Sometimes, we’re in a hurry. Sometimes, we’re on a budget. Either way, oftentimes, we take our morning cup of coffee on the go and need to be ready for anything. Although it doesn’t take long to brew a pot of coffee in the morning, some of us have mere moments to throw a cup of morning joy together before we get into the car or onto the bus to start the day. That is where instant coffee pops in, although its bad reputation often follows. Instant coffee is seen as cheap, burnt, and foul-tasting. But, fortunately, instant coffee is much more than that, and you can learn more about why instant is on your side.
So what is instant coffee? It is a type of coffee made from dried coffee extract, and similarly to regular coffee, the extract is made by brewing ground beans. Instant coffee is much more concentrated than regular brewed coffee, and there are two methods to make instant coffee: spray-drying and freeze-drying. The process of spray-drying includes spraying coffee extract into the air, and droplets are dried into a fine powder. In freeze-drying, the extract is frozen, cut, and dried under vacuum conditions. Either way, instant coffee is created in such a way to preserve quality, aroma, and flavor.
Although there are extra steps in creating instant coffee, you may still be wondering why instant coffee has such a bad reputation. In fact, there are just as many benefits to drinking good coffee as a cup of instant. One of the great benefits of choosing instant coffee is that ability to better control the amount of caffeine you’re taking in. Especially if you are sensitive to caffeine or a pregnant or nursing person, you can use more or less instant coffee, which already has less caffeine, to control your intake. And like regular coffee, you can find instant in decaf.
In the end, you should choose to drink the type of coffee that you like best. Whether you are in a hurry and have a preferred brand of instant that you turn to or want to take the time to specially brew your first cup pf the day, it is only important that you should enjoy the cup of coffee in front of you. If you want to level up, however, check out a local coffee roaster in Lancaster to learn more about good coffee.
