May-June 1998

• We tested four brands of Instant Coffee: Tata Cafe and Nascafe (Pure Coffee), and Sunrise and Bru (Coffeechicory mix).
  
• In the overall rating based on all parameters, Nescafe was rated higher than Tata Cafe, whileBru performed better than Sunrise.
  
• But Nescafe was also more expensive at Rs. 42 for a 50 gm. pouch as against Tata Cafe at Rs. 55 for 100 gm. Sunrise at Rs. 27.50 for 50 gm. was costlier than Bru at Rs. 24.50 for the same quantity.
  
• The average net weight of 10 packets of Nescafe was lower (47.7 gm) than the labelled weight of 50 gm. This is less than the minimum requirement of 48.5 gm under the Weights and Measures Rules. Of the 10 packets, nine were consistently found to be under weight.
  
• The same manufacturer’s brand Sunrise was also found tobe underweight (49.8 gm), though it fell within the permissible error. Compared to these Nestle brands, Bru gave 52 gm on a 50 gm label and Tata Cafe had 104 gm. tin. These two brands give more value for your money.
  
• In sensory ratings, Nescafe performed better than Tata Cafe in the pure coffee category. In the coffee-chicory mux category, Bru fared better than Sunrise.
  
• Tata Cafe and Nescafe had a caffeine content of 2.7 per cent which was below the required limit of 2.8 per cent set by the BIS and the PFA Act. Sunrise and Bru complied with the mimimum caffeine limit of 1.4 ppm for the coffee-chicory variety.
  
• While both brands of pure coffee carried the ISI certicate, the coffee-chicory mix brands did not carry it.
  
• The labelling information on ‘Best Before’ date is an optional guideline under the BIS, which none of the brands followed.

 

 

Details of the test report can be had in INSIGHT

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