Why Do So Many People Dislike Instant Coffee? What's the Difference Between Freeze-Dried and Freshly Ground Coffee?

Recently a netizen posted a rather funny observation: "In the coffee world, those who drink estate auction lots look down on those who drink Yunnan small-bean coffee; those who drink light roast look down on those who drink dark roast; those who drink pour-over look down on those who drink Americanos;

Americano drinkers look down on milk-coffee drinkers; milk-coffee drinkers look down on drip-bag users; drip-bag users look down on freeze-dried drinkers; freeze-dried drinkers look down on 3-in-1 instant drinkers... And instant-coffee drinkers think everyone else is just showing off."

As the netizen noted, most of the time people drink coffee just to wake up and quench their thirst. Occasionally coffee serves a social purpose — a photo, a share — but the end goal is the same: to drink it. How did coffee drinking turn into a "chain of contempt," with instant coffee stuck at the bottom?

Think back: household cabinets in China once displayed glass jars of Nestlé and Maxwell House, with the classic red-and-white Nestlé mugs sitting on desktops.

In that era, what people valued wasn't just instant coffee's pick-me-up function — coffee, as a rare commodity, was a symbol of the high life. Instant coffee sparked the first modern coffee wave. How did it end up considered "low" today?

Is Exquisite Flavor the Only Standard for Good Coffee?

Must coffee have exquisite flavors to count as good? Must beans score above 80 points on the SCA scale? No — because not everyone holds such extreme standards for coffee.

Undeniably, today's specialty coffee culture gives consumers a better window into coffee: the stories behind the whole supply chain, and the realization that delivering a quality cup requires professional supervision, monitoring, and preparation at every step. Those processes also offer consumers wonderful experiences and a sense of participation.

But not everyone has that depth of knowledge, and not everyone needs professional, ceremonial service at every moment. Plenty of people need coffee purely for the caffeine, and many consumers find freshly ground coffee priced too high to be an everyday drink.

The Important Role of Instant Coffee

Even as the coffee market expands, there are still many places where buying a freshly ground cup isn't convenient. Instant coffee remains the most-consumed coffee product among ordinary consumers — and for many people, it was their very first cup of coffee.

Think about it: without instant coffee introducing people to coffee, without chain shops introducing them to freshly ground coffee, and without affordable chains pushing freshly ground coffee into everyday life, how many people would be trying specialty or pour-over coffee today?

When people do venture into specialty and pour-over, it's because they want to understand coffee more deeply — but that doesn't mean every other consumer must learn to appreciate and taste coffee too.

Coffee Choice and Personal Preference

What you drink is personal preference and personal need. There's no need to look down on anyone else's cup. Those who want to learn more about coffee's stories and unique character will naturally explore different products.

People worry far too much about others' opinions; what matters is whether you like it. Coffee is inherently inclusive — it can be sipped in a beautifully decorated café with professional interpretation, or as simply as tearing open a sachet, pouring, adding warm water, stirring, and drinking it down.

Only the preparation method changes. What stays the same: it's all a cup of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ready to take the step from instant to freshly ground without a big budget? FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan beans are the perfect bridge. The FrontStreet Yunnan Arabica from Baoshan — washed and medium roasted — offers soft nut and chocolate sweetness with a hint of plum acidity at a friendly price, while the 2013 Yunnan sun-dried Typica, grown at 1300 meters from one of the oldest Arabica varieties, shows hazelnut, dried apricot, black tea, caramel, and ripe plum in a cleaner, more layered cup.

If you'd rather skip the grinder entirely, FrontStreet Coffee's drip bags bring the same specialty quality — from floral Yirgacheffe to nutty Brazil — to a format as convenient as instant, no equipment required.