8 facts about Instant Coffee.

  When I was young, my family would go out and camp for weeks at a time or a day depending on the time of year and what was up.  My parents always brought instant coffee so they could save space and make it easier.  It was always the same brand because the said it was the best brand of instant coffee out there.  All the other brands tasted like dirt.  If you wonder, its Tasters Choice.

Do you know how long its been around?  I thought it came out in the 1950's or so but in reality its been around since 1771 when it first appeared in Great Britain. The first American version showed up in 1853, just before the civil war.

Why did I mention the civil war?  Well, someone managed to create a version of instant coffee that was in cake form to try out during the Civil war.  It wasn't until 1890 that a New Zealander finally got around to patenting instant coffee but the powdered form as we know it today, came from Japan.  In 1901, a man in Japan figured out the first method to manufacture instant coffee because he actually made instant tea.  It wasn't until 1930 that mass production began but most people didn't like it due to its flavor.  Around 1938, Nescafe became the king of instant coffee. The freeze dried version of instant coffee appeared in the 1960's.

The general populous was not interested in instant coffee but it captured the military's interest to the point that it was used by servicemen in World War I.  In World War I, soldiers called it a cup of Washington because it was a George Washington who invented it.  By World War II, it was so popular in the service that the military bought all of the coffee produced by Nescafe in one year.  Image!

Today its used in cooking, the military, on camping trips, backpacking, etc. Now for the statistics on instant coffee.

1.  The United States is not into instant coffee.  Their rates have stagnated since 2008.

2.  About half the world prefers instant coffee.

3. Sales for instant coffee have tripled since 2000

4.  Instant coffee makes up 34% of retail brewed coffee.

5. India and China are the fastest growing market.

6. Asia Pacific is the largest region consuming instant coffee.

7.  Instant coffee accounts for 75% of the coffee consumed in Australia and New Zealand.

8.  Even Europe drinks about more instant coffee than the United States.