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Instant coffee patent was born in the United States.

Published: 2026-04-08 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/04/08, On August 11, 1903, a Japanese chemist living in Chicago obtained the first American patent for instant coffee.

Instant coffee dissolved in water first appeared in England in 1771, but because of its short shelf life, it was prone to spoilage. Therefore, this coffee has a short existence time and is quickly eliminated. In 1853, an American tried a powdered coffee, but it was also rejected because of its short shelf life.

Satori Kato, the Japanese inventor of soluble tea, was later asked by an American coffee importer and coffee roaster manufacturer to apply dehydration to coffee. With the help of an American chemist, Gori Kato wrote the detailed plan. On April 17, 1901, Kato Gori explained in his patent application the problems and solutions that instant coffee was prone to.

Kato Gori obtained the first instant coffee patent on August 11, 1903, Patent No. 735,777。But its products did not catch on quickly.

In 1909, another inventor, George C.L. Washington began mass production of Red E Coffee and supplied instant coffee recipes to the U.S. Army during World War I. Nestle Switzerland developed and upgraded the process in 1938 and began marketing new formulations for the U.S. military during World War II.

In the 1950s, the quest for speed, convenience, and modernity led to a rapid development of instant coffee, but the European taste of American coffee was scorned by North American gourmets. You can still find instant coffee in supermarkets, especially in Europe.

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