What is instant Coffee?
Instant coffee is a dehydrated, powdered beverage derived from real coffee beans that have been processed to remove all water for better long-term storage. To turn the dehydrated coffee powder back into real coffee, you just add water.
History of Instant Coffee
Nescafé and Folgers are the big-name instant coffee brands today, but they weren’t the first to invest the drink. In fact, instant coffee has a long history dating back to the 1700s. Here’s a quick timeline:
Since 1954, instant coffee production has diversified with dozens of instant coffee brands appearing on the market.
Did You Know? Nearly 50% of the world’s green coffee bean supply is used to make instant coffee.
When would I ever want instant coffee?
There’s a reason nearly 50% of all green coffee beans end up as instant coffee–people use it!
Here are a few popular uses:
- For those who prefer a quick cup of coffee (this is the obvious one)
- For those who don’t drink coffee but want to provide guests with the option
- For baking as a way to add coffee flavor without additional liquid
- For cooking, such as making dry rubs for meat
- For smoothies
How is instant coffee made?
Instant coffee starts out like any other type of coffee: fresh, unroasted green coffee beans.
The process of making instant coffee begins with the typical coffee-making process:
- Harvest green coffee beans
- Roast them
- Grind them
- Brew a large batch of coffee
From this point, there are two methods.
Method 1: Spray Drying (the hot way)
In this method, brewed coffee is sprayed in a very fine mist into very dry air heated to around 480°F. As the coffee falls through this super-desert, it dries out and falls to the ground as completely dehydrated coffee crystals.
Method 2: Freeze Drying (the cold way)
On the other end of the temperature spectrum is freeze drying. In this method, water is removed through various methods–evaporation, freezing to remove water ice, or spinning in a centrifuge to separate by density–to create hyper-concentrated coffee (about 40% dissolved solids to 60% water).
This concentrate is cooled to at least -50°F as quickly as possible, with quicker cooling times resulting in smaller crystals. These crystals are then sent to a vacuum chamber where heat is applied to melt ice in the crystals and evaporate it away.
Other Uses for Instant Coffee
While these 10 best instant coffees are great in lattes or mochas, there are still a ton of delicious desserts, sides, and main dishes that use instant coffee as a flavoring agent.
Chef’s Tip: A major benefits of using instant coffee is that it gives your dish all the coffee flavor it needs without adding extra liquid.
If you happen to have some leftover instant coffee but want to experiment with all of the different types of coffee makers and methods of brewing coffee from fresh beans, try your instant coffee in these recipes.
Desserts
Drinks
Main Dishes
Breakfast
