Is instant coffee really the next choice for coffee lovers?

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Many people think instant coffee is the next best thing for coffee lovers. However, in busy times, the convenience of instant coffee is irreplaceable.

I admit that I haven't had instant coffee for years, and I drank it for three or four years before I entered the coffee world.

I don't want to belittle instant coffee, but its convenience, especially for "caffeine addicts," is really not comparable to any other coffee. A friend of mine, for example, once worked late at night on a paper and couldn't even make time for coffee. He took a very extreme approach: pouring two tablespoons of instant coffee powder directly into his mouth, then drinking a big mouthful of hot water and flushing the powder and water into his stomach. For years he had insisted that his paper was supported in this way.

Of course, from the coffee lover's point of view, instant coffee lacks the true beauty of coffee, which is also an indisputable fact. Some large coffee companies, such as Nestle and Maxwell, have invested large amounts of research funds in the hope of retaining the aroma of fresh coffee in the production process, but they have not been successful (some estimate that if they succeed, they must have a business opportunity worth more than 10 billion US dollars). This shows the difficulties involved. So far, the improvements made have only upgraded the "spray drying method" to "freeze drying method", which slightly improves the aroma, but it is still not comparable to freshly brewed coffee.

In fact, the "freeze-drying method" of instant coffee is not difficult to identify, coffee particles, more like coffee beans ground out of uneven coarse particles, and "spray drying method" of instant coffee is similar to uniform fine sugar powder. Usually on the packaging,"freeze-dried" instant coffee will be printed with the words "Freezed Dry."

I would suggest that we should buy less products from small factories, especially those like "three-in-one". Usually large factories do not dare to mess around under international supervision, while small factories often add some chemical essences with unknown ingredients, which is not safe.

In fact, the market share of instant coffee is much larger than ordinary coffee people think, according to consulting firm Mintel data show that instant coffee, freshly ground coffee and ready-to-drink coffee in China market share of 71.8%, 10.1% and 18.1% respectively.

You may not like instant coffee, but that doesn't mean others don't like it. For coffee lovers, it is not necessarily the next best choice.