You’re Probably Making Instant Coffee Wrong—Here’s What You Should Do Instead

Making instant coffee at home is simple enough, right? Most would think so, as the process is as straightforward as it can get: add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee to your mug, add 6 ounces of hot water, add milk and stir until dissolved. But why is it that even after customizing your instant coffee with seasonal flavors, syrups and drizzles the end result still lacks the complexities and nuances of a carefully brewed cup of joe ?

As is the case with most food and drink recipes, the secret lies in the preparation. And believe it or not, there are a couple of simple steps you can take that will turn an average cup of instant coffee into the pour-over or French press drink of your dreams. One of which might actually come as a surprise, although it starts to make sense once you consider the science behind it.

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The Best Way to Make Instant Coffee

While scouring the web for helpful tricks and tips to elevate a basic batch of instant coffee, we came across a delicious tip by Ethan Rode, The Coffee Guy that at first seemed too simple to be true. Rode starts off his video, which is titled “ How to Make Instant Coffee ,” describing how instant coffee constantly gets a bad rap due to people not knowing how to make it correctly.

Rode goes on to explain that it's easy to ruin instant coffee by burning it, which causes the coffee to taste bitter. The solution? Simply add a little bit of cold water to dissolve the instant coffee granules before adding hot water to it. Additionally, to make sure the coffee doesn’t taste weak, Rode recommends using 6 ounces of water for every teaspoon of instant coffee.

Related: 20 Popular Starbucks Iced Coffee Drinks, Ranked

How to Make Instant Coffee Taste Like Something That Came From Your Favorite Coffee Shop

In addition to this extremely useful tip, Rode also offered up a couple of easy drink recipes to try out with your newfound instant coffee brewing skills. The best part? Both recipes require no expensive coffee bar equipment—just a blender and your favorite coffee mug.

1. Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso: Add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of water to a cocktail shaker. Give it a quick mix to make sure all of the ingredients are dissolved before adding ice and cinnamon. Shake aggressively until there's a nice layer of foam. Pour into a glass and top off with some milk.

1. Blended Coffee/Coffee Milkshake: Add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee, 1 teaspoon sugar, ⅛ teaspoon of xanthan gum (optional), ½ cup of milk and 1 cup of ice to a blender and mix until the ingredients are well incorporated. If you want to add a little extra flavor, mix in 1 teaspoon of flavoring, such as salted caramel before blending. Pour into a glass and top with caramel drizzle.

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