Astonishingly there's a brand called Jacobs Cronat Gold that - you won't believe it, but it's true - tastes indistinguishable from real coffee made in a cafetiere. It's a lot better than the dreadful brews one finds in US outlets like Dunkin Donuts and McSlop, and is also better than coffee served in countless diners across the nation. So it is possible to make quite palatable instant coffee; it's unclear why Nescafe and Folgers continue to produce undrinkable muck.