Behind the Scenes: Creating Premium Instant Coffee (Episode 2)
Ever wondered what it takes to create specialty instant coffee that actually tastes amazing? In this behind-the-scenes look at Full Spectrum's product development journey, we're pulling back the curtain on our successes, failures, and everything in between.
The Quest for Better Instant Coffee
For the past six months, we've been obsessed with one mission: rebuilding commercial coffee products from scratch in our roastery. Episode 2 of our journey dives deep into the nitty-gritty of perfecting our instant coffee through batches 2, 3, and 4.
Batch 2: The Great Experiment
After our initial success with batch 1's flavour, we hit a snag – the dreaded "dry" mouthfeel characteristic. No matter how we brewed it (hot water, cold water, different ratios), each sip left your mouth feeling increasingly parched. Not exactly what we were going for!
We tried two approaches:
• Cold Brew Concentrate (1:6 ratio)
• Espresso (adjusted to 1:2.5 ratio)
The Challenge: While the cold brew method required 18kg of coffee to fill our Harvest Right XL freeze dryer, the espresso method needed more manual work but gave us better control.
Batch 3: The Frozen Breakthrough
After diving deep into research (yes, we went down the YouTube rabbit hole), we discovered the game-changing pre-frozen tray method. This not only reduced our cycle time to just over 60 hours but also significantly improved our espresso-to-instant yield.
Key Learnings:
• Pre-freezing trays streamlines the process
• Espresso showed better conversion rates than cold brew
• The texture improved, but we still needed to work on that mouthfeel
Batch 4: The Flavour Revolution
This is where things got exciting. We tested three distinct blends:
1. All-day Antonio: Traditional Brazilian-Nicaraguan blend (1:1.8 ratio)
2. Mid-afternoon Matteo: Light, bright, and fruity
3. Late-night Louis: Our answer to "Does good decaf instant exist?"
The Real-World Test
Instead of keeping this experiment in our lab, we wanted real feedback from real coffee lovers. Using simple glass pill bottles and custom labels, we got our product into the hands of two key groups:
• Convenience-seeking Sarahs: Looking for quality without compromise
• Café-exile Mikes: Missing their favourite coffee experience
What's Next?
Episode 3 will dive into the numbers – costs, margins, and whether premium instant coffee can be a viable business opportunity. Stay tuned!
Want to Try It?
While we're still perfecting our process, you can taste what we're up to.
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About Full Spectrum Coffee
We're on a mission to redefine convenience in specialty coffee. Based in Australia, we're obsessed with creating premium coffee products that don't compromise on quality or taste. Learn more about our journey at www.fullspectrum.coffee
