11 Absolute Best Instant Coffees For Iced Drinks

Instant coffee is your best friend, whether you're camping, on a tight budget, or are just feeling a little slow and sluggish in the morning. This quick and easy way to brew coffee at home or on-the-go requires nothing more than hot water — no coffee-brewing apparatus needed. This dehydrated, dried coffee — sometimes referred to as coffee crystals — is great to have on hand in case of coffee-related emergencies, or for use around the kitchen and home. While there's no denying the convenience of instant coffee, there's usually something less-than-nice to be said for its quality and taste. But in today's booming coffee market, instant coffee is stepping up its game and foregoing its longtime negative reputation. Today, artisanal brands offer high-quality instant coffee so you can make superb, at-home café creations, especially when it comes to iced drinks.

Instead of brewing fresh joe and waiting for it to cool down to use it for iced coffees, lattes, or mochas, instant coffee allows you to make a small dose of concentrated coffee and then dump it over ice without watering down your drink. I always keep instant coffee on hand for just this purpose, and I frequently explore different brands and varieties so I can make coffee drinks worth bragging about. I used my experiences with different coffee, combined with nine years of professional barista experience, to compile a list of exceptional instant coffees that make café-worthy iced drinks. Let these brands help you forget everything you know about instant coffee and start embracing its convenience, versatility, and newfound prestigiousness.

Unlike regular iced coffee, cold brew coffee is known for its lack of bitterness, more robust flavor, and higher caffeine content. It's less acidic than regular coffee, which means you can down a hearty glass of this slightly-sweet and syrupy coffee and feel ready to take on the day with no potential stomach upset or heartburn. Cold brew is in the midst of a glorious renaissance, so it's no surprise that alternative variations of this caffeinated, chilled drink are hitting store shelves and turning heads. Trader Joe's — the beloved grocery giant famous for its top-quality house brands — offers an instant version of cold brew that omits the 12 to 24-hour brewing time.

Trader Joe's instant cold brew is a medium roast with notes of caramel that make it slightly sweet and perfect for daily, easy drinking, whether you drink it straight or light-and-sweet. To make Trader Joe's instant cold brew, simply mix the freeze-dried coffee powder into water and presto! A delicious glass of cold brew awaits. Unlike other instant coffees, this cold brew is designed to be enjoyed cold, so it's made to dissolve in cold water rather than hot. This convenient coffee is made with 100% Arabica beans from India and is brewed just like traditional cold brew before it's freeze-dried. The freeze-drying process helps it retain the unique flavors of strong cold brew with a sweet aroma. Add flavor syrups and some whipped cream to this cold brew to make it more decadent and dessert-worthy.

No matter your instant coffee needs, Mount Hagen has you covered. The company offers its high-quality instant brew in recyclable glass jars, pouches, and single-serve sticks. The lightweight, freeze-dried crystals are perfect for backpacking trips. You can brew up gourmet joe on the trail with nothing more than a little hot water and a spare minute.

The vast majority of instant coffee is made with robusta coffee — a cheaper and stronger variety compared to much more popular arabica. Mount Hagen, however, makes its instant coffee with tried-and-true (and higher-quality) Arabica coffee. So, it doesn't take on the infamous bitter, almost metallic, taste that instant coffee is known for.

Mount Hagen's single-serve sticks are ideal for dosing out coffee for chilled drinks on the trail. Make some concentrated coffee with these sticks, and then toss it into a bottle of tonic water for an easy, on-the-go coffee tonic. This refreshing and delightfully-bitter iced coffee drink is perfect for cooling down while hiking and getting geared up for the next leg of the journey. Or, keep a jar of Mount Hagan at home and quickly brew some coffee to toss over ice for a delicious beverage that puts your local café's chilled brew to shame.

Cometeer creates gourmet coffee on-the-go like you've never seen before. The company sources its coffee from artisanal roasters all over the country, and then transforms the liquid coffee into frozen capsules. The capsules ship on dry ice right to your door, allowing you to create high-quality hot and iced drinks, even if you don't own a coffee maker or don't have the time to wait for coffee to brew. The coffee capsules last for months on end without the need for taste-altering preservatives; all you get in your cup is coffee and water.

