Blog
Is Brewed Coffee Healthier Than Instant?
Few beverages are as beloved and ritualized as coffee. Not only is it an essential way to start off each day and fight that afternoon slump, but brewing your own also provides an energy boost and can improve mental focus and concentration. We consulted experts to discover their views.
Ground coffee’s caffeine content stands out, since its made from roasted beans rather than instant. But brewing requires some work: whether using a French press or simply letting your grounds seep through hot water slowly, there’s something about slow brewing that makes your coffee taste richer – meaning more flavor compounds extracted from each bean and, thus, more caffeine for you!
But if you need something quickly, instant coffee may be just what’s needed to satisfy that urge – and it can actually taste quite good too! Instant coffee refers to the crystals formed when brewed coffee is dehydrated – a quick and convenient way to have coffee handy on busy mornings or travel days says registered dietitian nutritionist Malina Malkani RDN; when taken in moderation it can fit into any healthy diet plan.
How Is Instant Coffee Different? Its One key difference between brewed and instant coffee is caffeine content; this is due to brewed being prepared using freshly-ground roasted and ground beans that have been filtered and dripped with hot water through filters for optimal brewing results. By contrast, instant coffee uses pre-ground beans that have already been spray- or freeze-dried which lose much of their aroma and other flavor components that define traditional cups of brewed coffee,” according to coffee expert and author Matt Mazarin.
Brought coffee typically utilizes Arabica beans that offer more complex and rewarding flavour than the lower-grade Robusta beans that are popularly found in instant coffees; however, heating and cooling used in producing instant coffee by spraying granules or freeze drying can dramatically alter their character and diminish some of their aroma.
While brewed coffee contains more caffeine than instant, the nutritional difference is minimal; therefore, if convenience is what you seek then instant should not be dismissed outright – just keep in mind that the FDA recommends limiting your daily caffeine consumption to 400 milligrams, equivalent to three cups of brewed coffee; one 8oz cup of brewed coffee has around 145mg while instant can have as little as 63mg; so for an instant caffeine kick go for ground stuff as its benefits outweigh its costs in this instance!