I always ground my beans as needed, and my coffee was so much more flavorful. When deciding what kind of coffee to get, you’re always faced with the decision between instant coffee and ground coffee. Part of the ritual of enjoying a cup of coffee is the aroma, and nothing beats the smell of fresh ground coffee slowly dripping through a Chemex. Unfortunately, a lot of these beautiful aroma compounds are lost in instant coffee. So there’s that, instant coffee is often of poor quality because it uses Robusta beans. This also means that you have to be very careful with how much water you add to your instant coffee. But, is instant coffee better? If you want to make the best coffee at home, you absolutely need to check my article on the best coffee gear. Coffee, instant or ground, contains an exceptional number of antioxidants. He's been active in the catering and hospitality industry for over 20 years and he is a proud member of the Speciality Coffee Association.You can discover more about Mark > here. There’s also the possibility that instant coffee retains fewer antioxidants when compared to freshly ground. This is another thing to consider when deciding between instant or ground coffee. Well, that is subjective. References So which is better instant coffee of ground coffee? Instant coffee is cheap, and to keep the costs down manufacturers of instant tend to use low-quality Robusta coffee which is a more bitter and harsher-tasting species. Instant coffee with roasted ground coffee, 100% arabica beans instant coffee with with microground arabica coffee beans roasted in Italy. We have both instant and ground. So I guess it’s up to each person if they find instant coffee convenient or not. Fresh whole coffee beans are roasted, ground, and then brewed before they start their journey to becoming instant. The article continues after the image.). Finally, we come to just how convenient instant is. One of the advantages of grinding your coffee is that you have a lot of room for experimentation. The main reason ground coffee is so bad is that it’s almost always made with Robusta beans. You have so much control over how your ground coffee is brewed. Ground coffee will give you an easily adjustable coffee brew and you can always tweak it as you wish. So you’re limited to the amount of caffeine the coffee company managed to extract in their coffee before drying it. – go grab an AeroPress or try using a French Press. Robusta actually has double the caffeine of Arabica, 3 Good Reasons High Altitude Coffee Is Better. It’s just the taste I have a problem with, since I’m more of a flavor gal and I’m very picky about food and drink. I’ve grown up with tea, and discovered coffee only in college. Coffee made from ground coffee will taste entirely different from instant coffee. This is why instant coffee is so popular, for those of us that need to grab a cup and run the door. Confused? You can always try and help things out with the additional flavorings like sugar, powdered milk, vanilla or whatever else is found in many instant coffee packets. I for one don’t really like this kind of coffee, but I know it’s a saving grace for other people, and I can understand that. BeanGround.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This is always a problem for coffee drinkers, but the advantages sometimes outweigh the lack of quality. Subscribe to receive free emails filled with reviews, gear, and caffeine-infused tips on how to brew great-tasting coffee at home. The brewing process is a big decider when it comes to ground coffee vs instant. For The Busy Folk, Decaf Coffee – A Guide To Your Favorite Faux Coffee. In fact, instant coffee may contain even more antioxidants due to the methods used for processing. Proper waste disposal, recycling and reusing coffee grounds, and using real coffee cups instead of disposables, are just a few areas that all of us could improve on. Their main difference lies in what they are made of. However, with instant coffee having a much lower ratio of packaging to the actual amount of coffees brewed, and the processed coffee grounds disposed of by correctly by large-scale factories, instant coffee is actually greener in comparison to regular ground coffee. If you’re wondering if instant is real coffee, the short and sweet answer is yes. So in a way, you could say that instant coffee is better when it comes to coffee by-products and cleaning the utensils. This has a lot to say in their taste difference. This has a lot to do with the kind of beans used for both of these coffee types, and also with the brand that manufactures them. See, there are two ways to make instant coffee. Ground coffee is a bunch of coffee beans that have been ground to a specific size. That’s why you’ll find articles both on coffee and tea, respectively. I prefer brewed coffee made from freshly ground coffee beans whereas you might prefer a quick cup of instant coffee. In many offices and company buildings you’ll find coffee machines with cups of instant coffee. Much like with teabags and loose leaf teas, which are often debated as hotly as instant coffee and ground coffee. Frothed Milk vs. If you want a comparison, Robusta actually has double the caffeine of Arabica, but it also has half the amount of sugars and fats that Arabica comes with. I had a taste and have never drunk tea since. In short, there are stark differences between instant coffee and ground coffee. Instant coffee is again ground coffee, which has already been brewed into actual, drinkable coffee. Apart from stating the obvious, that