Coffee is one of America’s favorite beverages and no wonder many people are looking for more ways to get their caffeine kick while on-the-go. Instant coffee is making a comeback in 2019 with new and innovative startups that are trying to bring the instant coffee back to its glory days. With the new instant coffee trend, we wanted to compare between brewed coffee and instant.
The history of American instant coffee dates back to 1851; it was first created for soldiers in the Civil War. The first successful instant coffee process was created by a chemist named Satori Kato in 1901, and was patented in 1903. Instant coffee has come a long way since then, and now the preferred method of instant coffee is the freeze-drying method because it keeps the taste of the coffee and preserves the quality.
There are two drying processes for instant coffee: spray drying and freeze drying. Spray drying includes using hot air to evaporate water from the beans, which destroys the original flavors and aroma of the coffee bean. Freeze drying is when coffee extract is frozen and liquid sublimation (ice immediately changes to steam) occurs. This process preserves more of the coffee bean’s natural flavor.
Freeze-drying in the production of quality instant coffee. First, the coffee beans are roasted and grounded. Then, the grounded beans are dissolved in water and brewed into a very concentrated liquid. After filtration, the coffee liquid is then frozen to about -40 degrees at a very thin layer.
It is then broken into smaller pieces and placed into a freeze dryer. The product that comes out of this freeze dryer the coffee crystals that you see in Waka Coffee and some other quality instant coffees as well. To read more about what makes instant coffee premium, feel free to read this blog post. https://www.wakacoffee.com/blogs/coffeelifeblog/what-makes-instant-coffee-premium
There are some similarities and differences between a cup of instant coffee and a cup of brewed coffee. Most people do not like instant coffee because of its taste, but startups like Waka Coffee (https://www.wakacoffee.com/) are trying to prove this stigma to be false.
A cup of brewed coffee has a more full and rich taste because it holds onto all the essential oils that are in the coffee beans, which get lost in the instant coffee making process. Aside from taste, another concern people may have is the amount of caffeine in each cup.
An average amount of caffeine in a cup of instant coffee is around 60-80 mg, whereas an average cup of brewed coffee has 60-120 mg of caffeine. Some may enjoy instant coffee more because it contains less caffeine so that you are able to have a kick without being jittery from too much caffeine. Coffee also contains many beneficial antioxidants, which does not get lost in the instant coffee making process.
Not to confuse with instant espresso, instant coffee is a different product. Instant espresso powder mix is made a bit differently than how instant coffee is. The first step of making it is by taking espresso finely ground beans and brewing it as an espresso.
After the espresso is finished brewing, the already brewed coffee grounds are taken and dehydrated into crystal granules. Instant espresso powder is mostly used by bakers for chocolate-based dessert recipes to enhance flavor. It gives an extra and more complex type of flavor in baked goods while complimenting chocolate flavors.
Instant coffee is essential if your mornings are extremely busy because it can save you 15-20 minutes in the morning. Aside from that, if you are not a coffee expert, it can be hard to brew the perfect cup of coffee. There are so many different appliances to brew coffee, which can be a good or a bad thing. Different appliances work differently with the different types of coffee beans out there, so sometimes you will have to experiment to create the cup of coffee you enjoy. To eliminate that process, instant coffee is the way to go.
About David Kovalevski
David Kovalevski is the Founder and CEO of Waka Coffee (wakacoffee.com), a quality instant coffee startup that is on a mission to reinvent the instant coffee category. It tastes like a slow drip coffee minus all the hassle of making it. It is made of 100% Arabica beans, freeze dried to preserve the original beans’ taste and aroma. They even donate a portion of their sales to support clean drinking water initiatives around the world through their “Add Water, Give Water” program.