COFFEE/Instant 1493
Further Reading 1983, in legislative force in all member countries has
Clarke RJ and Macrae R (eds.) (1987) Coffee: Technology,
vol. 2. Barking, UK: Elsevier.
Clarke RJ and Vitzthum OG (2001) Coffee: Recent
Developments. Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Grosch W (2001) Volatile compounds. In: Clarke RJ and
Vitzthum OG (eds) Coffee: Recent Developments. pp.
68–89 Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Illy A and Viani R (1995) Espresso Coffee – The Chemistry
of Quality. London: Academic Press.
Silwar R, Kampschroer H and Tressl R (1986) Gaschroma-
tische-massenspektrometrische Untersuchungen des
Röstkaffeearomas. Chemische Mikrobiologie Technolo-
gie Lebensmittel 10: 176.
Vitzthum OG (1999) Thirty years of coffee flavour re-
search. In: Taranishi R, Wick EL and Hornstein I (eds)
Flavour Chemistry – Thirty Years of Progress, pp. 117–
133. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Instant
R J Clarke, Donnington, Chichester, West Sussex, UK
Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
0001 Instant coffee is the dried soluble portion of roasted
coffee, which can be presented to the consumer in
either powder or granule form for immediate make-
up in hot water, whilst the insoluble parts, or spent
coffee grounds, are left behind at the factory, for the
manufacturer to dispose of. Instant coffee is the name
by which this product is now generally known, though
there are two synonyms, soluble coffee and dried
coffee extract, to express in different ways what the
product is.
Definitions and Composition
0002 Most countries have made a point of insisting that
instant coffee be made from roasted coffee using
water only (which includes steam), though allowance
is needed for the commercial reality of added aroma
oils prepared by mechanical pressing of roasted coffee
or by other nonorganic solvent methods. This view is
expressed in a standard of the International Standards
Organization, ISO 3509–1989 (originated in 1970),
which carries a simple definition, ‘the dried water-
soluble product, obtained exclusively from roasted
coffee by physical methods using water as the only
carrying agent which is not derived from coffee.’ The
European Economic Community (EEC) Directive for
coffee and chicory extracts, 1977 and as amended
a somewhat longer definition, ‘coffee extracts are the
products in any concentration obtained by extraction
from roasted coffee using water only as the medium
of extraction and excluding any process of hydrolysis
involving the addition of an acid or base and,
1. containing the soluble and aromatic constituents 0003
of coffee
2. which may contain insoluble oils derived from 0004
coffee, traces of insoluble substances derived from
coffee, and insoluble substances not derived
from coffee or from the water used for extraction.’
Instant coffee is then the dried product of such an 0005
extraction, and can only be labelled as such (or with
synonyms, or foreign language equivalents) when the
product so conforms. Products may of course contain
other soluble beverage constituents, but then need
to be appropriately labelled and all ingredients de-
clared. Some soluble mineral constituents (e.g., 0–
1000 p.p.m. of sodium or calcium ions, etc.) may be
present from the water used in the extraction.
Historically, most instant or soluble coffees first 0006
contained added carbohydrates (about 50% w/w)
such as corn syrup solids, since it was found that a
simple aqueous extract of roasted coffee, extracted
under atmospheric conditions (100  C temperature),
could not be dried (usually spray dried) to a satisfac-
tory free-flowing low hygroscopic powder. It was
only from about 1950 that instant coffee at 100%
pure coffee solids became commercially available on
a large scale. This step forward resulted from the
discovery that the desirable carbohydrate (polysac-
charide) substances could be obtained from the roast
coffee itself, by a further aqueous extraction at tem-
peratures up to 175  C and addition to the simple
extract before drying, and thus providing a powder
of satisfactory physical properties. (See Carbohy-
drates: Classification and Properties.)
Instant coffees therefore have a higher yield of 0007
soluble substances from the roast coffee than that of
a normal household brew prepared at 100  C or
below. The additional substances, though extracted
or solubilized at temperatures above 100  C, are fully
soluble in hot or even cold water. It is often asked
what is the difference in composition between cups of
brewed and of instant coffees, when in fact there is a
continuum, since they contain essentially the same
substances, though the proportions or percentages
of individual components will be different according
to solubilization achieved for each. Commercial
yields can differ considerably from one instant prod-
uct to another and, for a short time, were subject to
legislative control in the European Community, but
this was abandoned in 1983. It is now recognized that
 1494 COFFEE/Instant

