Instant Coffee vs Regular Coffee – Which is better?

Coffee comes in many flavors, variants, and types. While coffee used to be enjoyed only through the long process of ripening, grinding and brewing, people now can enjoy coffee in its instant form or in a regular form. Depending on your preference, you can enjoy the cup of coffee that best suits you.

The most basic difference between these two can be seen in three major aspects – the preparation method, the taste, and the price. While there are other aspects such as aroma and caffeine content where they also differ, these three are the primary indicators of the difference between instant coffee and regular coffee.

From the name itself, instant coffee is far easier to prepare. The one and only step is that you have to add hot water, and instantly you get to enjoy a cup of coffee. Regular coffee takes the same preparation as you would for gourmet or premium coffee except that the coffee beans have been ground already, so you can skip the grinding part of the process. Regular coffee is also available in grocery stores. If it is the convenience that you’re after, instant coffee would be your best choice.

For more the taste, regular coffee is prepared through a coffee maker. The beans have to be grounded so that the coffee retains its strong and full-bodied flavor. With instant coffee, the beans have been processed so that it will just need hot water to be prepared. Thus, the coffee beans have lost their flavor. Also, the beans used in instant coffee are blends of beans. Due to mixing with lower quality coffee beans, the premium taste of Arabica coffee beans are diminished.

As with any other beverage, the better it tastes, the higher the price. Instant coffee is inexpensive and regular coffees are pricier. Add to that the cost of coffee filters, time for preparation and the life of your coffee maker as well. For instant coffee, you simply need a cup, cutting down the price to more than half because of the ease in preparation.

As gifts, while regular coffee and coffee may be preferred as it has more taste, you can also give small packets of instant coffee. Whether as a birthday gift, as birthday favors or coffee wedding favors, the receiver will definitely appreciate receiving them. You can also give coffee-related gifts or favors such as mugs, coasters or paper filters.

The Basics of Making Your Own Homemade Gourmet Coffee

Coffee is enjoyed by people all over the world, whether male or female, whether young or old. Some people prefer instant coffee while others prefer regular coffee. But the best way to go is of course, gourmet coffee. There is a world of difference when it comes to the taste and quality of these three types of coffee.

Gourmet coffee basically follows the same steps when as you would when you make brewed coffee, but why is there a huge difference when it comes to taste? A major contributor to the taste difference is the coffee bean. Arabica coffee is an expensive type of coffee bean that produces a bold coffee flavor. It takes 4 to 5 years for an Arabica coffee to grow and be harvested and this contributes to the high price of this commodity. Another popular gourmet coffee is Robusta. However, in the stricter gourmet sense, Arabica is really the one considered to be gourmet. Robusta takes 2 to 3 years to grow before it becomes available for harvest, and some suppliers combine Robusta with Arabica and pass it on as Arabica. Robusta has a higher caffeine content but this doesn’t mean that is has bolder flavor. When it comes to taste, Arabica is still bolder and full-bodied.

The next step in making gourmet coffee is to grind the coffee beans. Whenever you grind, you should only do so immediately before you brew and grind only the amount that you need. Grinding the beans beforehand and brewing them at a later date will not produce the same gourmet taste. To store the other beans that you will not use, place them in an airtight container and put it in the fridge. This will retain the freshness and the temperature needed to keep the beans fresh as if it has just been handpicked.

You can get gourmet coffee beans from reputable coffee stores such as Starbucks. Gourmet coffee beans are pricey so if you need to buy coffee beans in bulk to give as gifts or party favors such as coffee wedding favors, you can opt for ground coffee or still give coffee beans but in smaller quantities.

You can enjoy gourmet coffee at home by following these simple tips. Gourmet coffees are expensive but if you can make your own perfect cup, you can get to enjoy it at a significantly lower price than at a coffee shop, and more importantly, whenever or as often as you want it.