Can someone ELI5 how instant coffee works?
FWIW, I understand freeze-drying. My question is more about how instant coffee is prepared versus brewing. When you brew coffee, you run the water through the grounds while filtering them out. When you make instant coffee, the grounds just dissolve into it?
What am I missing here?
They aren't 'grounds.' You are freeze drying already-brewed coffee. The instant crystals are what is in the already brewed coffee, minus water. Adding water rehydrates the coffee.
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks. I guess I've just always thought it was the grounds that were freeze-dried and somehow that made them dissolve-able.
Except for the PC instant brand where they started shipping it with grounds included. I am 99% sure they had a production problem, but their help team said it is microground coffee added as a flavour enhancer. The issue is what they ship is not micro ground powder, but large .5mm chunks of compacted tooth breaking coffee beans
Fun instant coffee whip-thing. If you haven’t already seen it, whip a table spoon of sugar, tablespoon of warm/hot water, and a tablespoon of instant coffee. It makes a sticky, delicious coffee yummy thing.
I like to whip it with sugar and heavy cream for a coffee mousse.
Dalgona coffee, if someone wants to look it up.