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Nowadays we always look for easy solutions for everything. Even we coffee lovers want easy and quick techniques for our everyday coffee. That’s why instant coffee is getting popular day by day. But there arise many confusions with this ease, especially when you try to combine your instant coffee and coffee maker. You may ask “Can you put instant coffee in a coffee maker?”
Well, you can put instant coffee in a coffee maker. But this is not suggested because it leads to waste of products, bad taste and obviously redundancy. Instant coffee is prepared in a way you can use it instantly. So, further use of a coffee maker is unnecessary.
Let’s check out why it’s not wise to put instant coffee in a coffee maker.

Before moving forward with “Can you put instant coffee in a coffee maker?”, let’s take a while to learn about instant coffee and its ingredients.

Instant Coffee: Instant coffee is one type of ready-to-use coffee. You can call it Soluble coffee which means it dissolves in water and makes coffee.

Production of Instant Coffee 

To produce this coffee, the fresh coffee beans are collected, roasted, ground and brewed. Then producers follow mainly 2 ways to remove the water from it.

• Freeze-drying
• Spray-drying

Freeze-drying	Spray-drying
In this method, brewed coffee is frozen at first, then the ice is removed. This process makes the brewed coffee dry, keeping all the nutrients in it.	In this method, brewed coffee is sprayed into hot air to make it dry. It is a quick method of making powdered coffee.

In this way, brewed coffee turns into dried coffee power. Thus, you get your instant coffee ready to use.

Ingredients in Instant Coffee 

Coffee: The main ingredient of instant coffee is the dried and powdered form of brewed coffee.

Additional Ingredients (Varies according to brands)

Additional Ingredients with Coffee in Instant Coffee
Chicory	Chicory is a plant and its roots are used in instant coffee for the bitter taste.
Flavorings	Natural or artificial flavors.
Sugar	The  “3-in-1” or “2-in-1” instant coffee contains sugar.
Milk powder	The  “3-in-1” instant coffee contains milk (dairy or non-dairy).
Stabilizers or Preservatives	Some instant coffee has stabilizers or preservatives.

How to Make Instant Coffee? (Without Any Coffee Maker)

If you want to drink a cup of instant coffee, then you have to learn how to make it. You have to know, can you put instant coffee in a coffee maker or not? In reality, you don’t need a coffee maker to make your instant coffee as it’s already brewed. Instant coffee is the easiest coffee you can ever make. All you need is:

• Instant coffee powder
• Hot water.

That’s all it takes to make instant coffee. Let’s provide a brief description of the process.

Heat your water

Heat clean water until it boils. You can use your regular pot, kettle or microwave.

Boiling Time (For 1 liter/ 4 cup water)
For electric kettle	4 to 5 minutes
For stovetop	8 to 10 minutes
Microwave	8 to 12 minutes

Measure Instant Coffee

Mainly you can use your desired amount of instant coffee or go with the amount written on your instant coffee’s packet. We recommend going for:

Mild Coffee	Strong Coffee
1 tablespoon per 8 ounces or 240 mL water	2 tablespoons per 8 ounces or 240 mL water

Pour, Stir and Serve

Take 1 to 2 tablespoons of instant coffee powder and pour your boiled water in it. Then stir well to mix everything together. You can add any additives or toppings that you like. Well, this adding part is optional. This is how you get your coffee ready without any coffee maker.

Is Instant Coffee Different From Ground Coffee? 

Is there any difference between instant coffee and ground coffee? Obviously, instant coffee is different from ground coffee. Let’s differentiate both instant coffee and coffee grounds in the following table.

Basis	Instant Coffee	Coffee Grounds
Preparation Process	Roasting, Grinding, Brewing, Drying, Adding other components, Packaging.	Roasting, Grinding.
Need to Brew	No brewing needed	Brewing needed
Time Consumption	Quick process	Takes more time than instant coffee
Making Process	Easy, Only add hot water and serve	Comparatively hard, Requires brewing, Adding sugar or milk, and toppings (if desired)
Aroma and Taste	Comparatively less aromatic	Fresh aroma and flavorful
Caffeine Content	Lower	Varies (based on different types and brewing methods)
Duration of Freshness	Higher (as dried, and sometimes using preservatives)	Lower (Becomes tasteless or smelly if not used when fresh)
Need of Special Equipment	No need	Varies, Sometimes a coffee maker, or brewing machine
Additives	Sugar, milk, preservatives, flavor	No additives
Cost	Varies, Generally not expensive	Varies, Some are expensive
Flavor Consistency	Consistent	Not consistent
Most Useful	While travelling, or camping, don’t have much time to brew	At coffee shops, at home, When you have fresh beans to brew, When you have time
Sensitivity to Storage	Less sensitive	More sensitive

10 Reasons Why You Should Not Put Instant Coffee In A Coffee Maker

You already know, still we are reviewing that, many types of coffee makers can help you make coffee. Some of them include:

• Drip coffee maker
• French press
• AeroPress
• Espresso machine
• Percolator
• Moka Pot
• Pour Over
• Keurig etc.

But you should not use any of these machines for your instant coffee.
So, can you put instant coffee in a coffee maker? You should not do it as we mentioned but why? You might want to know what are the reasons behind this! Let’s go through the reasons that will justify the decision not to put instant coffee in a coffee maker.

