There’s nothing more pleasant than being able to take a cup of coffee before starting your day. Thanks to this beverage’s variety, people are able to taste a broad selection of coffee beans until they find one that suits them.
One particular reason why people like to have coffee in the morning is because of its caffeine content. As some of you may know already, coffee is one of the primary sources of caffeine for people, and its content may vary depending on the brand, the type of coffee, or even the brewing method.
Some people rely on their daily dose of caffeine each morning to go through their day with energy, which is why it’s important to find a brand of coffee that can comply with those caffeine needs. A popular way to drink coffee is by getting instant coffee; there are people who just need a quick cup before they go out, and they don’t have time to brew the coffee themselves. In these cases, instant coffees are one of the best choices out there.
However, it’s important to note that instant coffee usually contains less caffeine than fresh, regular coffee, which is why it’s important to make up for the lost caffeine in some way. Thankfully, there are several instant coffee companies that have developed amazing instant coffees for the market.
On this page, you’re going to learn more about how instant coffee can benefit you and what the 10 best instant coffee brands for increased caffeine contents are.
Product Round-Up – Best Brands for Strong Instant Coffee
If you want to take a look at the best instant coffee brands right away, make sure to read this list. However, if you need more detailed information about all the brands, their products, flavor, and caffeine levels, we suggest that you stick until the end of this page.
- Mount Hagen Organic Freeze-Dried Instant Coffee
- Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee
- Douwe Egberts Pure Gold Instant Coffee
- Waka Coffee Instant Coffee
- Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee Mix
- Nescafe Taster’s Choice House Blend Instant Coffee
- Folgers Classic Roast Coffee
- Cafe Altura Instant Organic Coffee
- Nescafe Clasico Dark Roast Coffee
- Starbucks VIA Italian Roast Coffee
What is Instant Coffee?
Also known as “soluble coffee,” “coffee powder,” or “coffee crystals,” this is a product made from coffee extract, and it allows people to prepare their morning cup in just a few seconds by using only the product and cups of hot water.
These brewed coffee beans are made by two methods, known as freeze-drying and spray-drying, which work to dehydrate the coffee beans so that they can be filled with water again.
There has been some debate as to whether instant coffee can be considered real coffee or not. Some coffee lovers believe that one of the best ways to enjoy coffee is to brew it yourself instead of getting brewed coffee. However, it all comes down to personal preference; you may drink instant coffee if you prefer it that way.
How Instant Coffee is Manufactured
As mentioned before, there are two main methods used to make instant coffee; while both of them provide relatively similar results, each instant coffee preparation method varies slightly.
Freeze-Drying
The freeze-drying method involves getting the roasted coffee beans and drying them at approximately -40°C. After that process is done, the coffee is going to turn into frozen grains, which are then dehydrated. This method for instant coffee is much better for preserving the coffee flavor and smell.
Spray-Drying
This is a more straightforward method to prepare instant coffee, and it involves taking the coffee beans into a stream of hot air, which dehydrates the beans as they fall to the bottom of the air tower. The end result is a coffee powder, which is then packaged and shipped to the market.
One disadvantage of the spray-drying method for instant coffee is that it needs fairly high temperatures to work, and in this process, some properties of the coffee, such as flavor or smell, are partially lost.
What Are the Benefits of Instant Coffee?
In essence, instant coffee provides the consumer the same amount of benefits as ground coffee. The main differences rely on the preparation methods, the cost, and the experience.
Preparation
If you’ve brewed coffee yourself, you know that the process takes a bit of time for you. You need to carefully select the beans you want for the coffee flavor, the type of water you’re going to use (hot water or cold water), and the machine you’re going to use to brew your coffee. In some cases, this process can take more than a few minutes, which isn’t essential for people who are looking to have quick cups before they leave home.
On the other hand, instant coffee can be prepared almost instantly, and you don’t need that many tools to make it. You only need the instant coffee powder and cups of water to make it; this process can save you a huge amount of time, making instant coffee one of the best choices for people who want to be more time-efficient.
Cost
While the cost of coffee can vary depending on the brand, instant coffee certainly comes cheaper. With regular coffee, you’re able to select the type of bean you want, but if you want to buy Arabica beans, for example, they’re going to come fairly more expensive than Robusta.
Instant coffee brands provide you with everything you need in a single package, and since most of these products use the Robusta bean, the cost isn’t that high in comparison, and it still provides a great flavor.
