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Instant Coffee
Instant coffee is a beverage derived from coffee. Through various manufacturing processes the coffee is dehydrated into the form of either powder or granules. These can be rehydrated using hot or boiling water to provide a drink that most people are happy to accept as 'coffee'. There is also at least one brand of instant coffee available in concentrated liquid form.
The advantages of instant coffee are speed of preparation (no time is required for infusing the coffee - it is ready as soon as the hot water is added) and long shelf life (natural coffee, especially in ground form, loses flavour as its essential oils evaporate over time).
The disadvantages are that instant coffee is easily spoiled if not kept dry and its taste, especially with cheaper brands, is often far from the real thing. Moreover, the lowest quality coffee beans (the best beans are usually kept to be sold as whole beans), and sometimes other unwanted residues from the harvest are the raw material for the production of instant coffee.
Instant and soluble coffee has been dried into soluble powder or granules, which can be quickly dissolved in hot water for consumption. It is distinct from fresh coffee and is commercially prepared differently, by vigorous extraction of almost all soluble material from the ground roasted beans. This process naturally produces a different mix of components than home brewing; in particular, the percentage of caffeine in instant coffee is less, and undesirable bitter flavor components are more present. Due to the mass-production of instant coffee, lower grade beans may be used. Opinions on instant coffee range from "intolerable imposter" through "reasonable alternative" to "better than the real thing", and in some areas of the world it is seen as a sophisticated beverage popular in the United States due to the fact that it was the norm in American homes until the 1980s. Ironically, in some countries that export coffee it can be hard to get anything but instant coffee, possibly for this reason ("it's modern, therefore better").
Some varieties are freeze dried in an effort to maintain a flavor more similar to brewed coffee. In countries where it is popular, it is often referred to as "Café Puro" to the horror of coffee aficionados. Instant coffee is also convenient for preparing iced coffee, which is popular in warmer climates and/or hot seasons.
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