Tea & Coffee

Tea and coffee premix at Night Owl

Premix is instant powder with the milk and the sugar already folded in, made for a cup that has to be ready in the time it takes to pour hot water. Two Amazon premixes sit here: a masala tea, spiced roughly the way a roadside cup is, and a lemon tea in the Instacup single-serve format.

The reason to keep premix is not that it beats a brewed pot. It removes the pan, the strainer and the fresh milk from the job, which matters at a shop counter, in an office pantry or at a guesthouse breakfast where one person is making drinks for several at once. Stir it properly, too — powder settling at the bottom of the cup usually means the water was not hot enough.

• Masala tea premix: tea, milk and sugar in one powder
• Lemon tea in Instacup single-serve premix
• Add hot water and stir, nothing else needed
• Suited to counters, pantries and breakfast service

Related: Amazon · Beverage Makers · Household & Grocery