# Spray-dried Instant Coffee Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/spray-dried-instant/ Last updated: 2026-10-19 > Spray-dried instant coffee is made by brewing coffee at scale, concentrating it, then spraying the extract as a fine mist into a tall chamber of hot air. The water evaporates as the droplets fall, leaving a fine powder, usually clumped into granules with steam. It's cheaper than freeze-drying, and most instant coffee is made this way. Nescafé, launched in 1938, was spray-dried. ## At a glance - Category: Instant & Industrial (Industrial) - Difficulty: Beginner - Origin: Global & Modern - Also known as: instant coffee, powdered coffee, soluble coffee, coffee powder ## Steps 1. **Boil and cool the water**: Boil the kettle and let it stand for a moment, so the water is just off the boil. 2. **Add the coffee**: Spoon instant coffee into your mug, using the amount on the jar. 3. **Mix with a splash of cold water**: Stir it into a paste with a splash of cold water or milk, so it dissolves smoothly. 4. **Top up**: Pour in the hot water and stir. Add milk and sugar to taste. **Instant coffee** is coffee that's already been brewed and dried, so all you add is water. Most of it is **spray-dried**: the coffee is brewed at scale, concentrated into an extract, then sprayed as a **fine mist** into a tall chamber of **hot air**. The water evaporates as the droplets fall, and what lands is a **fine powder**, which is usually clumped into granules before it reaches the jar. It's fast and cheap, and it's how most instant coffee is made. Here's how it's made, where it came from and how to make a better cup. ## The short version - **Brewed, concentrated, then sprayed into hot air** to dry. - **A fine powder**, usually steamed into granules so it dissolves well. - **Cheaper than freeze-drying**, but the heat costs some aroma. - **Invented by David Strang** in New Zealand, patented in 1890. - **Nescafé**, 1938, was spray-dried. ## How is spray-dried coffee made? 1. **Brewing.** Roasted coffee is brewed in large extractors. 2. **Concentrating.** The coffee is concentrated into a strong **extract**. 3. **Spray-drying.** The extract is sprayed as a fine mist into a tower "many stories high", as one Procter & Gamble patent puts it, full of **swirling hot air**. The water evaporates as the droplets fall. 4. **Collecting.** The dry powder, about 0.1–0.3 mm grains, is collected at the bottom. It's too fine to use as it is, so makers usually **agglomerate** it, spraying it with steam so the grains stick into granules about 3 mm across. Many also add **aroma** back: the same patent says only about 50–60% of the aroma added to the extract survives spray-drying. ## Spray-dried vs freeze-dried | | Spray-dried | [Freeze-dried](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/freeze-dried-instant/) | | --- | --- | --- | | How | Sprayed into hot air | Frozen, then dried under vacuum | | Looks like | Fine powder, usually steamed into granules | Larger, porous granules | | Aroma | Some lost to heat | More retained | | Cost | Cheaper, faster | More expensive | | Share | Most instant coffee | Premium jars | ## How do you make a better cup of instant? 1. **Boil the kettle** and let it stand a moment, so the water is **just off the boil**. 2. **Spoon in the coffee**, using the amount on the jar. 3. **Make a paste** with a splash of cold water or milk, so it dissolves smoothly. 4. **Top up** with hot water and stir. Add milk and sugar to taste. Instant also makes quick **iced coffee**: dissolve it in a little hot water, then pour over ice and cold milk. ## A short history of instant coffee - **1890:** **David Strang** of **Invercargill, New Zealand**, patents a soluble coffee powder made by a "dry hot-air" process, filed in 1889, and sells it as Strang's Soluble Coffee Powder. - **1901:** **Satori Kato**, a Japanese chemist in Chicago, files a patent for a soluble coffee, granted in 1903, and shows it at the Pan-American Exposition. He was long credited as the inventor, until Strang's earlier patent was rediscovered. - **1938:** **Nestlé** launches **Nescafé**, a spray-dried instant, developed after Brazil asked for a way to use its surplus coffee. Coffee extract had been too sticky to spray-dry, so the Swiss chemist **Max Morgenthaler** mixed it half and half with maltodextrin, Wikipedia says. - **1950s:** General Foods makes spray-dried instant from 100% coffee, extracting at high temperature and pressure so no added carbohydrate is needed. *General guidance only. Take care with boiling water, and check the jar for caffeine content if you're watching it.* ## Instant vs other methods - **[Freeze-dried instant](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/freeze-dried-instant/):** the premium way to make instant. - **[Camp Coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/camp-coffee/):** the Victorian coffee and chicory essence. - **[Coffee bags](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/coffee-bags/):** real ground coffee, steeped in the cup. - **[Drip bag](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/drip-bag/):** a single-serve pour-over with no equipment. Explore every industrial method in the [instant and industrial chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/instant-industrial/). ## Words used in this guide - [Extraction](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/extraction/): Extraction is the process of water dissolving flavour compounds out of ground coffee. - [Agitation](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/agitation/): Agitation is any movement of the coffee and water during brewing, such as stirring, swirling or a turbulent pour. - [Steeping](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/steeping/): Steeping is leaving ground coffee to sit in water so its flavour dissolves out, as in a French press or cold brew. - [Pour-over](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/pour-over/): Pour-over is a way of making filter coffee by hand: you pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter cone and let it drip through into a cup or jug. ## FAQs ### How is instant coffee made? Coffee is brewed and concentrated into an extract, then dried, either by spraying it into hot air (spray-drying) or by freezing it and removing the ice under a vacuum (freeze-drying). The powder or granules dissolve in water. ### What's the difference between spray-dried and freeze-dried instant? Spray-drying is faster and cheaper and makes a fine powder, but the heat drives off some of the aroma. Freeze-drying keeps more aroma but costs more and makes larger granules. ### Who invented instant coffee? David Strang of Invercargill, New Zealand, patented a soluble coffee powder in 1890. Satori Kato of Chicago was long credited instead; he filed his patent in 1901, and it was granted in 1903. Nestlé launched Nescafé, a spray-dried instant, in 1938. ### How much of instant coffee is spray-dried? Most of it. A Procter & Gamble patent says current instant coffee is "primarily manufactured as spray dried powders", and Wikipedia calls spray-drying cheaper and better suited to large-scale production. ### How do I make instant coffee taste better? Use water just off the boil rather than boiling, mix the coffee into a paste with a splash of cold water or milk first, and follow the jar's amount rather than guessing. ## Sources - [Instant coffee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_coffee) - [Satori Kato](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satori_Kato) - [Freeze-dried vs spray-dried instant coffee: what’s the difference?](https://www.tastingtable.com/1781200/freeze-vs-spray-dried-coffee/) - [History of instant coffee](https://www.historyofcoffee.net/coffee-history/instant-coffee-history/) - [How is instant coffee made?](https://www.brewcoffeehome.com/?p=4629) - [US 5,922,385: Process for preparing low density soluble coffee products (Procter & Gamble, 1999)](https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/5922385)