To make iced drinks, simply melt Cometeer's frozen, concentrated coffee puck ahead of time and then toss it over ice or into cold water. Add milk and flavor syrups for the iced latte of your dreams, or simply enjoy a chilled cup of black iced coffee from your favorite roaster. While Cometeer's coffee may not match the full flavor of a freshly-brewed cup from one of the renowned roasters that it partners with, the convenience of making coffee from these nationally-acclaimed roasters in mere seconds is hard to resist.

If sweet iced coffee drinks are what you crave, then turn to UCC for all your creamy, indulgent, caffeinated needs. Established in Japan nearly a century ago, UCC championed Japan's coffee-loving culture and eventually spread its products to countries around the world. The company pioneered the first canned coffee beverages and opened a museum and academy dedicated to the world's favorite caffeinated drink. Today, UCC offers everything under the sun having to do with coffee, including a sugary instant coffee that's designed specifically for iced drinks.

Unlike most of the instant coffees on this list, UCC's coffee mix dissolves with ease in cold water, so you never have to fret about watering down your drink or keeping ice on hand. Just empty the contents of a single-serve packet into a glass or bottle of cold water, shake or stir, and savor the rich, creamy taste. UCC's sweetened instant iced coffee comes in a variety of flavors, but salted caramel is the favorite among its dedicated fans. The coffee itself is mellow and the salted caramel flavor complements its slightly bitter profile for a chilled, sweet treat to rid you of any midday blues.

If you're an instant coffee fan in New York or Latin America, then there's no doubt you've come across Café Bustelo's famous instant espresso. The company — founded by Spanish immigrant Gregorio Bustelo — was established in New York City back in 1928, and has since enjoyed nearly a decade of worldwide notoriety. Today, it's most known for its instant espresso, although it also offers a variety of modern coffee-centric goods like espresso-style iced coffee and K-Cup pods.

Café Bustelo's instant espresso tends to have a love-it-or-hate-it reputation in the coffee world. But whether you consume Café Bustelo like it's going out of style or if you prefer to opt for a more expensive coffee for your espresso needs, there's no denying that its price is hard to beat. Its quality is significantly better than competing instant coffees, yet it retains roughly the same price point and is found at leading retailers like Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Target. So if you're on a budget and looking to craft iced lattes, Americanos, or mochas, reach for a jar of Café Bustelo's espresso instant coffee for that classic, robust espresso taste with no need for a machine or moka pot. The particularly strong taste of this espresso is ideal for a chocolatey iced mocha topped with whipped cream, where the sweet chocolate can tame and complement its bitterness.

In recent years, mushrooms have boomed in popularity for their nootropic properties and health benefits. Of all the uses for versatile mushrooms, one of the trendiest ways to consume fashionable fungi is in coffee, and that's where Four Sigmatic comes in. This company has been going strong for 11 years (back when no one had heard of mushroom coffee), producing beverages that combine the comforting flavor and caffeinated benefits of coffee with ingredients used in traditional medicine for centuries.

Four Sigmatic's Think instant mushroom coffee utilizes lion's mane and chaga mushrooms — both thought to be able to enhance mood and focus and provide long-term cognitive health benefits — in its deliciously earthy and energizing coffee. Mushroom coffee also aids in digestion while giving you longer-lasting energy throughout the day — despite the fact that Four Sigmatic's coffee contains half the caffeine of regular coffee. 

Now, you might be thinking, "Why would I want my coffee to taste like fungi?" Have no fear — Four Sigmatic's coffee doesn't actually taste like mushrooms. The flavors of these superfoods blend seamlessly into the coffee — especially when chilled — providing only a slightly earthier aftertaste than traditional coffee. Toss this instant coffee over ice with extra-creamy oat milk and a little maple syrup for a cooling and invigorating plant-powered drink that's perfect for fall.

From enormous coffee purveyor Nestlé comes Blue Bottle; a source for ethically-produced instant coffee with the taste and quality of freshly brewed beans. Blue Bottle's coffee is roasted in small batches, mimicking the taste of the coffee from your favorite local roaster in easy-to-brew instant form. There are over 100 Blue Bottle cafés across the globe, but the company's subscription service and online shop is really what took it off the ground.

Blue Bottle's instant espresso is arguably just as delicious as the real deal, meaning the time has come for making legitimate espresso drinks with nothing more than hot water and a spoon. Infuse cold foam with this instant espresso to top your favorite iced creation with an added boost of coffee flavor and caffeine. The folks at Blue Bottle claim that its instant espresso is particularly flavorful in iced lattes, too. Just add about a tablespoon of coffee crystals to an ounce of hot water, stir, and then toss it over ice. Add whatever milk you like and bask in the ease of creating the perfect iced latte without the need for any expensive and cumbersome equipment.

