Sorry boys and girls, not naval gazing.

Story by Katie Strick

I was on two flat whites a day – which was setting me back as much as £8 – that’s £250 a month. It was only when my sister did the maths for me that I decided to call it quits and turn to instant full-time. A 90g refill pack of Nescafé Gold costs me just £3 and lasts three weeks if we’re sticking to my two-a-day habit. That’s just £51 on coffee a year, versus the £3,000 I could spend in cafés. In numbers terms, it’s a no-brainer then: my instant coffee habit saves me the equivalent of two months’ rent or a couple of weeks in Bali every year.

According to Deloitte’s study, 55 per cent of UK instant drinkers blame price hikes for ditching coffee shops – and with prices for a cup now hitting the £5 or even £6.50 mark in some parts of the country, it’s no surprise.

And instant has come a long way – banish all thoughts of cheap, burnt-tasting rubbish. Ocado, which sells more than 100 brands of instant coffee, says searches for instant are up 14 per cent, with a boom in luxury brands aiming to give the espresso machines and Aeropresses a run for their money.