The Rise of Instant Coffee – Can it fit in Melbourne's Specialty coffee scene?

Instant Coffee that is Made in Melbourne?

Since the early 18th century, instant coffee has been produced and has been one of the most popular ways to consume coffee at home. Made for novices, it is never questioned what single origin beans are sourced, or how you brew it – it is a matter of grabbing it off the supermarket shelf and putting a heap in your cup.

So, how is exactly is instant coffee made?

Typically, the coffee beans chosen for instant coffee production are from the lower end of the quality scale. Not surprised given that most Melbournian snobs would in public utter negative words towards instant coffee when asked which is your favourite specialty coffee bean but then at home reach for the coffee migraine remedy.

According to Huffington Post, there are two ways of making instant coffee: “spray drying and freeze drying. Spray drying is achieved by spraying liquid coffee concentrate as a fine mist into very hot, dry air (we’re talking 480 degrees F). When the coffee hits the ground, the water has been evaporated and it has dried into small, round crystals”. So, when they brew it, they make the coffee concentrate (or coffee jus, as many Melbourne coffee connoisseurs call it) and zap it into powder.

The real question that we ask the people of Melbourne is if instant coffee can truly ever be accepted in the coffee world? To answer this question, we have looked into another format of instant coffee called freeze-drying.

“Freeze drying coffee involves a few steps. First, the coffee is cooked down into an extract. The coffee extract is chilled at about 20 degrees F into a coffee slushy. This coffee slushy is then further chilled on a belt, drum, or try to -40 degrees F until it forms a slab of coffee ice. This coffee ice is broken into granules and sent to a drying vacuum, where the ice vaporizes and leave behind coffee granules” (Huffington Post).

So, now we’re armed with all that information, will instant coffee ever take the place of your freshly grinded brew at your favourite café? In Melbourne, that will still be a formative ‘no’ – the coffee culture, the people and the routine of coffee is so heavily engrained in our culture that it is hard to replace. However, sitting next to non-sustainable coffee pods or supermarket blends, our team at Made In Melbourne Coffee Collective wanted to create a new contender to the market – one that is not made to replace your favourite café, or your favourite coffee beans, but one that is made for convenience, and tastes pretty good too.

The team at Perfect Daily Grind, a world leading specialty coffee publication and media company, asked their Instagram followers recently what they thought of soluble coffee. The reactions were completely mixed – some thought that it was a bad idea, while others said that instant coffee had potential to be a specialty coffee product. However, lots of readers noted that instant coffee had a place in their lives, allowing them to enjoy coffee when travelling or when short on time. 

That’s why HOMEBREW is here to shake up the game. We wanted to create a great tasting instant coffee that would allow people to focus on sustainability, travel and convenience, all while enjoying a Melbourne roast at home. We want to beg the question – can instant specialty coffee be accepted by the masses? Well, if there was instant coffee to be offered, what better place in the world than Melbourne to give it a shot.