Experience
Brewing coffee by yourself is something that everyone should do at least once since it usually offers a richer, smoother flavor and aroma for the coffee. However, this experience is not as enjoyable for everyone. While there are many coffee lovers out there who like to spend several moments trying to perfect their coffee-brewing techniques, some others just want to get their coffee cups done in time, which is the best experience possible for them.
Thanks to instant coffee brands, people have a broader list of options to choose from at the time of preparing their coffee. If they want to take their time, they can go with ground coffee, but if they’re in a hurry, instant coffee is the way to go.
What is Caffeine, and Why is it Important?
One of the main reasons why people drink coffee is because of caffeine. Caffeine is a widely known, natural stimulant, which is used to wake people up and make them feel more energetic throughout the day.
The way caffeine works is by stimulating your brain and central nervous system; by doing this, your mind stays alert, which prevents the feeling of tiredness.
Once you consume your coffee, the stimulant blocks the effects of the adenosine neurotransmitter, which is the one responsible for relaxing the brain. By keeping the brain constantly alert, you can feel much more focused throughout the day.
However, it’s important to note that caffeine is often related to psychoactive drugs since it affects the brain. Caffeine can be found in coffee, soft drinks, brewed tea, energy drinks, cocoa beverages, or chocolate in general.
Generally speaking, caffeine comes with these benefits:
- Improved brain function.
- Boosted metabolism.
- Increased physical performance.
- Decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
While caffeine is mostly safe to take, it can quickly turn into a habit for some people, which creates dependency. Having too much caffeine can induce several headaches and high blood pressure levels, which can be bad for a person’s health.
According to medical experts, adults may not consume more than 400mg of caffeine per day, which equals to two-four cups of coffee per day. However, each dose shouldn’t go higher than 200mg.
Overall, caffeine is safe to consume for most people, but you need to be careful with your daily dosage if you want to prevent any harm to your body in the long run. If you just have one or two cups of coffee per day, the caffeine levels are just right for you.
Is Instant Coffee Stronger than Ground Coffee?
It mostly depends on the instant coffee brands you’re planning to get. One of the main differences between these two types of coffee is their caffeine contents. To put it in perspective, brewed coffee contains about 60-120mg of caffeine per serving, whereas instant coffee offers 60-80mg of caffeine per serving.
By taking that information into account, instant coffee isn’t stronger than brewed coffee. However, that doesn’t mean that the caffeine contents inside instant coffee aren’t going to work for you. If you’re an average coffee consumer, 60-80mg of caffeine per serving is good enough to get you through the day. However, if you’ve developed tolerance to caffeine, you may want to increase your dosage to get the “alertness” your brain needs.
Best Instant Coffee Brands for Increased Caffeine Levels
Now that you know everything about instant coffees and caffeine, it’s time to take a look at the 10 best instant coffee brands that you can find on the market right now. Our selection criteria for each product were: Brand, caffeine dosage, cost, quality, and type of instant coffee.
Keep in mind that this is just a general overview of the best instant coffees and their brands; if you want the full experience, we invite you to choose the ones that fit your needs and give them a taste!
Number One – Mount Hagen Organic Freeze-Dried Instant Coffee
Instant coffee should be a unique experience, and the Mount Hagen Organic Freeze-Dried instant coffee (Single Origin) is one of the best instant coffee brands you can find right now for that experience. It provides organically-grown coffee made from 100% Arabica beans. Aside from that, this instant coffee is known for its intense flavor, caffeine contents, and for being certified by EcoCert according to the organic standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Properties
- Bulk Value: The Mount Hagen Freeze-Dried instant coffee provides a pack of six 3.53-ounce jars, which provide about 50 servings per jar.
- Single-Origin: The Mount Hagen single-origin instant coffee takes the 100% Arabica bean’s intense taste and converts it into a unique experience in every serving. By “Single Origin,” it means that the instant coffee is sourced from a single producer, which makes for a much more special experience.
- Caffeinated: This particular Mount Hagen product contains the regular amounts of caffeine needed for your body.
Pros
- It has an amazing taste.
- It provides enough caffeine for the average coffee drinker.
- You only need cups of hot water to prepare it.
- It’s an organic product and fair trade.
Cons
- It’s slightly more expensive than other instant coffee brands.
- Some reviewers didn’t like the way this product was packaged.
Read more about the Mount Hagen Freeze-Dried Instant Coffee (Single Origin) through the following link to Amazon.com or through their official site.
