THE 10 BEST INSTANT COFFEES OF 2022
We all long for that great cup of coffee to kickstart our day, but sometimes it has to go fast and instant coffee can be a solution.
Some might say that instant coffee is not real coffee, but here at Golden Sin, we would like to cover this topic because we look at the facts and history of coffee. Instant Coffee goes way back and people actually drink it, there is a huge market for it. Instant coffee covers about 25% of the worldwide retail brewed coffee consumption!
Some drink it because they don’t have enough time in the morning to grind coffee beans and prepare a pour-over coffee brewer. If it has to be quick and cheap, instant coffee can be the way to go. We will cover this topic so you can make the right choice. If you drink it, you’d better make a good choice right? A lot of people would argue against us on this one, but every homebrewing coffee-lover has to taste it in his life to support the claim or not!
Don’t want to read the whole article? We at Golden Sin Coffee think that you can’t miss with the instant coffee of Nescafé Gold. It’s not one of the cheapest, but quality comes at a price, even with instant coffee. Click here for the link to Amazon!
THE 10 BEST INSTANT COFFEES OF 2022
You can click on the images or subtitles to view the products on Amazon.
#1. Douwe Egberts pure indulgence
Douwe Egberts is a Dutch company that has a long tradition in the coffee industry. The Pure Indulgence is a nice dark roast instant coffee. It has a nice pleasant taste. Reliable product!
#2. Mount Hagen Organic
This instant coffee from Mount Hagen is organic, fair trade, and delicious. It’s made of highland Arabica coffee beans and claims to be the world’s first organic instant coffee. It tastes fresh and has a strong flavor. Mount Hagen is known for its instant coffee. You can’t go wrong with this one if you’re in doubt. The coffee is made from organic beans (fair trade). The beans are sourced from Papua New Guinea. The coffee is packed in a glass jar to keep it fresh. Even though it’s organic and fairtrade, it’s not overpriced.
#3. Nescafé Gold
Nescafé Gold is a mix of premium coffee, added with arabica ground for its flavor and aroma. Nescafé has a known history in instant coffee. It’s more expensive compared to the regular, but it makes it up in extra flavor and less acidity.
#4. Vinacafe Instant Coffee
Vinacafe is Vietnamese and comes in large bags. Sugar and cream are added so this one is ideal for people who’re in hurry. Not the ideal fit for people who long for black coffee. People who like their coffee with milk and sugar, won’t be disappointed.
#5. Folgers Classic Roast
Folgers is a popular brand in the US and makes coffee since 1850. They’re also sustainable. These are coffee crystals (freeze-dried). The coffee is made from mountain-grown beans and gives a rich taste.
#6. Trung Nguyen G7
Trung Nguyen is a Vietnamese brand. The G7 is a 3 in 1, sugar and cream are added. This one is different from other coffee brands in this list because it uses another process (dry roasting). If you have a sweet taste, this could be your pick.
#7. Starbucks VIA Pike Place
We all know Starbucks as a brand, Starbucks is almost everywhere. Starbucks has a wide range of roasted coffee. This flavor is Pike Place and is a medium roast with Arabica beans and has subtle notes of nuts and cocoa. It’s balanced, smooth & rich.
It comes in a box with 50 packets, meaning that the coffee stays fresh.
#8. Nescafé Taster’s Choice
Another fine product from Nestlé. It’s mildly roasted, to give a smooth and balanced flavor. You can’t go wrong with this one. It’s light roasted and made from responsibly sourced beans. It comes in a glass jar to preserve freshness and aroma.
#9. Davidoff Café Espresso 57
Davidoff is a brand with a range of multiple domains and niches. It stands for quality. It’s made from Arabic beans and dark roasted and has an intense taste. It comes in a glass jar to preserve freshness and quality.
#10. Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee Mix
This one might surprise you. It’s a brand from Los Angeles that’s specialized in drinks made from mushrooms. It’s becoming more and more popular in coffee land and appeals to environmentally conscious people. This might not be a fit for most of us but if you’re open to something new, you should try this. The mushrooms give the coffee a milder flavor. The price is on the higher side, because of all the organic elements in this coffee.
WHAT IS INSTANT COFFEE
Instant coffee is a powdered drink and starts from the same materials as other coffee.
We derive powder from real grounded or roasted coffee beans that have been processed to remove all water for better long-term storage. This is done in 2 ways:
- Spray-drying: Liquid coffee concentrate is sprayed into hot air (approximately 480 °Fahrenheit or 248° Celsius) leaving crystals after the water is removed through this process.