instant coffee is .. well, instant and regular brewed coffee has to be .. brewed. It’s also why Robusta is often used in heavily mixed coffee drinks (like a cappuccino or a latte). It will strip away flavor and only leave bitterness, but yes the caffeine will be there. Ground coffee and instant coffee are not the same. Does it really matter what kind you add to your coffee... Why would anyone want to put a chunk of fatty butter inside of their coffee? That doesn’t mean you can’t do your bit for the environment if you prefer freshly ground coffee. One of the reasons is that Robusta has such a strong flavor and can stand up to large quantities of milk and sugar and other added flavors. Even though instant coffee is cheaper, does that mean it’s going to be better value for your money? Because instant coffee is processed using freeze-drying methods a lot of the freshness and flavor are lost. And it does not have to go through an intensive manufacturing process like instant coffee. Is ground coffee the same as instant coffee? This translates into an earthy, bitter coffee with a much stronger kick than Arabica. (If you like this article so far, you can pin it to your Pinterest board by clicking the image below. Plus, different cultures and regions use unique equipment for brewing ground coffee … So in short, instant coffee is made of ground coffee which was already brewed. "The main difference between instant coffee and ground coffee, is the amount of caffeine," explains Hardman. Instant is okay, it has its place, but if you really love coffee you deserve the best – you’re not going to get that with instant. Instant has the upper hand when it comes to ease of brewing. But I have a hard time picking a favorite between the two. But there is a big difference, and trying to make an espresso with instant coffee instead of ground coffee will be a failure. Ground coffee is made from coffee beans that have been roasted and ground up for brewing (with a grinder). This is the kind of coffee many people have a problem drinking black, and is often mixed with sugar and cream to be easier to drink. Ground coffee has a higher caffeine content, 4. No self-respecting coffee aficionado likes the flavor of instant coffee, but it’s definitely drinkable and qualifies as a low-quality coffee. However, for argument sake, I wouldn’t say that one type of coffee is better than the other. It comes with several health benefits and makes your day better. Ground coffee and instant coffee may seem similar to each other, but instant coffee may be processed more as compared to ground coffee. Instant coffee is a type of coffee made from dried coffee extract. Seeing as the aroma is responsible for a major portion of the flavor of your coffee, any loss, however small, is going to have an impact on your final cup of coffee. This is because the coffee grounds are made of a large amount of fibers, which do not dissolve in water. But that is where the process stops. When making ground coffee you have to wait around for it for a few minutes, clean the machine and throw away the coffee grounds, and then you can enjoy your drink. But it’s much like putting lipstick on a pig. When we talk about the quality, the coffee beans are going to be the deciding factor over anything else. These are just some of the answers you will discover after reading through this instant versus freshly ground coffee showdown I mean, brewdown! You may be surprised to discover that instant coffee is the better option if the overall environmental impact is your only goal. Ground coffee is actual coffee beans, instant coffee is not. I am wondering about the safety aspect of this, though. Which would then need more milk or sugar to be palatable. Instant coffee actually starts its life as a regular brewed coffee. Make your own DIY instant coffee by pulverising your normal brand to a fine powder, so it can brew right in your cup. Well, only you can answer that – do you value convenience, flavor, and aroma over price? 5 Natural Coffee Sweeteners – Keeping Your Coffee On The Healthy Side, 1. They are not the same. Even if you were to blend it into oblivion and make a sort of odd smoothie, it would not be dissolved but cut into a very fine powder. Often you’ll find instant coffee as a mix of coffee with powdered milk, sugar, and added flavors. Various studies have found that coffee may provide a range of beneficial effects on our health. I get it not all of us have enough time in the morning to carefully grind whole coffee beans and painstakingly prepare a Hario V60 or any other pour-over coffee brewer. In this article, I won’t go into the full ins-and-outs of how instant coffee is made as I have already covered that in detail over on this instant coffee article. (1) Euromonitor International. When rehydrated with hot water, it makes a beverage that is somewhat similar to coffee brewed from ground, roasted beans. But typically you’re not going to be thrilled with a cup of instant versus a cup of freshly brewed ground coffee. While instant coffees will give you a faster cup of coffee with zero wastage, ground coffee will offer you much … Coffee traders refer to this a “past crop coffee” which basically means beans harvested the year before that have faded flavors and aromas. You might like it, you might not. There is also the fact that lots of coffee is lost while making instant coffee, and using cheap beans will significantly cut down the cost of making instant coffee. All you need is … Instant coffee can be found in many homes, does to commodity and price since it’s always cheaper than ground coffee, or at least on the same mark as the cheapest ground coffee. This site is owned and operated by Ciuraru Dragos PFA, and is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Instant coffee actually starts its life as a regular brewed coffee. Ground coffee is often made from higher quality coffee beans. Instant coffee is coffee extract that has been roasted, brewed and then dehydrated. In fact, the statistics speak for themselves with almost 50% of the world’s population preferring instant coffee instead of freshly brewed coffee, according to a 2014 Euromonitor report (1). Just add hot water and you’re done. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Instant coffee still has a coffee flavor, however it is a little bit diluted. It’s best to add a little less than what the instructions on packaging say, since instant coffee tends to be very flat in taste and too much water can make it worse. You don’t even need hot water. Let met explain. This is why coffee makes like the French press, the phin, the Turkish ibric, even the humble drip filter, are all going to produce a very strong coffee brew in terms of caffeine and even taste. If you’d like to know how to really flavor your coffee, you should read this article on the basics. What makes coffee instant is when all the water is removed from the brewed product, leaving behind dehydrated crystals of coffee. So this means that hot water in contact with your coffee will literally absorb the caffeine in the bean. This is because when the coffee cherries grow, Robusta yields double the amount as Arabica. My name is Alexandra, and this site is born from my love for tea and coffee. check my article on the best coffee gear. Here the way instant coffee is manufactured doesn’t help at all. Instant coffee is a lot easier than ground coffee. Coffee is good for you, unlike soda drinks and other sugar-heavy drinks. Which will not help you health at all. "One cup of instant coffee contains 60-80mg of caffeine. This is the simplest and fastest brew method of the three and pretty much all other coffee brewing methods. As a result, there should be no significant differences when it comes to the health benefits they offer. Waka Coffee, for example, ha… They’re then ground to a specific size, according to what the coffee company requires it to be. For example, ground coffee is made out of coffee beans ground to a specific size. This can be worked around if you simply add more instant coffee to your water, but that often results in an even more bitter drink. This means that after the coffee cherries have been picked and dried and then the beans have been separated from them, they’ve been roasted to a certain degree. Often they’ll strive to make as strong a coffee powder as they can, but you’ll see this has its drawbacks in a bit. Another reason is that Robusta also is highly resistant to diseases and pests (thus easy and cheap to grow), which is what brought down Arabica production so many years ago and the coffee company had to improvise. This dries the coffee particles, and they gather at the bottom of the tower. Unlike espresso powder, instant coffee is ground coffee beans that will dissolve in hot water and turn into a cup or more of actual coffee. Instant coffee has less caffeine with just 60 to 80 mg of caffeine. I’m not surprised, milks milk, isn’t it? Robusta is a cheaper coffee bean, but it has a much higher caffeine content than Arabica. We all tend to think that if something is processed, it is more harmful to the environment. There are some coffee addicts that say there is no difference between instant coffee and coffee grounds. When it comes to coffee production, Robusta seems to be queen. On the other hand, a ground or brewed coffee contains 60-120mg of caffeine per cup. It brings a lot of caffeine to the drink, and it has a strong enough flavor. This makes it a very convenient drink for extremely busy people, or in places where the coffee can’t really brew well, like on the International Space Station. Instant coffee is often poor quality, and cheaper, 5. Such instant coffees will give you the best of both types of coffee. Instant - nescafe espresso, ground - Tesco French 5. What kind of beans are used – more on that here – will decide how good the coffee will be. But there are a few other reasons for this, and they’re pretty good and logical ones. Ground coffee hasn’t been brewed, and is just ground up coffee beans. Robusta seems to be the duct tape of the coffee industry. The amount of caffeine extracted relies solely upon the coffee company manufacturing your instant coffee. I used to fetch an ounce of ground coffee from co-op for my aunt and then watch her make herself a cup. This is because subjecting the already brewed coffee to additional drying and cooling will severely impact the final taste. This happens when the bean is exposed to heat, and a liquid to draw it out. And, that “moment” could be months or even years before it even reaches your cup. – Unknown. In essence both instant coffee and ground coffee are coffee, yes. But when it comes down to taste, caffeine content, and flavorsome oils, regular ground coffee is the clear winner. As for ground coffee, it will not dissolve into your water no matter what you do to it. They’re cheap, and they’re the best way to bring a high caffeine content to the table. As you can imagine, these stale beans are not highly sort-after and are sold at significantly cheaper rates. 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