Number Two – Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee (Medium Roast)
The Starbucks VIA has always been one of the best choices for medium roast instant coffee. According to the company’s info, it has sourced its Starbucks VIA coffee from more than 30 countries worldwide, allowing for a huge range of flavors and a unique taste that resembles the brand.
Something we like about this Starbucks VIA medium-roast instant coffee is that it’s well balanced in all its properties, and it’s made from 100% Arabica beans, which provides an intense but high-quality taste.
Overall, the Starbucks VIA medium-roast coffee is among our top picks on this list due to its excellent coffee taste and quality.
Properties
- Value: The Starbucks VIA provides a single box of 50 single-serve packets of medium-roast, instant coffee.
- Caffeinated: It contains the necessary amount of caffeine per serving that your body needs to stay alert and awake throughout your day.
- Variety: Starbucks VIA is available in several different flavors and roast levels, such as decaf Italian, french, pike place, veranda, or Colombia.
Pros
- It provides an amazing taste.
- It’s 100% Arabica coffee.
- It’s caffeinated.
- Made from organic ingredients.
- Easy-to-use, single-serve packets.
Cons
- Some reviewers didn’t like the packaging of this instant coffee product.
Read more about the Starbucks VIA here or through their official site.
Number Three – Douwe Egberts Pure Gold Instant Coffee
Instant coffee should also be well-balanced if you want to enjoy the caffeine benefits and keep a good taste. In this case, the Douwe Egberts Pure Gold Instant Coffee does the job.
Douwe Egberts coffee has been around the coffee market for around 250 years, and it has provided a smooth and nutty taste per serving in each of their products. If you’re looking for premium-grade instant coffee with a blend of 100% Arabica beans, this is one of the best instant coffees you can find since it uses the Douwe Egberts expertise to provide a well-balanced but strong flavor.
Properties
- Value: Douwe Egberts provides a 200g, 7.05-ounce jar of medium-roast coffee.
- Caffeinated: Several people have praised Douwe Egberts because of the energy its products give the consumer. Caffeine-wise, this instant coffee is as strong as it gets
- Preparation: You only need a cup of hot water to make this coffee.
Pros
- It’s a premium-quality product with a complex and sophisticated flavor.
- Douwe Egberts is widely known for being one of the best instant coffee brands on the market right now.
- The caffeine content is enough to keep you awake throughout the day.
Cons
- It’s not an organic product.
Read more about the Douwe Egberts instant coffee here or through their official site.
Number Four – Waka Coffee Instant Coffee
Waka Coffee is among the newest instant coffee brands to come on the market, but they have a lot to offer when it comes to taste. This freeze-dried coffee comes with eight packets that you can use with cold water to make iced coffee or hot water if you want a more traditional experience. The freeze-dried coffee made from Waka Coffee is among our top picks due to its smooth and sweet flavor made from 100% Arabica.
Properties
- Caffeinated: This Waka Coffee product contains a high amount of caffeine per serving, which is combined with its smooth flavor to get you into a more energetic state.
- Value: It’s made from a special blend of 100% Arabica bean to achieve its flavor. With the package, you’re getting eight packets to make hot or cold instant coffee.
Pros
- High-quality, 100% Arabica coffee.
- Well-balanced flavor.
- High caffeine count per serving.
- Classic roast.
Cons
- It’s not an organic product.
Read more about the Waka Coffee Freeze-Dried Coffee here or through their official site.
Number Five – Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee Mix
These instant coffees offer some of the most creative options for people who want to try Arabica coffee. Aside from being 100% Arabica, it features a blend of Chaga mushrooms, lion’s mane mushrooms, and Rhodiola.
While it sounds unorthodox, this Arabica coffee has proven to be one of the most enjoyable experiences we’ve ever had, which is why we’re putting it on this list.
Properties
- Value: It features 10 packets per box.
- Caffeinated: It comes with 50mg of caffeine per serving, which equals to half a normal cup of coffee. However, the mushroom blend helps you turn the focus on even more.
Pros
- 100% Arabica coffee.
- It’s coffee made from an amazing blend of organic mushrooms.
- This is one of the best instant coffee brands on the market right now.
Cons
- The flavor may not be suited for every coffee drinker.
Read more about this instant coffee here or through their official site.