yield is only tenuously related to ‘quality’; the extrac-
tion and retention of aromatic substances in the total
manufacturing process is much more important in
determining flavor quality. The yield (on a dry basis)
of soluble solids from roasted coffee will be around
21% w/w in brewed coffee, up to 32% in exhaustive
extraction at 100  C, and typically 40–55% for
instant coffees, dependent upon blend/roast color of
the originating roasted coffee. A highly water-soluble
substance such as caffeine will be extracted to about
substances present in an instant coffee, which are so
important to the flavor of a coffee beverage, will
depend upon the particular process used in its manu-
facture, as described below. The moisture content of
instant coffee is controlled by the drying stage, which
should be less than 5% w/w. (See Caffeine.)
Physical Forms of Instant Coffee
In its earlier marketing, instant coffee was almost 0008

85–100% under household brewing conditions, and
to 100% in instant coffee manufacture, but the actual
percentage content in the soluble solids of the former
will be substantially lower in the latter. In a cup of
coffee, the quantity present will be determined by its
strength, typically from 2 g of instant coffee dissolved
in 150–170 ml of water in a cup. Table 1 shows a
comparison of approximate composition by the main
individual components for a typical filter coffee brew
and a corresponding instant coffee beverage. The
entirely sold as a spray-dried powder, light-to-dark
brown in color, free-flowing, and, importantly, with a
bulk free-flow density of between 180 and 220 g l1.
The latter two properties enable easy spooning out
from a container, such that a typical semiheaped tea-
spoon would carry about 2 g of instant coffee to a
150–170-ml cup, giving a strength typically represen-
tative of average UK and US consumer taste
preference.
From about 1965 onwards, instant coffee in 0009

manufacture of instant coffee is accompanied by
some slight hydrolysis of the polysaccharides in
the roast coffee, which is reflected in the slightly
increased reducing sugar content (i.e., arabinose,
mannose, and galactose) and probably assists solubil-
ization of these polysaccharides, not otherwise easily
possible at 100  C. The quantity of volatile organic
granule form became available, though having the
same free flow and bulk density characteristics, but
generally somewhat darker in color than the corres-
ponding powder. With improved retention of aromat-
ics also, such products were compared with brewed
coffee far more favorably by most consumers than
before.

tbl0001 Table 1 Approximate typical composition of brewed and instant coffeesa

Filter brewb Instantc

d
Roast coffee R and G basis Extract basis Per cup R and G basis Extract basis Per cup
Component (%, dry basis) (%, dry basis) (%, dry basis) (mg) (%, dry basis) (%, dry basis) (mg)e

Caffeine 1.3 1.1f 5.3 110 1.3 2.9 58

Trigonelline (including roasted byproducts) 1.0 0.9 4.3 90 1.0 2.2 44
Minerals (as oxide ash) 4.5 4.0g 19.0 400 4.2 9.3 186
Acids
Residual
Chlorogenic 2.5 2.5 12.0 250 2.5 5.5 110
Quinic 0.8 0.8 3.8 80 0.8 1.8 36
Aliphatic 1.6 1.6 7.6 160 1.6 3.5 70
Reducing sugars 0.3 0.3 1.4 30 2.2 4.9 98
Polysaccharides (unchanged from green) 31.0 3.2 15.1 320 12.9 28.7 574
Lignin/pectins 5.0
‘Proteins’ 10.0 2.0 9.5 200 5.5 12.2 244
Lipids 17.0 0.01 0.04 1 0.02 0.04 1
Caramelized/condensed compounds 25.0 4.6 22.0 460 13.0 28.9 578
(by difference)
Totals 100 21.0 100.0 2100 45.0 100.0 2000
Volatile compounds (excluding acids) 0.08 0.04–0.07 4–7 Variable according to process
a
Assumed both made from a medium roast arabica coffee.
b
Brew prepared using 10 g of roasted and ground coffee per cup (150–170 ml) at 21% yield of soluble solids from roasted coffee.
c
Extract manufactured at a 45% yield of soluble solids from roasted coffee, both on a dry basis; and instant coffee without added coffee oil.
d
R and G, roasted and ground.
e
Beverage made up using 2 g of instant coffee per cup (150–170 ml).
f
Assumed extraction efficiency of 85%.
g
Assumed extraction efficiency of 90%.
 COFFEE/Instant 1495

