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?

  • blueday@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    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.

    • Iced Raktajino@startrek.websiteOP
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      1 day ago

      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.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      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

  • Iamsqueegee@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    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.