What Was The First Instant Coffee? (Solved & Explained!)

Instant, also known as soluble coffee, was brought into existence in 1890 by a man named David Strang from Invercargill, New Zealand. He patented it in the same year and sold it under the name “Strang’s Coffee”. Until recently, Japanese christ Satori Kato was wrongly accredited with the invention of his own version in 1901.

The rest of this article is going to explain what instant coffee is, how it’s made, where it comes from, and more.

Where Does Coffee Come From?

Coffee is made from coffee beans grown in a few countries deemed “The Bean Belt”. Examples are Columbia, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, and Indonesia where the beans are harvested as berries then put through a dry or wet process to bring them to the correct moisture.

The beans are then milled before they are sent off to factories to be roasted and ground or freeze-dried or spray-dried into instant coffee.

What Is Instant Coffee?

Instant coffee is a type of coffee that has been brewed and freeze-dried or spray-dried into small granules that instantly dissolve in hot water.

There are versions of some kind of instant coffee present in the American Civil War that didn’t last past the war. A coffee and chicory blend from the brand Camp Coffee was invented in 1876 in Scotland and is still sold to this day.

How Is Instant Coffee Made?

Instant coffee is made by either freeze-drying or spray-drying brewed coffee. The freeze-drying method is the most common method of making instant coffee and is used in most recipes in the biggest brands that make this coffee.

The spray-drying method is the less common way of making instant coffee and is the more economic way. Coffee is roasted, brewed and the concentrate is finely blown as a mist into hot air as moisture is sucked out of it. It ends up as dried coffee crystals that are instant coffee.

The freeze-drying method is a little more complicated. Coffee beans are roasted to an extract and brewed, then chilled until it has become a slushy consistency, it is then chilled even more until it is almost a slab of ice. The slab of coffee is broken down into granules and dried to take out the moisture.

How Much Caffeine Is In Instant Coffee Compared To Ground Coffee?

Instant coffee has significantly less caffeine than a normal ground cup of coffee but it can be beneficial for those trying to reduce their consumption of regular coffee. One cup of instant coffee only has about 30-90 milligrams of caffeine while the same amount of regular coffee has somewhere between 70 and 140 mg per cup.

Who Made Instant Coffee Commercial?

Nestlé was the first brand to make instant coffee that was sold commercially in grocery stores in 1937. They were approached to make their own version of instant coffee by the Brazilian Coffee institute in 1930 with Brazilian surplus coffee.

This agreement was made so that Brazil’s coffee didn’t get the chance to become spoiled and could be used in a way to preserve it.

Is Instant Coffee Better For You?

Instant coffee is not good for you in the long run. Instant coffee includes two times more acrylamide than normal filtered coffee. This chemical is formed when the coffee beans are roasted and can be bad for your nervous system and put you at risk for some cancers, but experts have said the amount of this chemical present in instant and filtered coffee is well below the dangerous level.

Drip coffee with a filter takes away this aspect because the coffee you drink is not the beans directly like it would be with instant or boiled coffee, therefore the risk is significantly reduced in any case.

What Is The Difference Between Filtered And Instant Coffee?

Instant coffee has been pre-brewed and is put through a process where it has been stripped of all its moisture and can be rehydrated with hot water for instant consumption. Filtered coffee is made when beans are ground and spooned into a filter where hot water can be poured into it and produce fresh coffee.

Can You Eat Instant Coffee?

Yes, it is perfectly safe to eat instant coffee, but it is more recommended to do so in small amounts. Instant coffee usually has some chicory blended into it so it will be more bitter in taste.

The easiest way to get the most out of instant coffee is to consume it as a beverage. That being said, there ate no physical risks in eating instant coffee rather than drinking it.

What Is The Best/ Most Popular Brand Of Instant Coffee?

The best instant coffee brands are Starbucks Instant Coffee in Colombian, Mount Hagen made in Germany and Nescafé Azera Espresso in the UK. Nescafé Azera is only available in the U.K. but it can be shipped to the U.S. by Amazon.

What Is The Purpose Of Instant Coffee?

The purpose of instant coffee is to do without the process of making filtered coffee where it dissolves quickly in water for a cup of coffee in a few minutes rather than waiting for it to brew. It is also easier to ship than coffee beans with a lower shipping weight and volume, and it also has a longer shelf-life than regular coffee beans.

Do Coffee Lovers Like Instant Coffee?

Most coffee lovers do not like instant coffee, despite its convenience therefore it is usually considered a last resort and some tend to avoid it altogether. Instant coffee is made with the cheapest beans available so it can compromise the quality of the instant coffee produced in the production process.

Do Most Coffee Lovers Prefer Instant Coffee or Filtered Coffee?

Most coffee lovers tend to prefer the coffee made in a machine or poured through a filter. Instant coffee can have a slightly lower-quality flavor than that of bean-brewed coffee. Some coffee lovers do like the convenience of instant coffee and don’t care as much about taste and aroma as most coffee drinkers do. It all depends on the coffee drinker’s preference.

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