0010 Whilst freeze drying can produce powders from
liquid feeds, its use for instant coffee was specially
developed to provide a granular product. In a subse-
quent attempt to match the general appearance of
freeze-dried granules, spray-dried powders were
granulated by agglomeration methods (either simul-
taneously with spray drying, or subsequent to it), and
commercialized in a very limited way; spoonable
frozen instant coffee has been developed but requires
the presence of gel-like additives.
Manufacturing Processes
The initial stages in manufacture, selection of green 0012

now form a high percentage of instant coffees sold in
the market place. (See Freeze-drying: Structural and
Flavor (Flavour) Changes.)
0011 Dilute or concentrated aqueous extracts of roasted
coffee would also be ‘instant,’ but their stability at
room temperature is poor. Nevertheless, recent
reports show canned coffee liquid to be very popular
in Japan. Frozen granules or chunks (20  C) would
be quite stable, though they have only been
coffees, roasting, and grinding (coarse grind) are as
for roasted coffee. The subsequent basic processes
needed are extraction, drying, and packing, but
with ancillary optional processes of concentration
of extract, separate handling of aromatics and
agglomeration. The know-how and patents are
largely in the hands of large international com-
panies. A typical scheme (simplified) is shown in
Figure 1.

Green beans
Dumper Cleaner

Distributor

Rotary Storage
screen bins
Stoner
Scale

Cooler
Grinder
Roaster

Stone Storage
collector bin
Dryer

Extractors
Blending
Filling tank
Cooler

To labeling
and packing Silos
Press cake Press
for reclamation
Slurry at
Press liquor at 2−7% w/w 86−58%
S − D − C solids w/w moisture

Solids at 30/35% w/w Centrate to

sewage works

fig0001 Figure 1 Instant coffee manufacturing process with spent grounds recovery (omitting volatile compound handling). Reproduced
from Clarke RJ and Macrae R (1987), with permission from Kluwer Academic.
 1496 COFFEE/Instant

Extraction Time zero Feed to fresh on 6

0013 Percolation batteries with five to eight interconnected

columns holding roast coffee in different stages of 1 2 3 4 5 6
exhaustion is the most widely used system for extrac-
tion to obtain coffee extracts of an economic soluble
Coffee in Feed water in Fill column 1
solids concentration (20–25% w/w) for subsequent
drying. Its operation and variants are fully described
in the literature, though it should be emphasized that
the operation is intermittent (for draw-off of extract),
countercurrent (in respect of water–coffee), and under
pressure for all columns except the first (to keep the
system hydraulic at temperatures in excess of 100  C Vent at column 6
up to 175  C). The first column contains fresh roasted
coffee extracted with liquor at 100  C from which
draw-offs are made, whilst the most spent is contacted
with pure feed water at the highest temperature. The
Start draw on 6
operation is outlined in Figure 2. Recent patents sug-
gest the use of ever higher temperatures for very short
times in the final stages of extraction.

Concentration of Extract
Isolate column 2
0014 The removal of water from a percolated coffee ex-
tract is more economically achieved if concentrated
extract is fed to the driers. Evaporation is widely used
and again, for reasons of heat economy, conducted in
various types of multistage units. Short-contact-time Feed water in
Blow down column 2
evaporators are favored, such as plate and centrifugal
film evaporators, coupled with close attention to op-
erating temperatures to minimize undesirable changes
in the extract. However, evaporation of water is
always accompanied by evaporation and loss of Finish draw on 6
organic volatile substances contributing to flavor.
Certain prestripping techniques are available to over-
come this problem.
0015 Freeze concentration can be used alternatively,
which has the marked advantage of substantially
Time one cycle
retaining the volatile substances whilst the water is Feed to fresh on 1
removed as ice, but has the disadvantage of only
allowing a final concentration of about 38% w/w
soluble coffee solids, due to high viscosity problems.

Spray Drying
0016 Extracts from a percolation battery as described
Figure 2 Typical sequence of events in the operation of a fig0002
above can be directly spray dried, though an inter- percolation battery for instant coffee. The shape, size, and
mediate filtration stage (centrifuges) may be included. number of columns are diagrammatic. Reproduced from Clarke
To provide dried particles of an average size around RJ and Macrae R (1987), with permission from Kluwer Academic.
300 mm, needed for a satisfactory bulk density and
flowability, specialized spray driers are used. The
main features are: 3. internal chamber separation arrangements between 0019

desired product and dust, though not essential.

