<p>Because the taste and aroma are horrible. I've been places (for instance Shanghai and Beijing) where it's hard to get a cup of coffee outside of business areas catering to foreigners. </p>

<p>The instant coffee is terrible. It is not a pleasure to drink. It's only palatable (to me) with a ton of evaporated milk and a lot of sugar. For someone  who usually drinks coffee black this ruins the coffee experience.</p>

<p>To answer your question: for people who love the smell and taste of good, freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee - instant coffee simply doesn't compare. Hence the poor reputation.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-15T17:34:55.813Z
You should elaborate what makes the taste and aroma "horrible".
user598527
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-18T15:20:31.417Z
2016-08-18T15:20:31.417Z
Mayo
<p>Being someone who was involved in the manufacturing process, instant coffee is made with the cheapest possible grains, always. Doesn't matter if you think Nestlé is good they do choose the cheapest way to produce, I am not sure if this is the case everywhere in the world, this is coming from Argentina, but I'm pretty certain it is the case.</p>

<p>What you get in cheaper coffee per mug you loose in quality, and if you aren't drinking coffee just for the caffeine then you will want the good taste and smell.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-26T08:10:47.233Z
This answer may have dated but there are plenty of single origin 100% instant Arabica coffees, and also plenty of cheap Robusta beans around. So this is not true.
thelawnet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-20T15:25:53.727Z
2016-08-20T15:25:53.727Z
Kaiser Andres
<p>Apparently some instant coffee varieties include parts of the plants including stems, bits of leaves, etc. </p>

<p><strong>Source</strong>: 2006 documentary Black Gold (<a href="http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0492447/" rel="nofollow">IMDB page</a>).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-25T17:11:48.123Z
2016-09-19T14:15:00.077Z
2016-09-19T14:15:00.077Z
MattCrow
<p>Instant coffee is usually made with robusta beans instead of Arabica beans. 
Not only are these beans less flavourful and aromatic, but making the coffee beforehand generally allows all of the delicate aromas and notes to escape over time (this is why robusta is used in the first place). 
There is a reason beans are best ground just before being used.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-24T07:06:16.153Z
2016-08-24T07:06:16.153Z
E404
<p>The bean quality is often <em>waaaay</em> different. There are very few companies that try to make instant coffee with any sort of higher quality or expensive bean.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-23T14:23:25.630Z
Already mentioned in several answers.
user598527
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-23T10:36:42.053Z
2016-09-23T10:36:42.053Z
Yatagarasu0612
<p>Instant coffee suffers from a number of drawbacks that put it on the far end of the spectrum from well raised and processed, properly roasted and freshly ground coffee.  To start with, instant coffee is usually made from the cheapest and lowest quality beans.  These beans are then (usually) roasted and brewed on large industrial equipment.  The coffee is then dehydrated into a powder.  While dehydrating food and beverages is great for long term storage and portability, it generally doesn't improve (or even maintain) the flavor of the food and drink being freeze dried.  </p>

<p>Basically the market/prices for most instant coffee dictate that it will be produced with the lowest possible costs.  Meaning marginal beans are sourced and put through a bunch of horrific processing to make a marginal product.  Add that to the fact that it's only "easier" in a very limited amount of circumstances and one can understand it's limited popularity.  While it may be less time intensive than the process one goes through to brew their own coffee, it is actually more time/labor intensive than stopping at a drive through coffee shack or grabbing a cup from a communal pot at work, which is how many people source their coffee.  </p>

<p>While there may be a few companies out there striving to produce high quality instant coffee, the majority is not of high quality and the truth of it's "not that much easier" existence means that overall it suffers from low reputation.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-15T17:39:09.080Z
Do you have a source?
user598527
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-25T18:24:54.880Z
2016-08-25T18:24:54.880Z
Suspended User
<p>Among coffee drinkers instant coffee is generally considered as a last resort and many avoid it entirely, even though instant coffee is often cheaper per cup and doesn't require specialized coffee brewing equipment.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-22T16:01:32.220Z
Coffee drinkers are probably more interested in flavor and aroma vs. cheap and convenient.  If you don't care about that, or don't like coffee enough to feel it's a difference, then instant is the way to go.  If you actually like drinking the coffee, then, yes, instant would only be a last resort.  Personally, I'll go without before I go instant. I use instant espresso to flavor homemade ice cream.  That's it.
PoloHoleSet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-26T03:19:05.707Z
Since it was mentioned a few times in the answers below, see also more information about what instant coffee is, and how it is made! For example, [this question](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/411/how-is-instant-coffee-made), from [thekitchn](http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-how-is-instant-co-69158), and some additional context from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_coffee).
hoc_age
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-14T16:55:06.087Z
Instant coffee drinkers look for convenience, not quality.
brendo234
<instant>
Why does instant coffee have a poor reputation?
user598527
# Why does instant coffee have a poor reputation?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-08-18)

Among coffee drinkers instant coffee is generally considered as a last resort and many avoid it entirely, even though instant coffee is often cheaper per cup and doesn't require specialized coffee brewing equipment.

