How To Make Espresso With Instant Coffee (At Home)

Are you looking for a guide on how to make espresso with instant coffee at home? This article is for you!

If you are an avid coffee drinker, there is nothing more refreshing than your morning espresso – the good smell and the strong flavor of your first cup of espresso coffee. 

This recipe is for you if you are trying to get this feeling at home with just instant coffee! 

It is undoubtedly difficult to replicate the espresso coffee made using expensive espresso machines at home. Nevertheless, this recipe guides you to make your instant coffee-based espresso taste nearly like the one you buy at the coffee shop.

Let’s get started!

Let’s start with the difference between instant coffee and ground coffee.

What is instant coffee?

Instant coffee is a drink made from brewed coffee beans that allow consumers to make hot beverages quickly by mixing hot water or milk with powdered or crystallized coffee solids.

The advantages of instant coffee include low price, fast preparation, and lower environmental footprint than drip filter coffee.

One of the downsides of instant coffee is that it contains additives. However, instant coffee is safe to drink as long as you select a brand without too many additives.

Instant coffee vs ground coffee

Basically, coffee beans are used to make both ground coffee and instant coffee. 

The primary distinction between instant and normal coffee is that instant coffee is simply ground coffee that has already been brewed and made into drinkable coffee, whereas ground coffee is coffee beans that have been ground up and have still to be brewed before being served.

How is an espresso normally made?

Modern espresso machines and grinders are used by skilled baristas to make a cup of espresso at coffee shops. Indeed, they stick to a specific procedure, precisely weighing and timing each shot.

The process of making the espresso shot involves brewing coffee by forcing a small volume of nearly boiling water through finely-ground coffee beans at high pressure.

Does everybody has an espresso machine at home? NO. What options are available then to get your espresso at home?

Instant coffee among other things!

What remains will describe how to make an espresso shot at home with instant coffee.

How to make espresso with instant coffee

Because not everyone can buy an expensive espresso machine, we may resort to less expensive ways to make our espresso shots at home. 

One of the ways to make espresso without spending a small fortune is by using instant coffee.

NOTE:
I suppose technically you can make espresso using instant coffee, though I don’t think instant coffee-based espresso would equal a real espresso shot.

So let’s dive into how to make espresso with instant coffee, at home.

The ingredients and the exact steps

The ingredients and the exact steps to make espresso with instant coffee

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons instant coffee.
• 1 ounce of nearly boiling water
• sugar or honey ‘optional)
• milk (optional)

How to make espresso with instant coffee in 7 Steps

1. Put 2 teaspoons of instant coffee in a coffee cup.
2. To make the coffee bloom, add half of the 1 ounce of boiling water. This phase is optional but will produce a richer flavor.
3. Add the remaining water and mix thoroughly for another 30 seconds, or until the coffee has completely dissolved.
4. If you would like a double shot of espresso, you can add an additional 1 ounce of boiling water.
5. If desired, you can put in some sugar, milk, or honey once the coffee has thoroughly dissolved.
6. Stir to dissolve the mixture.
7. Drink and enjoy!

Making it better

How to make espresso with instant coffee at home? Here are a few tips to improve the process:

• For a fine espresso-like cup of coffee made at home, choose a quality flavorful instant coffee brand. When prepared into an espresso shot, a stronger, higher-quality instant coffee will taste much richer than a more affordable alternative.
• You might need to add another teaspoon or two to get the right amount of coffee, depending on the size of the cup and the strength of your instant coffee.
• Don’t pour the water into the cup at once. use a little of it to dissolve the instant coffee and make it bloom. Then pour the rest of the water and stir.
• Espresso made with instant coffee lacks the crema that espresso machines produce from finely ground coffee. To produce a similar crema, cover the cup with plastic and stir forcefully for a few seconds. 
• You can sip the espresso-like coffee by itself or combine it with your favorite coffee beverage, such as a latte or macchiato. 
• Add sweeteners such as sugar or honey to your coffee if you want additional sweet flavors.

Final thoughts

Making espresso at home with instant coffee is easy. There are only a few easy steps that must be taken. All you need is two tablespoons of high-quality instant coffee and some hot water. Simply, combine the instant coffee and almost boiling water to make your espresso. Make care to stir your mixture well. You can adjust the sweetness by adding sugar, honey, or milk.