0017 1. tall drying chambers, e.g., of height 7.5 m or more;
0018 2. use of centrifugal pressure nozzles rather than Spray drying is conducted also to give powder of
spinning disks for feed spraying, with their desired colour, and a final moisture content of less
inherent narrow angle of discharge; than 5% w/w.

0020 More concentrated extracts, say up to 60% w/w
soluble solids, may also be spray dried, though some
controlled foaming of extract with carbon dioxide or
nitrogen gas is then generally required, if the desired
physical properties are to be maintained. (See Drying:
Spray Drying.)
Freeze Drying
0021 Freeze drying has been particularly successful for
coffee extracts, when its use for other foodstuff
liquids/solids has markedly declined in the last
decades. However, a specialized technique has been
developed, first patented around 1965, whereby the
coffee extract is first frozen, and then the slabs are
granulated, whilst still frozen, to particles approxi-
mately the same size as desired in the finished dried
product. Oversize/undersize particles are recycled.
There are a number of designs of freeze drier avail-
able, which will generally handle the frozen granules
in trays resting on heated shelves in a batchwise
manner. The amount of time of freeze drying required
is up to 7 h under a very high vacuum (approx 0.4
torr), and a carefully controlled supply of heat to the
drying granules, by conduction and/or radiation.
0022 Whilst satisfactory product can be obtained by
freeze-drying extracts direct from a percolation
battery, it is more usual for economic and other
reasons for concentrated extracts up to 40% w/w by
freeze concentration (q.v.) or by evaporation (40%
w/w or higher) to be freeze dried. If a favorable bulk
density of 180–220 g l1 is required, it is additionally
necessary to foam the extract in the slush-frozen
form, before full freezing and freeze drying. (See
Freeze-drying: The Basic Process.)
Separate Volatile Compound Handling
0023 In recent decades, instant coffee manufacture has
become increasingly sophisticated, through greater
attention to methods of maximizing extraction and
retention of volatile compounds responsible for
flavor/aroma, which earlier procedures of simple
extraction and spray drying could not accomplish.
The first method concerns headspace aroma of the
finished powder, due to the presence of very highly
volatile substances that cannot be retained by any
method of spray or freeze drying. A convenient
vehicle was found to be coffee oil, which can be
sprayed or plated (at a level of about 0.5% or less)
on to the powder/granules as already described, and
will give an aroma similar to that of dry roasted and
ground coffee when sniffed. The coffee oil can be that
obtained by mechanical expression of part of the
roast coffee blend to be percolated, or a spent grounds
coffee oil purified and enhanced with suitable
COFFEE/Instant 1497
aromatics from other stages of the manufacturing
process. The coffee oil and its aromatics are very
susceptible to oxidation, hence the need for gas-
packed product, as already described. Its application
(so-called ‘aromatization’) will play only a small role
in the flavor of the made-up beverage product, so that
other methods are needed, of which there are many
available, mostly patented. (See Oxidation of Food
Components.)
Battery extraction, designed primarily for the ex- 0024
traction of soluble solids, can be fairly successful also
for the extraction of volatile compounds, so that,
when followed by freeze concentration and freeze
drying, a flavorful product is formed. However, vola-
tile compounds can be prestripped by steam from the
roasted coffee before aqueous extraction, in the form
of an aqueous condensate to be reincorporated later.
Similarly, a percolated extract can be stripped of the
important volatile compounds by partial evaporation
(say 10–20% of the water), again to give an aqueous
essence condensate. The stripped extract can then be
further evaporated as required, with the condensate
discarded.
The final solution after evaporation containing a 0025
high concentration of solubles, can then be slightly
diluted back with either or both of the aqueous
essence condensates, and used as feed for either
spray or freeze drying. The retention of volatile sub-
stances in spray drying is known to be very markedly
improved when feed extracts of high soluble solids
concentration are spray dried. This will be true also of
freeze drying, though, additionally, it has been found
that parameters of the freezing itself are also very
important (e.g., slow freezing to large ice crystals
favors subsequent volatile retention).
Agglomeration
Agglomeration was a process first used for dusty skim 0026
milk powders to increase average particle size and,
more importantly, for ease of rapid dissolution in
water, so-called ‘instantization.’ Whilst the latter is
not required for a satisfactory instant coffee powder,
a similar agglomeration process, using steam/water to
rewet the surface of particles followed by drying, is
