How To Make Your Instant Gourmet Coffee Taste Better?

Instant Coffee is a blessing to today’s fast-paced lifestyle. Throw in a tablespoon of this powdered mix of instant and aromatic coffee in a cup, pour water, and stir. Voila, you have a delightful, creamy, instant energy-boosting dose of caffeine. While die-hard pure coffee addicts and baristas may not agree, instant coffee can give you the same taste as when you buy gourmet coffee from stores. It all depends on the ratio of ingredients and of course, the quality of the magic beans - coffee! If you are someone short on time during the day but still want your instant coffee to taste better, read on to know-how.

Benefits of Coffee

There are many health benefits to coffee being rich in caffeine, a psychoactive ingredient, widely consumed. Ayurveda, the Indian science of medicine, has long known its benefits to the human body and has claimed to positively impact it with special Ayurvedic coffee made according to your ailment and dosha. Some of the known health benefits of consuming coffee are:

• Potentially reduce risk of cancer
• Stimulate all senses and boost physical performance with the caffeine ingredient boosting adrenaline 
• Assists in staying alert when consumed within a limit
• Burns fat with caffeine helping in breaking fat cells
• It may help lose weight being rich in magnesium and potassium that help in regulating insulin levels
• Protects the body with the antioxidants it contains that protect against free radicals
• May reduce risk of Type 2 diseases by decreasing insulin sensitivity. Here’s all you need to know about type 2 diabetes treatment.
• May reduce risk of Dementia and Alzheimers 
• Influences our mood by stimulating the overall nervous system producing serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline that uplift us. 

Why Instant Coffee?

You don’t have to resort to Ayurvedic coffee to avail of health benefits always. Coffee, hot or cold, has many benefits apart from the obvious ‘awakening’ factor. Instant coffee, in particular, has additional benefits that make it the most convenient option:

• It’s cheaper than pure coffee alone
• It’s coffee. Just because it’s instant, it doesn’t take away the fact that its main ingredient is pure coffee.
• It’s instant! This means you save a lot of time in preparation and have fewer dishes to clean after.
• You won’t need more than one dish to prepare. Read the above point.
• It’s travel-friendly. This means you don’t have to walk around with jars and prep dishes. Just a sachet would do.  
• Instant coffee may have lesser caffeine content, which works great for those who want to enjoy coffee for its calming effects. An average cup of brewed coffee has 60-120mg of caffeine, while a cup of instant gourmet coffee has 60-80mg only. 
• Instant coffee without sugar included may have the same benefits as pure coffee. 

The only obvious downside to instant coffee in comparison to regular coffee is that it contains acrylamide, a white odourless solid that is soluble in water. Research shows consuming this in large quantities over an extended period of time has shown to increase the risk of cancer.  The good news is, there’s a very small trace consumed in instant coffee for it to be considered a threat to health.

How is Instant Coffee Made?

Probably not a question we ponder on, but the delicious, frothy instant coffee we consume in the morning actually goes through a process. For one, it is made from ‘real’ coffee beans and is processed through spray-drying or freeze-drying methods that make it easy to prepare and consume. In short, you get to sip on instant gourmet coffee by reconstituting the concentrated or dehydrated brewed ayurvedic coffee after mixing it with water. Simple!

Notch Up Your Instant Coffee to Instant Gourmet Coffee with These Tips

Bored of the same taste as your instant coffee? Why not try our tips on making your daily mix taste like instant gourmet coffee giving you the chance to experience a new flavour every day! 

• Good quality in Instant coffee

It’s instant. What’s there to worry about quality? We can’t be far from wrong assuming this thought as instant coffee relies on quality. It’s important to buy gourmet coffee mixes of high quality to experience a taste that won’t disappoint. There is an argument among coffee lovers that the freeze-drying method over spray drying, while the only difference is one has a granular look and the other is powdered. The latter is easier to prepare being powdered and when picked from the best of coffee estates, it enriches the taste and aroma instantly. When these beans are roasted and ground in small batches, packaged tightly, it retains the taste of the original coffee taste, much like an Ayurvedic coffee experience. You should also be aware of the top beauty benefits of coffee.

