What's the Difference Between Drip Bag Coffee and Instant Coffee? The Correct Brewing Method for Premium Black Coffee Bean Drip Bags

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With the development of the specialty coffee market, many coffee enthusiasts have begun learning how to brew pour-over coffee at home, while office-working coffee enthusiasts choose convenient drip bag coffee for consumption. However, FrontStreet Coffee understands that many coffee enthusiasts new to drip bag coffee often confuse its brewing method with instant coffee, resulting in a terribly tasting cup of drip coffee and waste. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the differences between these two forms of coffee.

What is Drip Bag Coffee?

Drip bag coffee involves grinding single-origin coffee beans into powder and sealing them in filter bags. During the brewing process, the small paper tabs on both sides of the filter bag need to be propped up and hung on the cup rim for brewing and extraction, hence the name "drip bag coffee."

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, it was initially Yamanaka Industrial Co., Ltd. of Japan that applied the tea bag concept to coffee, inventing and patenting filter-hang coffee. However, the drip bags designed by Yamanaka Industrial couldn't support the weight of coffee brewing and easily lost balance during the brewing process, so they weren't successfully commercialized. Until 1998, Taiki Shoji improved the original invention by extending the hanging parts outward, creating the drip bag coffee we have today.

Actually, drip bag coffee can also be considered a type of pour-over coffee because its brewing method is similar to pour-over coffee. The filter bag in drip coffee serves the same function as filter paper in pour-over coffee, while the coffee powder inside eliminates the grinding step required for pour-over coffee. Additionally, it doesn't necessarily require a pour-over kettle, thus saving considerable time and providing convenience for coffee enthusiasts. Therefore, more and more coffee enthusiasts who visit FrontStreet Coffee to taste single-origin coffee also inquire about drip bag coffee, which sufficiently demonstrates the growing demand for drip bag coffee.

What is Instant Coffee?

Instant coffee is a dry coffee extract obtained by evaporating water from coffee extract liquid. Therefore, instant coffee can dissolve quickly in hot water and occupies less space and volume during storage and transportation, making it more durable for storage.

Moreover, instant coffee often uses Robusta variety coffee beans. Coffee enthusiasts who understand coffee know that single-origin coffee beans generally refer to Arabica variety beans, while Robusta cannot meet single-origin coffee standards. Therefore, Robusta can only be used in instant coffee or espresso blends.

This is because the caffeine content in Robusta varieties ranges from 2.7% to 4%, more than double that of Arabica. Additionally, compared to Arabica, Robusta has higher amino acid and chlorogenic acid content, with chlorogenic acid being the source of bitterness. Therefore, instant coffee tastes relatively bitter with poor flavor, and during production, it may lose coffee's essence. Regular consumption may also pose certain health risks.

Differences Between Drip Bag Coffee and Instant Coffee

From FrontStreet Coffee's description above, we can see several differences between drip bag coffee and instant coffee:

1. Drip bag coffee uses Arabica coffee varieties, while instant coffee uses Robusta variety coffee beans.

2. The flavor and taste of instant coffee are inferior to drip bag coffee.

3. Drip bag coffee brewing is similar to pour-over coffee, while instant coffee dissolves directly with water.

4. Long-term consumption of instant coffee may harm health, while drip bag coffee is relatively more nutritious and can refresh.

Precautions for Brewing Drip Bag Coffee

From FrontStreet Coffee's description above, we can see that instant coffee and drip bag coffee have significant differences. Therefore, drip bag coffee cannot be consumed like instant coffee by simply adding water or steeped like tea bags. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will list several incorrect brewing methods for first-time drip bag coffee users.

1. Pay Attention to Brewing Water Volume

First, FrontStreet Coffee believes some first-time drip bag coffee users might throw the drip bag directly into a cup and add hot water. While this isn't impossible, the coffee's flavor will be diluted by the water, making it weaker. Unless you prefer weak American-style coffee, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using only 150-180cc of water for a 10g drip bag. Exceeding this amount will not only dilute the coffee flavor but also easily extract undesirable flavors. For coffee enthusiasts who prefer lighter flavors, FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing to 150cc first, then removing the drip bag and adding additional hot water.

2. Note That Drip Bags Cannot Soak in Water Continuously

Although drip bags were inspired by tea bags, this doesn't mean they work the same way. While longer steeping does concentrate flavor like tea bags, continuous soaking releases caffeine continuously, causing over-extraction problems that bring out undesirable substances in coffee—namely bitterness and off-flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests generally discarding drip bags after 4 minutes of brewing or using them as plant fertilizer.

3. Pay Attention to Brewing Temperature

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, drip bag coffee is essentially ground single-origin coffee, so its temperature requirements are the same as pour-over coffee. Therefore, you cannot use too low a temperature for brewing, as this will cause under-extraction. You must control the water temperature. FrontStreet Coffee suggests using freshly boiled water that has cooled for 1-2 minutes to brew drip bag coffee.

4. Note That Drip Bag Coffee Cannot Be Re-brewed

As FrontStreet Coffee wrote in the second point, drip bag coffee cannot soak for extended periods, which naturally means it cannot be re-brewed either. Otherwise, you'll get a terrible-tasting and potentially unhealthy coffee.