Number Six – Nescafe Taster’s Choice House Blend Light Medium Instant Coffee
The Taster’s Choice house blend light medium is also a popular option among instant coffee drinkers. By “House-Blend,” we prefer that it’s a reliable blend that the average user can go with. Overall, Nescafe’s Taster’s Choice house blend light-medium offers a refined, smooth, and balanced flavor.
Properties
- Value: Each jar contains enough freeze-dried coffee (House Blend) for 105-6 fluid ounce cups.
- Caffeinated: The Taster’s Choice House Blend provides a great caffeine quantity per serving without jeopardizing the flavor or aroma.
Pros
- The “House Blend” makes it a highly reliable instant coffee product.
- It has an amazing flavor.
- Easy to brew at home.
- Nescafe is among the most popular coffee brands right now.
Cons
- The glass jar is highly delicate.
Read more about the Taster’s Choice House Blend here or through their official site.
Number Seven – Folgers Classic Roast Coffee
When it comes to flavor, this instant coffee is delightful to brew. Additionally, the best perk about this instant coffee is that it’s a relatively inexpensive product, so you can get enough supply to brew your coffee for weeks!
Properties
- Caffeinated: Due to it being 100% pure coffee, it has about the same amount of caffeine per serving as regular coffee, which is great news.
- Value: Each jar of this instant coffee makes up for 45 cups of 60 oz per serving.
Pros
- It’s inexpensive.
- Provides a smooth and strong flavor for an instant coffee product.
- Comes with a significant supply of approximately 45 cups of coffee.
- The coffee is easy to brew in hot or cold water.
- Contains a great caffeine quantity.
Cons
- Some people dislike the strong coffee flavor.
Read more about Folgers Classic instant coffee here or through their official site.
Number Eight – Cafe Altura Instant Organic Coffee
If you’re looking for a fair-trade, GMO-free instant coffee with an amazing flavor, go for the Cafe Altura instant coffee. When it comes to instant coffee brands, Cafe Altura managed to get its fair-trade certification, which is not easy to get; it ensures that the coffee preparation process went smoothly and safely.
Properties
- Value: Each jar contains 100g of freeze-dried instant coffee.
- Caffeinated: This 100% Arabica coffee provides a strong caffeine intake for the consumer, which is great if you need a slightly higher caffeine amount during the day.
- Flavor: You’re getting a unique, fresh, and exceptional flavor regardless if you brew it hot or cold.
Pros
- It’s the healthiest instant coffee on this list.
- The coffee provides a great flavor.
- This is one of the first brands to achieve the fair-trade certification.
Cons
- The package is small.
Read more about the Cafe Altura instant coffee here or through their official site.
Number Nine – Nescafe Clasico Dark Roast Coffee
With Nescafe being among the best instant coffee brands on the market, we couldn’t help but include the “Clasico” variant. This dark roast coffee provides a simple but rich and full-bodied flavor. If you’re looking for brands that offer variety, Nescafe is a good choice for you.
Properties
- Value: Each jar contains 200g of instant coffee, which equals about 100 cups.
- Caffeinated: Since it’s a dark roast coffee, it provides a slightly higher caffeine amount in each serving.
Pros
- Full-bodied coffee taste.
- Easy-to-prepare instant coffee.
- Makes up for about 100 cups of instant coffee.
Cons
- The flavor may feel too bitter for some coffee consumers.
Read more about this instant coffee product here or through their official site.
Number 10 – Starbucks VIA Italian Roast Coffee
If you’re looking for an Italian roast Arabica coffee flavor, this is the one for you. A great feature about the Starbucks VIA Italian roast coffee is that it provides about 130-140mg of caffeine per serving, which is perfect for those who want a much stronger kick in their coffee.
Properties
- Value: It includes a box of eight service packets.
- Caffeinated: Provides approximately 130 to 140mg of caffeine in each serving.
- Flavor: Its Italian roast flavor offers rich, deep tones of caramelized sugar, which add to a stronger and smoother flavor.
Pros
- Italian roast flavor.
- Easy to prepare.
Cons
- Some people dislike the sugar tones in the flavor.
Read more about the Starbucks VIA Italian roast coffee here or through their official site.
Conclusion
When it comes to the best instant coffee products, there is a lot of ground to cover. Not everyone likes the same flavor, type of coffee, or brands. If you’re looking to get strong instant coffee, make sure that you also consider these other factors to make a much smarter buying decision.
However, if you’re going to focus on caffeine rather than the flavor, brand, or roast of the instant coffee, keep in mind that you should not go over the recommended caffeine daily dosage for coffee.