• Store tightly 

Yet another important factor, while we are tempted to leave loose lids on- this impacts the superior taste and freshness of the coffee mix. Invest in smaller jars that have a tight lid to secure the freshness of your instant gourmet coffee powder locking any chance of it going stale. The more you expose the mix to air, the quicker it becomes stale and can thicken up. Instead, store away the jar in a cool, dark place away from direct heat and humidity.

Doing this will help the instant gourmet coffee mix stay fresher for longer periods saving you the trouble of having to buy gourmet coffee at regular intervals. 

• Stir well- in cold milk or water

An open secret, the taste of instant gourmet coffee changes the minute you mix cold water or milk with it. If you are someone who believes TV advertisements that show boiling hot water mixed with powder in a cup- try it and you’ll end up with a chalky texture. Instead, here’s a trick that’ll give you a bitter-free pure Ayurvedic coffee kind of taste. Dissolve a spoon of instant coffee in a cup with little cold water or milk first. Mix it well so the cool liquid absorbs the powder well, leaving no lumps. Top it up with hot water or milk and you are good to go.  Thank us later after trying!

• Ratio

What makes coffee taste so great when you buy gourmet coffee at a store? The secret lies in the ratio. Pay attention to the ratio of coffee powder and the liquid mixture. Any excess of the latter and you end up with a liquid mess, any lesser and you have a funky mix. The rule of thumb to make premium instant gourmet coffee is using 1- 2 tsp of powder to 200ml of liquid in a cup. Add more or less depending on your personal taste in the strength of coffee. Most instant coffee powders come with sugar included as well, so make sure you don’t add sugar without tasting the mixed coffee first. 

• Spice it up

Top up your existing cup of goodness with spices that not only enhance flavours but add nutritional and immunity-boosting benefits. These additives can disguise the pre-prepared taste and give a feeling of instant freshness. Ayurveda uses spices generously when preparing Ayurvedic coffee for specific and overall health benefits that have been passed on over the years. Here are some that taste great with the hot beverage:

• Turmeric
• Nutmeg
• Ginger
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• Cardamom
• Honey
• Cocoa

Most of the above have antioxidants and reduce inflammation in the body. They also encourage easy digestion, reducing potential acidity issues. Add a dash of these spices in powdered form after the drink is prepared to enjoy its taste and goodness

Other additives that recreate the same taste as when you buy gourmet coffee from a store are:

• Sugar
• Syrups like caramel, hazelnut, chocolate 
• Coconut milk
• Almond milk
• Whipping cream
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate shavings
• Sprinkles
• Butter

• Blend it

We are all used to a ‘morning siren’ as hot coffee or a ‘pick-me-up’ brew in the afternoon, but why not use an instant coffee mix for blending into milkshakes or better for cold coffee on a summer afternoon? Blend the mix with ice and milk for an instant creamy, cooling drink that’ll perk your moods while bringing your temperature down. The results taste just like when you buy gourmet coffee, but just cold.

• Use it for all other purposes apart from drinks

Not a fan of instant coffee as a drink? Get creative and use it for other uses that make your coffee taste better than an Ayurvedic coffee, but in dishes! Brew the instant mix and add as a marinade to your meat or better yet, mix it in your batter to bake a lovely cake. The taste is delicate yet distinct enough to spruce up your dish instantly!

Coffee is coffee. It’s a league of its own whether you buy gourmet coffee or not. Going instant just makes it easier and who doesn’t love a shortcut to goodness in a cup? Whatever your use, the key is to invest in an instant gourmet coffee that is roasted from the finest coffee beans and packaged to make it last fresh for a longer period. Leave the opportunity to buy gourmet coffee over the weekend while you treat yourself to the oh-so-delicious and convenient instant brew for every day! We hope now it’s clear why you should start consuming gourmet coffee? 

Auric’s Gourmet Coffee is lip-smackingly delicious and is also good for your health. So, what are you waiting for? Order one today to sip-in the benefits!

Authored By: Divya Shankar

About Author: Divya Shankar is a multifaceted content writer with 7+ years of experience. She has exclusive writing expertise in ayurveda.