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Instant Coffee vs Regular Coffee: What’s the Difference?

how is instant coffee made

Two common types of coffee are instant and regular coffee. Coffee lovers can easily differentiate between them. But the taste differs as per the brand and the individual coffee drinkers. So what’s the difference between instant and regular coffee?

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Instant Coffee vs Regular Coffee: History

Normally, a regular cup of coffee is made from freshly ground and roasted coffee beans. The coffee beans are directly grown from the coffee tree and then picked and roasted to make a final product. Instant coffee was invented in 1901, but it only became commercially available in 1938, when Nescafe started selling it. Instant coffee was created as a shortcut to the lengthy regular coffee brewing process. With instant coffee, the coffee drinker can make a cup of coffee within seconds. There are several different methods for making instant coffee, but the dehydrated coffee product can be rehydrated with the use of water to make a cup of coffee.

Regular coffee is roasted and ground coffee beans which are the seeds of the coffee tree. But instant coffee is made by a short, brewing process from regular coffee by dehydrating the same and leaving a powder which is rehydrated to make coffee. Regular coffee typically tastes much better than instant coffee.

Instant Coffee
Image Credit By: Isabela Kronemberger, unsplash

What Kind of Coffee Do Coffee Shops Make?

Most coffee shops make their coffee using regular coffee brewing methods. However, the coffee shops do not use the drip method same to the home. An espresso, which is a special type of coffee is prepared through an espresso machine to push a small amount of water through a tightly packed coffee with a great force by making a “shot”. It has only two ounces of coffee but has the coffee flavor for the whole cup.

The normal coffee drinkers prefer only regular coffee because it is a better quality product, but instant coffee has come a long way. There are different varieties of instant coffee that offer a quality product, and they are often used for convenience instead of flavor.  All the professional coffee shops and cafes, use a drip method to make their coffee. And the alternative method is the espresso machine to make the freshly brewed shots of espresso.

Instant_coffee
Image Credit: Engin_Akyurt, Pixabay

How to Make Instant Coffee

If you are interested in trying instant coffee, then the preferred method is freeze-dried coffee. This coffee recipe is too easy to make by adding the hot water with the cup of coffee and it is a similar product to fresh-brewed coffee. Most of the campers or travelers prefer the same because no form of coffee brewing is required.

Instant coffee is made when the coffee is freshly grounded, moistened, and frozen. When it is frozen, all the air is removed from the chamber to reduce the condensation, and then the chamber is brought to a higher temperature. Thus the end product is the dehydrated coffee grounds which is packed and sold as instant coffee. Instant coffee is popular all over the world because of its convenience.

When the coffee beans are heated through the spray-dried method, they are brought to a high temperature for dehydration. So if you are opting for an instant coffee, you can choose a freeze-dried method for an optimal flavor.

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Instant Coffee vs Regular Coffee: Final Thoughts

Many coffee connoisseurs look for instant coffee because it is not an authentic product. However, if you are interested in trying an instant brew, then many companies have come a long way in developing flavors in their instant coffee products. The main factor in choosing instant coffee would be the convenience over regular coffee which takes more preparation time. Then the simple method is inconvenient for the working people. So most of the population prefer instant coffee!

What’s the Best Kind of Coffee?

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is the registered trade description for the coffee grown in the deep rural Blue Mountains of Jamaica. This coffee is noted all over the world for its distinctive aroma, mild flavor, and lack of bitterness. Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is widely revered as the world’s best coffee.

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Featured Image credit: Unsplash

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Kate MacDonnell

Kate is a lifelong coffee enthusiast and homebrewer who enjoys writing for coffee websites and sampling every kind of coffee known to man. She’s tried unusual coffees from all over the world and owns an unhealthy amount of coffee gear.

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