Verve Coffee Roasters is a macro-roastery based in Santa Cruz, California, that has made a splash in the coffee world with its sustainable cultivation and investment in small coffee farms around the globe. Unlike most trendy roasters, Verve offers instant varieties of its exceptional roasts, so you can brew a superb cup with just a little bit of hot water.

Verve's Sermon — a full-bodied Colombian and East African blend — is the perfect instant coffee for iced drinks. The washed beans used in this blend are designed for easy-drinking, so whether you're transforming it into an ultra-concentrated, espresso-like shot for iced lattes or cappuccinos or simply enjoying a bare bones, straight-up cup, this daily drinker should be your go-to brew. Although Sermon is great for fun and funky café drinks, I'd recommend throwing a concentrated shot over ice and enjoying it black. This coffee's natural notes of blueberry pie, cocoa, and candied pecan make it fruity and sweet without the need for added sugar or syrups. In its natural state, Sermon's intricate nuances can be better appreciated.

While Nescafé is usually regarded as the worst brand of instant coffee, this coffee giant under the Nestlé umbrella offers a slew of instant coffee products, so at least one is bound to be pretty good, right? Nescafé's instant frappé creates delicious, frothy Greek-style iced frappés with ease, so you can pretend you're relaxing on a Santorini beach on a hot summer day, iced coffee in hand.

Unlike iced espresso drinks topped with milk foam, Greek frappés are made frothy with the coffee itself by blending or shaking the coffee crystal and water mixture. So that means that — unlike the rest of the instant coffees on this list — a little more hardware is needed to make the chilled coffee drink of your dreams. Use a blender (immersion blenders work best), or a shaker if you don't have a blender on hand, to froth a serving of Nescafé's instant frappé mixed with just a splash of cold water. Once the coffee has reached the ideal level of thick, foamy goodness, add ice, a little more water, a splash of milk, and your preferred sweetener. I always add whole milk and some vanilla syrup to my frappés. If you want to make this drink extra decadent, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an ultra-creamy, caffeinated experience.

Starbucks, the undisputed king of chain coffee in America, offers a selection of instant coffees so even those without a coffee maker can get their Starbucks on at home. Of all Starbucks' instant coffees, VIA offers the most convenient and versatile coffees to choose from — all packaged in individual serving sachets so you can take them on-the-go.

Starbucks' VIA instant coffee line includes the Veranda blonde roast, classic Pike Place, and an Italian roast. It also offers a pre-sweetened instant coffee specifically for iced drinks. Unlike the other options, this instant coffee can go directly in cold water, so you don't have to wait for it to cool or water it down with extra ice. Simply add the packet to cold water and enjoy a lightly-sweetened, refreshing iced coffee.

If you prefer to be in charge of your coffee's sweetness level, or you just like a particularly strong, dark roast for your iced brews, use the Starbucks VIA Italian roast in your iced coffee. This coffee offers a potent aroma to wake you up and delicious dark chocolate notes that make for a luxurious and rich chilled treat. Enjoy this coffee with a splash of half-and-half and a little sugar to enhance its natural creaminess.

Equator Coffee — established in California in 1995 — has been churning out award-winning brews for years, including its Tigerwalk espresso. Its delicate, fruit-forward flavor makes it a well-rounded and versatile espresso that's perfect for sipping straight or crafting lattes. This flagship espresso became a household name for Equator, prompting the company to offer bold Tigerwalk espresso in instant form, adding to the repertoire of artisanal coffees turned instant in the modern coffee market.

Equator's Tigerwalk instant espresso is one of few instant coffees that doesn't taste bitter and acidic. This medium-roasted coffee highlights the flavors of cherry and key lime, with a sweet and smoky dark chocolate finish. Use this quintessential instant espresso to craft milky iced lattes, or quickly brew a shot's worth or two with just some hot water, pour it over ice, and drink it straight. Tigerwalk instant espresso is also great for shaken espresso drinks; all you need to do is shake up your instant coffee mix with water and milk, then add sweetener and ice. You can use this espresso to recreate the famed Starbucks hazelnut oat milk shaken espresso for one-of-a-kind café taste in the comfort of your own kitchen.