Redundant 

A coffee maker is mainly used for brewing coffee. As instant coffee is already brewed and dried, there’s no need to brew again. So brewing twice is a redundancy without any benefits.  Moreover, it may hamper the taste.

Waste of Time 

Why do you want to use instant coffee? Obviously for its convenience and speed. But if you re-brew it by using a coffee maker, it will waste your time. So, using a coffee maker is an unnecessary extra step, which you should avoid.

Clog the Machine 

When you put your instant coffee in a coffee maker, it can clog or get stuck into the machine. This will create problems in brewing further and will slow down the machine.

Ruined Taste 

Coffee makers usually extract flavors from coffee grounds. As instant coffee is ready and brewed, it doesn’t need further extraction. A coffee maker can make your instant coffee more bitter which will ruin the taste ultimately.

Low Efficiency 

The coffee maker turns the whole instant coffee-making process lengthy and time-consuming. That’s why we can say it is a less efficient process of making coffee.

Waste of Energy

Coffee makers use energy to make coffee. But where you can make coffee instantly with instant coffee powder, a coffee maker is just a waste of energy.

Potential Mess

Using Instant coffee in a coffee maker will create a potential mess. The coffee powder will dissolve in the water at the very beginning. This will disrupt the regular flow of a coffee maker.

Unnecessary Cleaning

The use of a coffee maker is unnecessary while making instant coffee. It also makes an unnecessary mess which you have to clean afterwards. So, it’s a huge hassle for no potential reason.

Hampers the Machine

Using instant coffee in your coffee maker can slowly hamper the longevity of the coffee maker. So, ultimately this extra unnecessary use will hamper your machine’s overall well-being.

Expensive 

A coffee maker for instant coffee is never a cost-effective way of making coffee. Coffee makers are more or less expensive and the use of electricity or gas is also expensive. Altogether the whole process is not cost efficient.

Potential Outcomes of Putting Instant Coffee in a Coffee Maker

Suppose, you have already used instant coffee in your coffee maker. Now you are getting worried about the outcomes of it. So, it’s better to learn the outcomes before you fall into this situation.

Potential Outcomes	Brief Descriptions
Over-extraction	As instant coffee is already brewed, using a coffee maker results in over-extraction. It will turn your coffee bitter and ruin the taste.
Clogging	It can result in clogging in your coffee maker.
Waste of Resources	This process leads to a waste of resources like energy, and time and ruins the coffee maker.
Flavor ruining	It turns the coffee excessively bitter which ruins the coffee’s flavor.
Effort of cleaning	You have to put extra effort into cleaning your coffee maker which you could avoid by not putting instant coffee in it.

Comparison of Instant Coffee To Regular Coffee 

Let’s take a look at the comparison of instant coffee and regular coffee under some specific factors.

Convenience

In case of convenience, instant coffee is a 10 on 10. You can take it anywhere and make it easily. But regular ground coffee is not convenient.

Flavor and Aroma 

In terms of flavor and aroma, freshly brewed ground coffee wins the battle. On the other hand, instant coffee falls a bit less as it is brewed and dried.

Portability 

Instant coffee is easy to carry anywhere you want whereas regular coffee is not portable at all. Unless you find a coffee shop nearby, you can’t drink coffee. Only instant coffee can save you then.

Nutrition

Regular freshly brewed coffee holds more natural nutrition than any instant coffee can.

Long Shelf Life 

As instant coffee is brewed and dried, it has a long shelf life compared to any ground coffee.

Customization

In terms of customization, regular coffee wins because you can try any type of brewing method and additives. But instant coffee doesn’t have that many options.

Consistent Flavor 

The consistent flavor is possible in instant coffee as it is packed in the same quantity. But ground coffee’s flavor might differ from time to time.

Minimal Equipment 

Instant coffee requires minimal equipment whereas ground coffee needs more equipment regularly.
Check out our compared illustration of regular and instant coffee below.

Our Recommendations of Best Instant Coffee with Ratings

If you want to pick the best instant coffee, you can check out these recommendations. We are providing our ratings for this instant coffee.

Recommended Instant Coffee	Ratings Out of 10	Famous For
Waka Coffee	8.5	Balanced taste and sustainability
Nescafe Gold	8	Globally recognized for smooth and rich flavor
Sudden Coffee	8.5	Capturing great flavors of speciality coffee
Voila	9	Collaboration with speciality roasters and unique flavor
Starbucks VIA	8	Brand’s recognition and consistent flavor
Mount Hagen Organic Freeze Dried Instant Coffee	8	Organic ingredients
Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee	7.5	Combination of coffee and mushrooms
Swift Cup Coffee	9	High-quality beans
Joe Coffee Specialty Instant Coffee	8.5	Replication of their cafe brews in instant form
Kuju Coffee Pocket PourOver	8	Innovation and convenience.

Conclusion 

If you talk about instant coffee, it simply means a convenient, quick and easy process of drinking coffee. So if you ask, “Can you put instant coffee in a coffee maker?”, you actually should not do it. Why make one easy and quick process difficult? So, be wise and let your instant coffee-drinking process be easy and simple. Use your coffee maker for ground coffee instead. You can always check out our easy process of making instant coffee and our recommendations for instant coffee as well. Our ratings will help you to pick the best instant coffee. So enjoy your coffee instantly without making extra effort with a coffee maker.

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