<h2><strong>How instant coffee is prepared in the factory:</strong></h2>

<ol>
<li>Coffee beans are roasted</li>
<li>They are ground very finely (0.5 mm - 1.1 mm in diameter)</li>
<li>The ground coffee is mixed with water in percolation columns which reaches 155 - 180 degrees Celsius.  This is the extraction process.</li>
<li>This mixture is then concentrated and/or dried using vacuum evaporation, freeze drying, or spray drying methods.</li>
</ol>

<p>The result from this is what you get in the store.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-13T15:17:06.430Z
@SamWhited Coffee that is ground extremely fine will never dissolve completely in hot water. Think Turkish coffee. You will still have grinds left over at the bottom. This is because there is insoluble organic matter in coffee beans. If you can prove me wrong though, I would be happy to see it.
Patrick Sebastien
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-16T05:33:57.667Z
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_coffee: "The main byproduct of the instant coffee production process is spent coffee powder. This powder can be used as biomass, for example to produce heat used in the manufacturing process. Roughly 2 times the mass in spent coffee powder is generated for each quantity of soluble coffee."
Stephie
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T04:14:48.600Z
2015-02-10T04:14:48.600Z
Patrick Sebastien
<p>I understand the basic process of making coffee (harvested beans >> roasted >> ground >> brewed), but I don't quite understand how <em>instant</em> coffee is made.</p>

<p>What, exactly, is done differently? At what point in the process does instant coffee diverge from "real" coffee?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T02:37:33.910Z
Follow up question (pending on answers here): Can instant coffee be created at home?
Shokhet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T18:19:35.390Z
Yes.  Provided you want to go to all the expense of purchasing freeze-drying equipment to produce not good coffee.
Suspended User
<instant>
How is instant coffee made?
Shokhet
# How is instant coffee made?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-10)

I understand the basic process of making coffee (harvested beans >> roasted >> ground >> brewed), but I don't quite understand how *instant* coffee is made.

What, exactly, is done differently? At what point in the process does instant coffee diverge from "real" coffee?

**Tags:** instant

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Follow up question (pending on answers here): Can instant coffee be created at home?  
> **username_1**: Yes.  Provided you want to go to all the expense of purchasing freeze-drying equipment to produce not good coffee.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-02-10. Score: 12 | Accepted answer

## **How instant coffee is prepared in the factory:**

1. Coffee beans are roasted
2. They are ground very finely (0.5 mm - 1.1 mm in diameter)
3. The ground coffee is mixed with water in percolation columns which reaches 155 - 180 degrees Celsius. This is the extraction process.
4. This mixture is then concentrated and/or dried using vacuum evaporation, freeze drying, or spray drying methods.

The result from this is what you get in the store.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: @SamWhited Coffee that is ground extremely fine will never dissolve completely in hot water. Think Turkish coffee. You will still have grinds left over at the bottom. This is because there is insoluble organic matter in coffee beans. If you can prove me wrong though, I would be happy to see it.  
> **username_3**: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_coffee: "The main byproduct of the instant coffee production process is spent coffee powder. This powder can be used as biomass, for example to produce heat used in the manufacturing process. Roughly 2 times the mass in spent coffee powder is generated for each quantity of soluble coffee."  

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