- Freeze-drying: Coffee is cooked down to an extract and gets chilled (20° Fahrenheit or -6° Celsius) and is chilled further at -40° Fahrenheit or Celsius, creating frozen coffee. After that it’s cut into granules and dryed under vacuumvconditions. This is necessary to preserve the quality of the arom and flavour of the coffee.
Freeze-drying outperforms spray-drying in terms of quality, but takes more time and is expensive.
Last but not least, oils are added to give aroma and taste to the coffee.
HISTORY OF INSTANT COFFEE
Instant coffee goes way back to 1771 in Britain. In 1853 it reached America when it was sold as a coffee cake and bought for soldiers in the Civil War. In the First World War (1914-1918), the US government bought large quantities for their soldiers. This was also the case in World War 2. Nestlé took it to the next level by introducing Nescafé and a new technique: freeze-drying.
INSTANT COFFEE: PROS AND CONS
Pros:
+1. It lasts longer compared to beans (grinded or not).
+2. It’s less expensive.
+3. It’s one of the fastest ways to get a cup of coffee.
+4. It’s concentrated and compact, you don’t need special equipment to brew.
+5. Ideal solution for a coffee when you’re on a schedule or on long trips.
For this, you can pick the small packs per cup instead of the jar.
+6. No equipment means less maintenance and cleaning of that equipment.
+7. It’s used for other purposes like baking, desserts (tiramisu, cakes, smoothies…).
Cons:
-1. It’s not fres like the other brewing methods. Depending on the way of drying, it can lose more flavor (hot versus cold).
-2. If you leave it opened or don’t close it properly, it can lose a lot of it taste.
F.A.Q.
HOW BAD IS INSTANT COFFEE FOR YOU?
Every product has its “poisons” and amounts that are tolerable in the human body. If you don’t overconsume coffee you’ll be fine. It’s said to have less caffeine and more acrylamide. Acrylamide could do nerve damage and increase the risk for cancer at high levels. If you don’t drink more than you should, you’re fine.
HOW TO IMPROVE THE TASTE OF INSTANT COFFEE?
We all agree that when you can choose between brewing methods, instant coffee won’t win most of the time. It all comes to the situation you’re in. If you’ve made a bad choice, there are a few things you can do to upgrade your instant coffee.
# Chocolate.
You can melt chocolate or add cacao to the coffee to add sweetness. Simple and good!
# Milk.
Choose your favorite creamer of milk. If you like it creamy, you can use milk instead of water to make the instant coffee.
# Cold water.
You don’t need the fire to heat your water. Using cold water can improve the flavor and quality of your coffee.
#Spices.
You can experiment with spices in your coffee. Salt can work against bitterness.
There are really lots of options to try with your coffee. The important key takeaway here is that you have to experiment with your coffee and do some trial and error. You’d be surprised to see the results!
IS ANY INSTANT COFFEE GOOD?
It’s an understatement to say that in general, instant coffee has its flaws when compared to freshly brewed coffee. We dare to say it all depends on the situation. There are people in the world who’ve never tried other coffee but instant coffee. If you don’t know it, you’ll never be able to compare it to something else.
There is a wide range of instant coffee and some are better or worse. You can always add something to the brew to improve the taste if needed.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSTANT COFFEE AND REGULAR COFFEE?
The most important difference is that instant coffee is already processed, brewed, dehydrated, and packaged (with additions like oil to increase flavor). The only thing you need to do is add (hot) water and stir and you’re good to go.
Instant coffee is mostly made from robusta beans, they are cheaper and they produce more beans compared to arabica beans. When making instant coffee, a lot of the coffee is lost in the process, cheap beans make up for this. Sometimes, if you choose wisely, some of the instant coffees can taste even better than their regular counterparts.
They have less caffeine and more acrylamide (can damage nerves and higher risk for cancer) than regular coffee. But as with most things in life, if you don’t overdo it, you won’t have high amounts of coffee so you’ll be fine.
CONCLUSION
Instant coffee is popular worldwide. We can’t ignore that fact. It’s convenient to other brewing methods but generally lacks in flavor and quality when compared to regular coffee. Try Nescafé Gold for instance and see for yourself! Every coffee lover should try once in his life instant coffee, as he should with any coffee in the world.
Enjoy your coffee!