced, a 14oz jar, and preparation by adding hot water and stirring at the dose given for your cup size. That is the whole of the published specification.
What mild roasting is actually for
It is engineered to be inoffensive, and that is a design goal rather than a failure.
A coffee sold at this volume has to please an enormous range of people, most of whom add milk and sugar and are not looking for a tasting experience. Roast it dark and it is bitter to half of them; roast it light and it is sour to the other half.
A mild roast in the middle produces a cup with no sharp edges in any direction. That is genuinely hard to do consistently across the scale Nescafe operates at, and it is why this product has barely changed in decades.
It also means there is not much to say about it in tasting terms, which is honest rather than damning. If you want a coffee with character, that is what the rest of this site is for.
The fact that is missing, and why it costs points
Nescafe does not publish the drying process on this listing, and it is the most important thing about an instant.
Freeze-drying preserves aromatics, spray-drying destroys most of them, and it is the largest single quality difference in this category. Taster's Choice is widely understood to be freeze-dried, and the jar in front of you may well say so.
This listing does not, so we record nothing and it scores as unstated. That is deliberate: a site that fills scored fields from what it is fairly sure about, rather than from what a maker publishes, stops being checkable. If you can see "freeze dried" on the label, that is your answer and it is a good sign.
Taster's Choice vs Nescafe Clasico
Same company, opposite ends of the roast, and the choice is straightforward.
The Clasico Dark Roast is bolder, cheaper per cup and published at up to 150 cups a jar. It is the one to buy if you find most instant weak.
Taster's Choice is the milder of the two and the better one to drink black. Neither publishes a process, an origin or a certification, so on our scoring they separate mainly on servings and roast.
Is it worth it?
Worth it as the jar that is always there. Not worth seeking out.
14oz is a great many cups at a low price, and it is consistent in a way that has real value: it will taste the same next year.
It publishes almost nothing, and in a category where Mount Hagen and Highground state process, certification and cold solubility for similar money, that gap is the reason it scores where it does.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it for the office, for guests, and for cooking.
It suits a household that wants instant available without thinking about it, and anybody who takes coffee with milk where the subtleties would be lost anyway.
Do not buy it if you are trying to find out whether good instant exists; buy a freeze-dried organic jar for that. And if you want it stronger, the Clasico dark roast is the same company's answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Taster's Choice freeze-dried?
It is widely understood to be, and this Amazon listing does not say so, which is why we record no process for it. Check the jar itself; if it says freeze dried, that is the good answer.
How strong is House Blend?
Mildly roasted, and Nescafe describes it as refined, smooth and well balanced. The Clasico Dark Roast is the bolder option.
How many cups in a jar?
Nescafe does not publish a figure for this size. The 10.5oz Clasico jar is published at up to 150 cups.
Where do the beans come from?
Not published on this listing.
