Many people start the day with a cup of coffee, an essential step to leave sleep behind and start the day with energy. But choosing which coffee is best is not easy. Today the market offers an inexhaustible offer of origins, intensities and formats, from whole bean or coffee beans to capsules and soluble coffee.
Therefore, choosing one option or another is complex, as is selecting the coffee maker that best suits our needs, budget, taste or often hectic pace of life. One of the alternatives for people who go faster or who are looking for a quick and effective alternative is soluble or instant coffee.
In fact, according to data from the Spanish coffee association AECafé, in the period 2021-2022, 13% of households opted for this formula, and it is enough to heat water or milk and add the amount of coffee we want to have. a ready cup.
But what makes instant coffee dissolve in water and others, such as ground coffee, right? What is the secret? Lets start by the beginning. When we talk about coffee, we talk about beans, but in reality they are then. These are collected, dried, processed and roasted before consumption.
From here, these seeds can follow three paths: they are sold as is, they are crushed and converted into coffee - which will end up inside the capsules or in the packages that we find in the supermarket - or they are prepared as soluble or instant coffee. .
And how is the latter achieved? Well, with an industrial procedure that begins by infusing large quantities of coffee and then dehydrating it. "The industry usually uses two systems, spraying - more aggressive, but more common - and freeze-drying - more respectful of the aroma and flavor," explains biologist and food technologist, Javier Morallón.
What is obtained from this process is "a powder" that will later be converted into regular coffee by adding water or hot milk. This is a procedure that was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, when "they saw that if the coffee was dehydrated, the remaining powder could be rehydrated."
However, one of the doubts is whether soluble or instant coffee retains the same aroma or flavor as coffee in other forms, such as beans or a lot. The answer is no, and it is basically due to two aspects.
On the one hand, because the variety that is mostly used is not Arabica, but rather the weaker Robusta. "As it is such a processed product, the industry does not use the best coffee," argues Morallón.
On the other hand, because in the process many of the aromatic compounds that give it flavor and smell will disappear. The expert gives this example: "If in the morning we make an Italian coffee pot, the house is filled with aroma. This will not happen with instant coffee."
Studies in recent years have caused a change in the perception of coffee. If a few years ago it was considered a harmful food, now it is known that it is healthy and can increase longevity, reduce cardiovascular conditions, reduce insulin resistance and even reduce neurodegenerative diseases.
Therefore, drinking coffee in recommended doses can be very beneficial for our health. But is instant coffee as healthy as other formulas? According to Morallón, yes, although the dehydration process can cause it to lose some of its virtues.
"Just as it loses aromatic substances, some studies indicate that bioactive compounds are also lost. It is not bad for health, but it does seem that it does not give all its positive qualities," he details.
As for acrylamide, the organic compound that forms in foods during cooking or processing at high temperatures and is classified as potentially carcinogenic to humans, we should not worry.
"It is closely referenced to the temperatures that occur during dehydration, and the processes are much more controlled. However, it seems that there is a little more acrylamide, but never to be worrying."
This article was originally published on RAC1.
