A Few of My Favorite Instant Coffees That Definitely Don’t Suck
For a long time, instant coffee was synonymous with garbage. Burnt, but watery, odorless garbage. It’s only intended for extreme situations, such as camping, long-haul flights, or working night shifts when you feel like you’re being punished by the very thing that should give you comforting pleasure. But now our nationwide love for consuming premium coffee has prompted roasters to turn their attention to instant coffee. The game has changed.
How instant coffee is made
When people talk about bad instant coffee, you might think that it is made of crystallized poison and dirt. Instant coffee is essentially coffee. And not just coffee, but 100% coffee. It is made by roasting green coffee beans, grinding them, and extracting the coffee with hot water, similar to brewing coffee at home. This is the next step towards instant coffee as we know it.
The liquid coffee drink is then dried to remove as much water as possible. There are three drying methods: spray drying, freeze drying or spray freeze drying. The drying method chosen will determine how well the coffee retains its various aromatic qualities: the best results are achieved by freeze-drying and spray-drying. ( You can read more about these drying methods here .)
The drying process turns liquid coffee into fine crystals or powder, which is packaged in jars or sleeves that you find in stores. Simply add liquid, hot or cold, and the coffee crystals will instantly dissolve into it.
It’s not about the process, it’s about the coffee
So why are some instant coffees so crappy? When I asked why instant coffee from brands like Maxwell House and Folgers sucked so much, Café Grumpy’s lead coffee roaster Chris Cross explained, “It’s not the process of instant coffee that makes it bad, it’s the fact that they used to use the cheapest bad one in the past.” coffee that we could find.”
Industrial coffee companies of past generations used their smaller varieties for their instant coffee lines, seemingly as an afterthought. Now some of our favorite independent roasters can compete. They use high-quality beans and carefully crafted brewing methods to create amazing instant coffee that you can truly enjoy.
My favorite instant coffee at the moment
I’m a big coffee drinker and I admit that it took me a while to get used to instant coffee. The Starbucks instant coffee line has been around for a minute, but since it’s clearly not my favorite, I’ve brushed off this instant coffee line. However, when I saw the little orange boxes roll into Café Grumpy, I felt doubly confused. If instant coffee is bad for you, why bother doing it? Because those are the rules , that’s why. Like instant decaffeinated coffee .
It’s no surprise that my favorite brands of instant coffee mirror my favorite coffee shops. Besides Café Grumpy, I also like Blue Bottle’s instant espresso, which comes in a can rather than a bag. This is great for personalizing how strong you like your drink, or if you just want half a glass.
I ended up trying Starbucks instant coffee and the light roast is pretty good. (Medium and dark roasts aren’t for me.) It involves micro-grinding the coffee beans, so it gives a bit of the mouthfeel of home-brewed coffee. Generally, if you like any brand of regular coffee, you will like instant coffee. You probably won’t find the Café Grumpy or Blue Bottle brands I mentioned above at your local Stop & Shop, but you can buy them online or go straight to brick-and-mortar stores if you live near one.
How to use instant coffee
You can and should use instant coffee when traveling and working night shifts, but you can also use a good quality instant coffee to replace your morning drink without feeling like you’re missing out. If you used to wake up late and refuse to brew a drink due to lack of time, now you can fill your coffee mug while you’re yawning.
At least once a week I make a quick shot of instant coffee in the morning before my run. Follow package directions for a full cup, but I usually use a tablespoon of coffee per 10 ounces of water. Your taste buds will tell you whether you need to add a little more coffee or a little more water.
Don’t forget that instant solutions can be brewed with any liquid. Regular coffee grounds need to be extracted with water, but you can use hot milk to make an instant latte. Or cold liquid, for that matter, and finally, drink iced coffee that won’t melt the ice right away.
Instant coffee is also ideal for preparing and flavoring other drinks. Use a spoon to add coffee flavor without diluting the recipe. Try it in desserts, marinades or cocktails. The only downside to buying higher quality instant coffee is the price. Well, I’ll call it a compromise. You pay a high price for a great product. I am not advising you to give up regular coffee brewing in favor of instant coffee. Instead, consider it a useful addition.