A man named George Washington did contribute to the invention of instant coffee into what we know it to be today. However, this isn’t the famous George Washington, American Revolution general and founding father of the US. This particular George Washington is a Belgian-born inventor who emigrated to the US at a much later time.
The back story of instant coffee has a long and interesting history that involves several inventors. The first known patent for instant coffee comes from Britain in 1771. However, attempts at creating instant coffee have been around for much longer than that.
What Is Instant Coffee?
Today, instant coffee comes as a water-soluble coffee powder. It derives from brewed coffee beans that undergo spray drying or freeze drying methods. These then experience rehydration before use. This allows for a quick cup of coffee that doesn’t require the use of a machine. Instant coffee provides a longer shelf life than standard fresh coffee beans.
Earlier methods focused on evaporating water through boiling brewed coffee. But, this destroyed the coffee’s flavor, making the coffee undesirable.
How Did George Washington Contribute to the Invention of Instant Coffee?
The George Washington responsible for contributing to the invention of instant coffee was an Anglo-Belgian emigrant who was a scientist and inventor. This George Constant Louis Washington isn’t the one who actually invented instant coffee, but he did devise a process through which mass production could take place.
After arriving in New York from his native Belgium in 1897 at 26 years old, he dabbled in tinkering with science and other fields of technology. After a trip to Central America around 1906, he developed the idea around a water-soluble instant coffee.
Upon the founding of his company “G. Washington Coffee Company” in 1909, Washington sold his instant coffee. It became an important supply for American soldiers during World War I. Instant coffee made Washington a very rich man, living in a Brooklyn mansion and then to a New Jersey country estate by 1927.
What Was the Very First Attempt at Instant Coffee?
The first known instant coffee comes from Britain in 1771 by a man named John Dring under an official patent from the British government. Then, the first American version came in 1851 and was an important component to the Civil War. These came as “cakes” and rationed to soldiers.
Who Is John Dring?
John Dring is the owner of the earliest known patent for instant coffee, called “coffee compound,” occurring in 1771. It seems that this was a dried, brewed coffee that was then pressed into a compact cake. To make a cup required adding water. It wasn’t successful due to its poor quality and a sludgy, muddy texture.
What Is T;H Smith?
T;H Smith is a Scottish company that developed “coffee essence” in 1840. This liquid concentrate had a process that involved percolation with subsequent evaporation to less than ⅓ or ¼ of its original volume. A thick chicory extract along with a syrup of burnt sugar mixed in with it, giving it the consistency of molasses.
A cup of hot boiling water would dissolve one or two tablespoons. This liquid coffee concentrate came in a bottle and found at groceries and pharmacies. The taste was so horrible, thick and sludgy that it didn’t stay on the market very long.
Who Is Alphonse Allais?
Alphonse Allais is a French-born humorist and writer. He was notorious for his absurdities in the famous Parisian newspaper, “Le Chat Noir” (the Black Cat). Sources credit him as holding a patent for instant coffee supposedly issued in 1881. While there is a patent number, 141530, for an instant-type of coffee, it’s indecipherable.
Because of his background in writing about silly and surrealistic inventions, it’s unclear whether he actually did or not. But, it’s not outside the realm of possibility since his father was a pharmacist and Allais himself did have some scientific knowledge.
However, there are other Frenchman with patents of instant coffee. In a book called “All About Coffee,” from 1922, there is a mention of two instant coffee patents. One belongs to someone named Tavernier in 1852 for a “coffee tablet.” The other patent, for “liquid and solid extracts of coffee,” went to two people named Latchoud and Lacassagne in1853.
How Did David Strang Contribute to the Development of Instant Coffee?
In 1890, David Strang invented and is the patent holder of instant soluble coffee in Invercargill, New Zealand. He used a process called “Dry Hot-Air.” Strang was a spice trader and invented a machine to dry spices for market. He used this to blow hot air over brewed coffee in an effort to evaporate the water. He began selling his instant coffee product in 1889.
Strang’s new method produced a better tasting instant coffee. While not still very desirable in texture or flavor, it was a far cry better than what had been available.
Who Is Satori Kato?
Satori Kato was a Japanese-American inventor and chemist living in Chicago around 1901. He was the first to create a stable soluble instant coffee that he eventually acquired a patent for in 1903. Kato did this by separating the volatile oils from the coffee and then recombined them with the dried product.
This method preserved flavor and extended the coffee’s shelf life. Kato presented his new product at the Pan American Expo in 1901 in Buffalo, New York.
Did US President George Washington Invent or Drink Instant Coffee?
President George Washington didn’t invent coffee, but he was definitely a big drinker of it. As a matter of fact, he spent quite a bit of money importing some of the best beans into the United States for personal consumption until his death.
Also, there’s a specific recipe offered by Martha Washington in her “rules for good coffee.” Apparently, they would grind the beans to a similar texture as fine-ground cornmeal for a drip coffee process. One heaping tablespoon of coffee grounds would go into a single cup of water.
Hi, I’m Jen Williams, chief editor and writer for ThirstPerk.com.
I’ve been drinking coffee and tea for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I started working at Thirstperk.com that I became an expert on the subject. I’m a total caffeine addict who has spent hours upon hours reading about and experimenting with the different types of coffees out there in my search to find the perfect cup of joe.
I’ve been a tea lover for as long as I can remember as well. I grew up in a house with a mom who loved to drink herbal tea, and I think that’s where my love for tea first began. These days, I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting teas to try, and I love experimenting with different brewing methods and flavoring combinations.