I think that it is not a point of "I don't drink instant and would not expect my guests to" I think the OP doesn't drink much coffee. In that case I really would not buy and expensive machine, in any case we don't have one. I have a French plunger style cafftiere for "normal" coffee, an Italian esspresso cafetiere and manage to drink filter style coffee, espresso, latte and capucino at home with no difficulty. The total value of these three is probably less than $30 US and gives me great coffee. I did not know you could freeze coffe, but now I do I would recommend buying an Italian stove top or a Plunger cafetiere inexpensively and spending on a decent coffee. But it is a cultural issue, as has been discussed in England the coffee revolution arrived later and instant is still very common, and socially respectable.
Bethzaring, I think the instant white coffee I was thinking of might have been called Mellow Birds.....I had it once in a stable yard (where of course, instant is de rigeur!) and decided that black instant coffee was a far lessor sacrifice....I felt the same about the instant white tea, YUK. With real coffee I like my espresso strong, and in the morning I make a latte by adding it to the same volume of milk, or a cappucino by hand whisking skimmed milk. Instant white anything is a step too far!!