How Instant Coffee Is Made
Instant coffee was invented back in 1906 by George C. Washington. No relation to the father of our country.
George was an English chemist living in Guatemala and he drank a lot of coffee.
A powder buildup on the spout of his coffee pot sparked his curiosity and eventually led him to produce a dried coffee crystal much like we still have today.
Instant coffee is just regular brewed coffee with most of the water removed.
There is no chemical alteration involved and instant coffee is still pure coffee.
There are two methods used for producing instant coffee crystals.
The freeze drying method preserves the most coffee flavor but it's a more involved method.
With this method, the brewed coffee sits and the water evaporates naturally, leaving a concentrated coffee solution.
This concentrate is then frozen to -40 Celsius and the remaining water freezes into ice crystals.
A natural process similar to evaporation called sublimation is used to remove the ice and only the dry grains of coffee are left.
The second method of making instant coffee is called spray drying.
With the spray drying method the water is again allowed to evaporate, forming a coffee concentrate.
This concentrated coffee is sprayed from a high tower into a large chamber filled with hot air.
The remaining water evaporates when the droplets fall and the dry crystals of coffee fall to the bottom of the chamber.
A little more coffee flavor is lost with the spray drying method because the high temperatures effect the oils of the coffee.
Instant coffee is seldom drank much any more but used a lot to add coffee flavor to drinks and is added to recipes for cooking and baking.
Gary Gresham is the webmaster for Perfect Coffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee makers and delicious desserts online. He offers a free monthly coffee newsletter with articles like these at Perfect Coffees.com Newsletter
George was an English chemist living in Guatemala and he drank a lot of coffee.
A powder buildup on the spout of his coffee pot sparked his curiosity and eventually led him to produce a dried coffee crystal much like we still have today.
Instant coffee is just regular brewed coffee with most of the water removed.
There is no chemical alteration involved and instant coffee is still pure coffee.
There are two methods used for producing instant coffee crystals.
The freeze drying method preserves the most coffee flavor but it's a more involved method.
With this method, the brewed coffee sits and the water evaporates naturally, leaving a concentrated coffee solution.
This concentrate is then frozen to -40 Celsius and the remaining water freezes into ice crystals.
A natural process similar to evaporation called sublimation is used to remove the ice and only the dry grains of coffee are left.
The second method of making instant coffee is called spray drying.
With the spray drying method the water is again allowed to evaporate, forming a coffee concentrate.
This concentrated coffee is sprayed from a high tower into a large chamber filled with hot air.
The remaining water evaporates when the droplets fall and the dry crystals of coffee fall to the bottom of the chamber.
A little more coffee flavor is lost with the spray drying method because the high temperatures effect the oils of the coffee.
Instant coffee is seldom drank much any more but used a lot to add coffee flavor to drinks and is added to recipes for cooking and baking.
Gary Gresham is the webmaster for Perfect Coffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee makers and delicious desserts online. He offers a free monthly coffee newsletter with articles like these at Perfect Coffees.com Newsletter
posted by Gary at 12:01 PM
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