The Measuring Mistake To Avoid When Making Instant Coffee

Especially during a bleary-eyed morning, there's quick gratification with a cup of instant coffee. The process is straightforward enough: Select the best tasting brand, spoon it into a drinking vessel, and fill it up with hot water or milk. What could go wrong?

Turns out, there are still a few pitfalls to watch out for, especially during the measuring process. Carefully monitor how many scoops go into a brew and adjust with a precise water ratio. For most instant brands, you'll need precisely six fluid ounces, which is considered the standard coffee serving size.

This standard capacity often causes measuring mistakes since it's a different volume than the customary cup. In baking and other culinary applications, a cup is defined as eight fluid ounces. However, that's not the case for hot beverages. Additionally, this standard volume also varies globally, like in Japan, where a cup is just shy of seven ounces. So, stick to pouring exactly six ounces to guarantee a stronger and more flavorful instant coffee result.

Coffee preferences vary, which means that not every instant coffee drinker will craft their brew the same. To ease control over whether a cup comes out weak or strong, experiment by adding varying quantities of grounds rather than water. The margins are small; a cup only requires a teaspoon, so make it heaping or a little less full. Altering the grounds rather than the water will keep your coffee contained in your mug of choice and ease measurements when making a batch for several people.

Although potency and flavor palates differ, there is one quality few coffee drinkers want: an overly bitter brew. With some brands, pouring boiling water directly on the grounds results in a less tasty result. To curtail this, consider dissolving the coffee with some lukewarm water first and then adding in the remaining six ounces. Since it might be trickier to keep track of measurements with a cup, you could invest in a scale. However, depending on your preferences, such exactness may be uncalled for. After all, a caffeinating pick-me-up is the desired result.