Instant coffee has a bad reputation for being heavily processed and lacking in flavor, but in the past few years, it's been catapulted into the modern coffee era. Small producers like Waka and Swift (who partners with roasters like Verve and Tandem on their blends) are leading the game with flavorful offerings made using new technology.
There's even a new category of instant-ish coffee: the single-serve pour over. This consists of an airtight package of ground coffee with a mechanism to anchor the coffee bag to your cup as you pour hot water over it. We mostly think of instant coffee as a powder that mixes with water to become a brew, but since the single-serve pour over requires the same amount of equipment and only a few more seconds of your time, we included a few of those in our list as well.
Here are the best instant coffees of 2021
- Best instant coffee blend: Verve Streetlevel Instant Craft Coffee
- Best Colombian instant coffee: Waka Quality Instant Colombian Coffee
- Best single-serve pour over instant coffee: Kuju Coffee Single-Serve Ethiopian Pour Over
- Best budget instant coffee: Starbucks VIA Instant Pike Place Roast Coffee
- Best decaf instant coffee: Tandem Coffee Roasters Sun Lamp Decaf
- Best instant coffee subscription: Swift Mainstay Blend Subscription
- Best flavored instant coffee: Copper Cow Coffee Vietnamese Pour Over Coffee Filters, Vanilla
- Best adaptogen instant coffee: Four Sigmatic Instant Mushroom Coffee with Chaga and Cordyceps
The best instant coffee blend
Verve's top selling coffee is its flagship Streetlevel Blend, with notes of stone fruit and citrus. In partnership with Swift, the company created this instant coffee version, with that same balance and signature notes of fruit. Each pack comes with six individually packaged cups, which are thin and easily transported even in a hiking backpack or pocket. It can be prepared with either hot or cold water, and is recommended to enjoy as a 10 oz cup of coffee. Ethically sourced from several growers in Guatemala from the Alotenango and Chimaltenango regions, this is top notch coffee that just so happens to be instant.
The best Colombian instant coffee
Waka founder David Kovalevski grew up in Israel, where instant coffee is much more common. When he came to the US, he discovered that there was no instant coffee on the market that suited his tastes. So, he founded Waka coffee, which makes a range of instant coffees meant to be just as satisfying as a cup from your neighborhood coffee shop. Waka does not have the same complexity as some of the others in this guide, but it is extremely balanced and satisfying, plus it's easier to dissolve than some others. It can be prepared in hot or cold water and the tiny packets are easy to stash in a purse or even a larger wallet.
The best single-serve pour over instant coffee
Meet the single-serve, single-origin pour over. Ethically sourced from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia, the tasting notes for this organic coffee are blueberry, citrus, and honey. Just open the nitrogen-flush package, pull out the bag of coffee, anchor it to your cup, and treat it like a regular cold brew, giving the grounds a few moments to "bloom" before continuing your pour over. You can buy them in packs of 6 or 10, all packaged in a wind-powered facility. If you are camping or on the run and need something quick but premium, it's hard to do better than these Kuju pour overs.
The best budget instant coffee
Whether instant or otherwise, you're generally going to pay more for better quality coffee. This is both because it costs more to produce and because growers are paid fairly for their work. If you've never once thought or cared about a coffee's tasting notes and you just want a satisfying cup of instant coffee at a budget-friendly price, the Starbucks VIA blend is a great option. Based on its classic Pike Place roast, with a rich, chocolatey profile, each serving is less than $1.50. This is one that should just be prepared with hot water. If you love your morning Starbucks, their VIA instant coffee may be the perfect instant option for you.
The best decaf instant coffee
Instant coffee AND decaf coffee? Each has their own stigma, and it may surprise you that we'd recommend either, let alone a decaf instant coffee. But, the Tandem Coffee Roasters Sun Lamp Decaf instant coffee is excellent. Portland, Maine-based roaster and shop Tandem partners with Swift to make their lineup of instant coffees, all of which are good, but you simply won't find a better decaf instant coffee out there. It has notes of marshmallow, graham cracker and green grape and, like many of the others, can be prepared with hot or cold water. Each pack comes with six individually wrapped servings.
The best instant coffee subscription
Swift partners with dozens of roasters across the country (and beyond) to make top-notch instant coffee, but they also have their own offerings. Founder Nate Kaiser worked in the specialty coffee industry for years before becoming fascinated by instant coffee and setting out to make a version that tasted good to him and his coffee buddies. Mainstay is Swift's flagship blend, with an array of fruit and cocoa flavors. The Swift Mainstay blend subscription is extremely customizable, with orders between 10 to 100 servings arriving every 1 to 9 weeks or months. The subscription can be paused, canceled, or skipped any time.
The best flavored instant coffee
If you prefer your coffee with an extra boost of sweetness and flavor, we don't blame you. Copper Cow Coffee, which is owned by women and produced in California, is sustainably sourced and offers several kinds of single-serve pour overs made to mimic Vietnamese coffee. Even their "Just Black" option comes with small packets of sweetened condensed milk. The Churro latte flavor, complete with ground cinnamon, offers balanced, customizable sweetness with natural flavor from added spices. Like a regular pour over, you do need to wait for the ground coffee to "bloom" but if you're looking for a (literal) sweet spot between instant and a freshly prepared cup, you've found it.
The best adaptogen instant coffee
Adaptogens are supplements meant to help your body counteract the effects of stress. If you're a fan of adaptogenic mushrooms like chaga and cordyceps, you'll love the Four Sigmatic Instant Mushroom Coffee. Half coffee, half mushrooms, its flavor is still roasty and coffee-like (especially with a splash of milk) but the coffee helps prevent a caffeine crash and also is supposed to boost your immune system. For those who love their supplements and their coffee, this may be just the thing.
Our methodology
I've been teaching and training in the specialty food world since 2015. I teach classes on sensory analysis, pairings, and the origins of our favorite foods and beverages. As a solidly non-morning person, I also drink a lot of coffee.
I've tasted instant coffees from every major producer and chatted with the folks at Waka, Swift, Tandem, and Verve to better understand their processes, sourcing, and what flavor profiles they're aiming for with their instant coffee.
Flavor
Yes, even instant coffee should taste good. None of the "burnt rubber with a side of mud" flavors that we expect from the instant coffee of our grandparents' generation. Furthermore, it should be balanced and have unique character. It may not taste exactly like a fresh brewed cup straight from your local independent coffee shop, but it should be enjoyable.
Ease of Preparation
The point of instant coffee is making life easier for yourself. We gave extra points to those that are brewable with either hot or cold water and gave precedence to instant coffees that are available in single-serving packages, making them easier to stash in your backpack or purse
Sustainably Sourced
Like any other coffee out there, the best tasting instant coffee tends to be from brands who are transparent about where they source their coffee. Such brands also pay their farmers fairly, usually above the Fair Trade average. If it's in your budget, it's worth paying more to buy coffee from these brands, both because the coffee has more character and because you're investing in a healthier coffee ecosystem.