The Difference Between Instant Coffee and Drip Bag Coffee - Effects and Side Effects of Instant Coffee

What is Freshly Ground Coffee?

Freshly ground coffee is quite straightforward—it means the coffee powder used for brewing is ground on-site right before the brewing process begins. Whether it's espresso or single-origin coffee, as long as it's extracted immediately after being ground on-site, it qualifies as "freshly ground coffee."

FrontStreet Coffee often emphasizes that freshly ground coffee has one greatest advantage: "freshness." Nowadays, we drink coffee not just for its stimulating effect, but also to pursue the thousands of aromatic compounds produced after coffee beans are roasted, as well as the rich state presented after extraction. For example, the golden crema in a cup of espresso indicates that the coffee is very fresh.

However, since these aromatics are volatile, they continuously dissipate over time after the coffee beans are roasted. Therefore, we need to preserve these aromatic compounds as much as possible before they disappear.

For this reason, FrontStreet Coffee firmly believes that freshly roasted coffee beans are the primary requirement. The aroma of coffee beans changes depending on the storage environment and time. Once past the optimal flavor period, the coffee's fragrance will accelerate its loss. FrontStreet Coffee understands how important freshness is, which is why all shipped coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days, so they can be opened and brewed right when we receive them.

What is Instant Coffee?

After World War II, demand for coffee increased dramatically in many countries, particularly for instant coffee. However, the vast majority of people only regarded coffee as a stimulating beverage, with no expectations for taste whatsoever. This led many roasters to use low-quality coffee beans as raw materials to save costs and increase profits.

They used extremely dark roasting to mask the negative flavors of inferior beans, then added large amounts of dairy products, sugar, and other materials to balance out the bitterness of the dark roast—and a "delicious" coffee was complete! Since instant coffee requires water removal to turn coffee into powder, it can basically be said to have no flavor or deliciousness whatsoever. To further save costs, instant coffee contains large amounts of non-dairy creamer to balance the bitterness, which affects health. But despite being such a product, it was considered a "treasure" for people in many places during the last century.

What is Drip Bag Coffee?

Drip bag coffee involves grinding single-origin coffee beans into powder and packaging them in individual small bags. There's no difference from fresh coffee beans—one is pre-ground, while the other is freshly ground. Therefore, the flavor of brewed drip bag coffee is the same as freshly ground coffee, but different from instant coffee. After all, instant coffee is processed, so its taste is less bitter, meaning drip bag coffee tastes more bitter than instant coffee.

Drip bag coffee is very suitable for business trips, travel, or for friends who are short on time but still want to drink coffee. So how should you brew drip bag coffee? Drip bag coffee is hung directly on the cup, and you just pour in water. To prevent water from flowing out, you can use segmented pouring, while also paying attention to keep the water temperature neither too high nor too low.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that to make drip bag coffee taste good, it's best to tear it open and pour water directly. Never soak the entire package in water, as the paper shell might dissolve, affecting the coffee's taste. After brewing, the coffee grounds should be discarded. FrontStreet Coffee does not recommend second or multiple brews, nor soaking in water, because the first brew has already extracted all the coffee flavor, so multiple brews or soaking in water would be useless.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee's Barista Brew Drip Bags?

The water amount for brewing drip bags is relatively easy to control. Take FrontStreet Coffee's floral Yirgacheffe drip bag as an example: 10g per bag, following the pour-over ratio of 1:15-1:18, it's recommended to add 150-180ml of water.

Usually, first pour a small amount of hot water into the drip filter bag to wet all the coffee grounds. The first pour should reach 1/2 of the filter bag, and let it bloom for about ten seconds. Then, pour water into the center twice continuously until the drip bag is 8/10 full. Wait for all the coffee liquid in the filter bag to drip before continuing to add water, until the final segment is filtered. If you fill it to the brim, the water accumulating in the upper layer tends to "bypass" the coffee bed and filter directly from the side of the drip bag, resulting in a weak-tasting coffee.

After numerous tests, FrontStreet Coffee found that this three-segment pouring method takes about one and a half minutes, with a total water amount of around 150ml. If you want a lighter taste, add another segment to reach 8/10 full, which would be about 180ml. Brewed this way, the Yirgacheffe drip bag has elegant lemon fruit acidity, a light and comfortable mouthfeel, with a green tea-like aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473