Instant coffee, also termed soluble coffee, coffee crystals and coffee powder, is a beverage produced from brewed coffee beans. Instant coffee is commercially prepared by either freeze-drying or spray drying, after which it can be rehydrated as and when required by dissolving in water. Instant coffee in a concentrated liquid form is also available in the market.
Advantages of instant coffee include speed of preparation (instant coffee dissolves instantly in hot water), lower shipping weight and volume than beans or ground coffee (to prepare the same amount of beverage), and long shelf life (however instant coffee can spoil if not kept dry since it is very hygroscopic).
Instant or soluble coffee was invented and patented in 1890, by David Strang of Invercargill, New Zealand, and sold under the trading name Strang’s Coffee citing the patented “Dry Hot-Air” process. The invention was previously attributed....