used to manufacture instant coffee granules that are
not in fact freeze-dried. Precise details of processes
differ, as the numerous patents will indicate. The
diminution of volatile compound content from spray
drying to granule formation will only be small.
Packing
Instant coffee was originally packed into tins but, 0027
since 1960, has now been almost entirely packed
into glass jars. Under EEC prescribed weight
 1498 COFFEE/Analysis of Coffee Products
directives, allowable packed weights for retail sale are
50, 100, and 200 g, and certain multiples, accompan-
ied by the average weight system to be assessed over a
stipulated number of containers. Filling machinery is
now very high-speed (e.g., 250 per minute for 50 g
jars), operating by volumetric fill, and adjustable by
vacuum level according to the bulk density of the
product being packed. Two other operations may
also be incorporated, simultaneous spraying of small
amounts of coffee oil into the powder/granules for
headspace aroma purposes and a final provision of a
carbon dioxide/nitrogen atmosphere within the jar to
lower the headspace oxygen level to 4% v/v or
preferably less.
General Comments
0028 In recent decades, all these process stages have
been investigated fundamentally through the discip-
lines of chemical (food) engineering by a number of
people, especially the late Professor Thijssen of Eind-
hoven Technical University, to provide considerable
mathematical insight into their mechanisms.
Storage and Stability
0029 Instant coffee is relatively hygroscopic, easily picking
up moisture from the atmosphere and caking at about
7–8% w/w moisture content. For example, to keep
instant coffee below 5% (dry basis) moisture content,
the relative humidity of the air with which it is in
contact must be below 35–40%, though the precise
value depends upon the nature of the instant coffee in
question, primarily due to differences in porosity of
the particular particles made. It is necessary, therefore,
that jars of instant coffee be well sealed prior to sale.
0030 A simple spray-dried product, provided the dry
matter content is kept above 95% w/w (i.e., < 5%
w/w moisture content), will have a shelf-life of several
years. The modern sophisticated products, containing
substantial amounts of volatile compounds (espe-
cially plated coffee oils), need to be packed in jars
also with no more than 4% in-pack oxygen content
and preferably less, so that the shelf-life to acceptable
quality is maintained up to 18 months.
See also: Caffeine; Carbohydrates: Classification and
Properties; Drying: Spray Drying; Evaporation: Basic
Principles; Uses in the Food Industry; Freeze-drying: The
Basic Process; Structural and Flavor (Flavour) Changes;
Oxidation of Food Components
Further Reading
Clarke RJ (1987) Coffee technology. In: Herschdoefer S
(ed.) Quality Control in the Food Industry, 2nd edn,
vol. 4. London: Academic Press.
Clarke RJ and Macrae R (1985–1988) Coffee: Chemistry,
vol. 1, Technology, vol. 2, Commercial and Technico-
legal Aspects, vol. 6. Barking, UK: Elsevier.
Clarke RJ and Vitzthum OG (2001) Coffee: Recent Devel-
opments. Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Clifford MN and Willson KC (eds) (1985) Coffee: Botany,
Biochemistry, Production of Beans and Beverage.
London: Chapman & Hall.
Analysis of Coffee Products
L C Trugo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro,
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
The composition of the coffee seed is complex, as is 0001
the case for other natural products. After roasting at
unusually high temperatures many chemical reactions
take place, with degradation of the original com-
pounds as well as polymerization of intermediate
products, which substantially increases its complex-
ity. These reactions are indispensable for the charac-
teristic coffee beverage. Analysis of the different
coffee products may be relatively simple, involving
inexpensive equipment such as that used for proxim-
ate analysis, or may demand a great deal of analytical
expertise and sophisticated apparatus, such as chro-
matography coupled to mass spectrometers, infrared
spectrometers, and capillary electrophoresis to assess
coffee flavor composition and authenticity.
Proximate Analysis
Proximate analysis in food products is the analysis of 0002
the major constituents which together comprise
nearly 100% of the food composition. This generally
includes water, ash, total protein, and carbohydrates.
Proximate analysis is the first approach for food
product characterization and control and it is not
dependent on expensive or sophisticated equipment.
It is easily carried out by quality control laboratories,
including coffee-processing plants.
Water
The control of the water content of coffee at different 0003
stages of processing, from green beans to instant
coffee, is an important action to achieve a desirable
final product. In the first stages of processing the ripe
coffee cherries, containing 60–65% water, must be
dried to a level of 10–12% which is normally found
in the green beans, and to prevent undesirable