The above are the precautions for brewing drip bag coffee. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the correct brewing method for drip bag coffee.

Correct Drip Bag Coffee Brewing Method

1. Warm the Cup

Prepare the cup for brewing drip bag coffee, and first pour some hot water to warm it. The purpose is to prevent the brewed coffee from cooling too quickly, because coffee develops different flavors as temperature drops—creating flavor layers. If it cools too quickly, you'll miss many different taste experiences.

2. Water Temperature

Brewing water temperature is very important. The recommended temperature is between 85-90 degrees Celsius. If the brewed coffee is too bitter, try lowering the water temperature. Conversely, if it's too weak or astringent, you can increase the water temperature, but it should still remain within the 85-90 degree range.

3. Hang the Bag

Gently shake the drip bag first to let the coffee powder settle and avoid scattering when opening. Then pour out the hot water from the cup. After tearing the seal on the drip bag, open the paper hanging tabs on both sides and shake to level the coffee powder, finally hanging it on the cup rim.

4. Pre-wet the Drip Bag

The first water addition should be just enough to wet the coffee powder—too much or too little will affect the flavor. Then wait 20 seconds for the coffee powder to fully absorb water. Coffee strength can be adjusted by pre-wetting time—extending to 40 seconds will yield stronger coffee.

5. Water Addition

The second water addition can fill the filter to eight-tenths full. It's best to use a thin, steady stream of water. When the water level drops to the pre-wet height, you can continue adding water to eight-tenths full until extracting 150-180cc. Once extraction is complete, you don't need to wait for all the water in the filter to drain—just discard it directly.

FrontStreet Coffee's Drip Bag Recommendations

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, drip bag coffee is pre-ground single-origin coffee beans sealed in filter bags, eliminating the need for grinding beans and using filter paper and drippers, thus providing convenience. So how should you choose drip bag coffee? Actually, as FrontStreet Coffee emphasized above, drip bag coffee is essentially single-origin coffee, so coffee enthusiasts can choose according to their favorite coffee beans. For example, Indonesia Mandheling and Honduras Sherry coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee can both be made into drip bags for coffee enthusiasts.

Coffee enthusiasts who really don't know how to choose drip bag coffee flavors don't need to worry. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will recommend several of FrontStreet Coffee's most popular drip bag coffees among coffee enthusiasts!

The following are representative coffee beans from Asia, Africa, and Latin America—the world's three major coffee producing regions.

1. FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe

Altitude: 2000-2200m

Variety: Heirloom

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Tropical fruits, strawberry, berries, cream

FrontStreet Coffee's Red Cherry coffee beans come from Ethiopia's famous Yirgacheffe region. The Red Cherry name originates from a local project called the "Red Cherry Project," initiated by a Dutch green coffee company as a coffee quality improvement program.

This company, called Trabocca, created this project because Ethiopia's coffee quality was inconsistent at the time, leaving little room for price improvement and very low income for coffee farmers. To genuinely help them, they collaborated with local coffee farmers to launch the Red Cherry Project, solving quality issues from the source. By manually selecting only fully ripe coffee cherries and purchasing them at higher prices, this approach increased farmers' quality requirements and encouraged cultivation of better-quality coffee.

2. FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry Coffee Beans

Region: Marcala

Estate: Moca Estate

Altitude: 500-1700 meters

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas

Processing: Fine washed + Whiskey sherry barrel fermentation

Flavor: Vanilla cream, fermented wine aroma, nuts, dark chocolate, maple sweetness

This Honduras Sherry coffee bean is very popular among coffee enthusiasts because its flavor carries whiskey's wine aroma while tasting like vanilla cream—very charming. Therefore, coffee enthusiasts strongly hoped FrontStreet Coffee would release this Sherry coffee bean in drip bag form. This Honduras Sherry coffee bean is also one of the blend beans used by FrontStreet Coffee for espresso, which sufficiently demonstrates its popularity.

3. FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Region: North Sumatra, Aceh Gayo Mountain

Company: PWN

Altitude: 1100-1600 meters

Variety: Ateng

Processing: Wet-hulled

Flavor: Herbal, caramel, dark chocolate, rich and clean, well-balanced, persistent aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesia Golden Mandheling coffee beans meet the standard of 18 mesh or above, with fewer than 3 defective beans (300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest G1 grade. They are deep green in color and have uniform flat bean shapes. Additionally, qualified Golden Mandheling coffee beans undergo three manual selections and one machine selection. FrontStreet Coffee found that Mandheling processed this way not only eliminates the typical earthy impurities of regular Mandheling but also tastes cleaner and brighter.

4. FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Red Bourbon Coffee Beans

Region: South Minas

Altitude: 1000 meters

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing: Pulped natural

Flavor: Nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut, caramel

Brazil is currently the world's number one coffee-producing country, making its coffee indispensable in classic coffee flavors. Bourbon variety coffee beans were also discovered in Brazil, so Brazil Red Bourbon coffee beans must have excellent flavor. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Bourbon varieties grown at high altitudes typically have better aroma and bright acidity, tasting similar to red wine.

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's compilation of information about the differences between drip bag coffee and instant coffee. We hope this helps coffee enthusiasts learn more related knowledge to better enjoy their favorite specialty coffee beans.

For more specialty coffee beans, add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473