It is commonly understood that instant coffee or ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee gets its negativity from social stigma.
Many coffee Coffee aficionados believe that instant coffee is the mother of all bad ideas. But I argue that it is not true.
This can be attributed to the first wave of coffee where instant coffee just had a bad taste. But now almost 100 years later, instant coffee has come a long way. And most people are not convinced with what I like to call Effort-to-Reward of brewing coffee and are simply happy with their instant coffee.
They just don’t feel the need to do the extra steps involved in brewing their own coffee.
Instant coffee did not have a bad reputation during the second wave of coffee in the 1900s. In fact, I believe that most people drink instant coffee over any other type of coffee.
According to BBC, 77% of Brits drink Instant coffee at home. In my own country India which is the third-largest producer of coffee in Asia and the sixth-largest in the world, I believe most people still drink instant coffee. The city I live in is just a couple of hours away from the wester ghats where most of this coffee is grown and still, most people drink instant coffee.
The main reason for the success of instant coffee can be attributed to one factor and that is convenience. It is just plain and simply convenient. In a world where people’s attention span does not last for more than 2 seconds on social media, asking the majority of people to take the time to brew their coffee seems to be an uphill battle.
The fact is the instant coffee market is projected to exponentially grow in the coming years as the coffee culture is starting to pick up in China and Russia and other emerging markets.
Earlier China used to consume 2 cups of coffee per person per year, which in most countries is the number of cups of coffee had after breakfast. But now China is the 4th largest market for ready-to-drink (RTD) or instant coffee and is said to grow even more.
There is no doubt in my mind that with improvement in technology and affordability the market for brewing your own coffee at home will grow, but I think the market for instant coffee will grow exponentially when compared to that.
It was during the second wave of coffee when Starbucks made consistent quality freshly brewed coffee to every metro neighborhood in America that the perception of instant coffee started to change.
This was followed by the third wave of coffee which was started by coffee aficionados who despised instant coffee. And it soon became trendy to if you wanted to be seen as a coffee enthusiast then you would have to ‘hate’ on instant coffee.
Now I will present my argument against the idea that instant coffee is bad.
In the photography community, it is commonly said that “the best camera is the one that’s with you” In the same way I would say that the best coffee is the one that is available to you.
For most people with busy lives like working professionals or people with a tight budget (Yes, Starbucks is costly) instant coffee is the best.
It is by no means the best coffee money can buy, but that is not the criteria for most people. Most people want their sip of coffee and maybe a small dose of caffeine and that’s all.
And its difficult to argue with the time and economic benefits of instant coffee if that’s the criteria on which you base your coffee choice.
Let’s face it, most people have had freshly brewed coffee at least once in their lives. And if they are still not convinced they have to put in extra effort, no matter how little it might be then we have nothing much to argue about.
I believe Coffee is meant to be enjoyed, and it’s up to each person on how they want to enjoy it.
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