6 facts about instant coffee you didn't know

What is instant coffee made of? Why is one type more expensive than the other? And is there any benefit in it? Spoiler alert: there are benefits.

The FoodOboz editorial team tells you some facts about this drink.

Who invented instant coffee

Instant coffee was invented in 1899 by Japanese scientist Satori Kato. However, he failed to launch industrial production. After that, the technology for the production of instant coffee was developed by George Constant Washington, a Belgian scientist who moved to the United States. In 1910, he launched a drink called Red E Coffee and then invented a product called Camp Coffee, which was essentially a mixture of water, sugar, coffee essence, and chicory.

The mass production of instant coffee began in 1938 when Nestle's chemical engineer Max Morgenthaler introduced instant coffee that could be brewed from granules in seconds. The first cans of brown powder rolled off the assembly line on July 24, and this day is considered the birthday of instant coffee.

There is another legend about the origin of instant coffee. According to the British scientific magazine New Scientist, the drink was commissioned by the American army: allegedly, soldiers needed coffee in combat conditions to maintain their tone.

What is instant coffee made from?

Instant coffee is usually made from robusta coffee beans, as it contains a higher percentage of caffeine.

Instant coffee is made as follows:

• coffee beans are roasted at the factory and then ground;
• the resulting mixture is loaded into a kind of huge coffee maker, where ground coffee particles are passed through a stream of hot water under high pressure;
• the resulting extract is collected in tanks, where excess moisture is removed;
• the concentrated extract is fed into a sublimator, sprayed and frozen;
• the pieces of "frozen coffee" are broken into granules and sent to vacuum drying, where the ice evaporates, leaving only the granules of instant coffee.

Since the granules are practically odorless after all these processing stages, the flavor of instant coffee is imparted by adding coffee oils.

Types of instant coffee

There are three types of instant coffee on the shelves: powdered, granular, and freeze-dried. The most expensive is freeze-dried, which is characterized by flat, slightly shiny granules. This coffee retains the qualities of coffee beans to the greatest extent.

• Powdered coffee. No sophisticated equipment is used in the production process. It is obtained by spraying a special liquid concentrate in the air, which is allowed to dry. After that, the coffee powder is packaged in packages that protect it from moisture. Powdered coffee is considered the cheapest and dissolves faster than other types.
• Granulated coffee. The coffee powder is soaked in warm water, so the particles stick together to form granules. High-quality granulated coffee does not leave sediment at the bottom of the cup after brewing.
• Freeze-dried coffee. It is produced using freeze-dried technology. This means that concentrated coffee liquid is frozen under a vacuum. The result is pyramidal crystals. Freeze-dried coffee contains more caffeine than other types.

How much caffeine is in instant coffee

Instant coffee contains almost half the amount of caffeine as beans: one cup of instant coffee contains 30 to 90 mg of caffeine, while ground beans contain 70 to 140 mg.

Therefore, if you want to cheer up, instant coffee is unlikely to help you. But if you want to reduce your caffeine intake, but find it difficult to give up coffee altogether, then instant coffee will help you.

The dangers of instant coffee

Instant coffee is harmful to the body as a whole. Doctors recommend consuming no more than two cups of the drink a day, and in no case should you drink it on an empty stomach, and after a cup of coffee, drink a glass of water. This way, the harm to the body will be less noticeable.

If you can't give up instant coffee, just know that this drink

• has a strong effect on the heart and can lead to heart palpitations and high blood pressure;
• depletes nerve cells, can lead to increased irritability and even depression;
• severely dehydrates the body, leaches calcium and other useful trace elements;
• increases acidity in the gastrointestinal tract, which leads to the formation of ulcers or gastritis;
• causes yellow plaque on tooth enamel.

The benefits of instant coffee

Unbelievable but true: there are benefits to instant coffee. Instant coffee contains antioxidants – perhaps even in higher concentrations than beans. Studies show that drinking both instant and regular coffee helps to improve brain function and reduces the likelihood of developing certain diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.