Blog
What Organisms Grow in Instant Coffee?
Coffee is an indispensable beverage that many use to start their day. Enjoyed in different forms ranging from brewed to instant varieties, coffee can help people boost their energy and stay alert throughout the day – it may even serve as therapy! Many coffee drinkers enjoy the ritual of brewing coffee, but for those with hectic schedules instant coffee may be a quicker and simpler way of getting their daily caffeine fix. Though instant coffee may be considered inferior by purists, its advantages should not be discounted. Instant coffee provides not only an excellent source of caffeine, but it also contains polyphenols which reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases. What differentiates regular and instant coffee from each other are their respective processes and ingredients used. To produce decaf coffee, whole beans are roasted and ground; any caffeine is removed prior to grinding; then dehydrated via spray drying or more expensive freeze drying and packaged for sale as granules or powder.
Unfortunately, this process can produce acrylamide, which has been linked with cancer and has serious negative health implications if consumed in high amounts. Acrylamide forms when sugars and starches in food or drink are broken down by enzymes; its formation occurs both when roasting coffee at high temperatures as well as unroasting it at lower temperatures.
To avoid acrylamide, some companies have switched to cheaper spray-drying techniques for instant coffee production, although this process still leaves bitter granules and powder with many fine particles that make drinking it unpleasant. Other companies have tried improving its taste by adding other ingredients – for instance Four Sigmatic’s instant roast and instant blend features ground adaptogenic mushrooms which provide immune support, stress relief and increased brainpower benefits – into their instant blend roasted and instant blend coffee beans – something spray drying cannot match.
Experts of instant coffee tend to favor organic varieties that use Arabica beans instead of Robusta for maximum flavor and are brewed at lower temperatures so as to preserve their natural oils, adding additional depth of flavor. Unfortunately, however, finding such organic instant coffee at an affordable price point can be challenging.
There are still great alternatives out there, though, like USDA certified organic instant coffee from Papua New Guinea. Their coffee is grown on the island of Papua and combined with other ingredients to produce a smooth and rich blend that won’t break the bank – plus it contains very minimal caffeine! Unfortunately it may take slightly longer to brew than standard instant coffee; but I highly suggest giving it a try if you have time; it will be well worth your while!