**Tags:** instant

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Coffee drinkers are probably more interested in flavor and aroma vs. cheap and convenient.  If you don't care about that, or don't like coffee enough to feel it's a difference, then instant is the way to go.  If you actually like drinking the coffee, then, yes, instant would only be a last resort.  Personally, I'll go without before I go instant. I use instant espresso to flavor homemade ice cream.  That's it.  
> **username_2**: Since it was mentioned a few times in the answers below, see also more information about what instant coffee is, and how it is made! For example, [this question](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/411/how-is-instant-coffee-made), from [thekitchn](http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-how-is-instant-co-69158), and some additional context from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_coffee).  
> **username_3**: Instant coffee drinkers look for convenience, not quality.  

---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-08-18. Score: 9

Because the taste and aroma are horrible. I've been places (for instance Shanghai and Beijing) where it's hard to get a cup of coffee outside of business areas catering to foreigners.

The instant coffee is terrible. It is not a pleasure to drink. It's only palatable (to me) with a ton of evaporated milk and a lot of sugar. For someone who usually drinks coffee black this ruins the coffee experience.

To answer your question: for people who love the smell and taste of good, freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee - instant coffee simply doesn't compare. Hence the poor reputation.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: You should elaborate what makes the taste and aroma "horrible".  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2016-08-20. Score: 8

Being someone who was involved in the manufacturing process, instant coffee is made with the cheapest possible grains, always. Doesn't matter if you think Nestlé is good they do choose the cheapest way to produce, I am not sure if this is the case everywhere in the world, this is coming from Argentina, but I'm pretty certain it is the case.

What you get in cheaper coffee per mug you loose in quality, and if you aren't drinking coffee just for the caffeine then you will want the good taste and smell.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: This answer may have dated but there are plenty of single origin 100% instant Arabica coffees, and also plenty of cheap Robusta beans around. So this is not true.  

---

### Answer by username_10 on 2016-08-25. Score: 6

Instant coffee suffers from a number of drawbacks that put it on the far end of the spectrum from well raised and processed, properly roasted and freshly ground coffee. To start with, instant coffee is usually made from the cheapest and lowest quality beans. These beans are then (usually) roasted and brewed on large industrial equipment. The coffee is then dehydrated into a powder. While dehydrating food and beverages is great for long term storage and portability, it generally doesn't improve (or even maintain) the flavor of the food and drink being freeze dried.

Basically the market/prices for most instant coffee dictate that it will be produced with the lowest possible costs. Meaning marginal beans are sourced and put through a bunch of horrific processing to make a marginal product. Add that to the fact that it's only "easier" in a very limited amount of circumstances and one can understand it's limited popularity. While it may be less time intensive than the process one goes through to brew their own coffee, it is actually more time/labor intensive than stopping at a drive through coffee shack or grabbing a cup from a communal pot at work, which is how many people source their coffee.

While there may be a few companies out there striving to produce high quality instant coffee, the majority is not of high quality and the truth of it's "not that much easier" existence means that overall it suffers from low reputation.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Do you have a source?  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2016-08-25. Score: 4

Apparently some instant coffee varieties include parts of the plants including stems, bits of leaves, etc.

**Source**: 2006 documentary Black Gold ([IMDB page](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0492447/)).


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2016-08-24. Score: 2

Instant coffee is usually made with robusta beans instead of Arabica beans.
Not only are these beans less flavourful and aromatic, but making the coffee beforehand generally allows all of the delicate aromas and notes to escape over time (this is why robusta is used in the first place).
There is a reason beans are best ground just before being used.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2016-09-23. Score: 0

The bean quality is often *waaaay* different. There are very few companies that try to make instant coffee with any sort of higher quality or expensive bean.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Already mentioned in several answers.  

---

