Coffee, including instant coffee, is 100% natural and contains no additives. It also is a natural source of antioxidants.[1] Coffee is made only from coffee beans which are the seeds of coffee berries.[2] Coffee berries are bright red in colour and grow on coffee trees native to subtropical Africa, southern Asia and South America.
To create coffee, the beans found in the coffee berry undergo a natural process before finding their way into your cup for you to enjoy.
During the journey, only the finest coffee beans are carefully selected, processed, blended, roasted, ground and packaged before making their way to your local supermarket in the form of instant or roasted coffee. At each stage, great care is taken and quality checks are completed by coffee experts to ensure you enjoy a delicious, quality cup of coffee every time.[2]
The different blends of coffee you savour and enjoy are created by varying the type of coffee beans used and roasting methods. This is what gives each blend its own special flavour and rich aroma.
Nothing's added or taken away, just 100% pure, natural coffee. Click on the headings below to discover the journey of coffee from crop to cup, or read our tips on how to make a delicious cup of coffee.
The journey from crop to cup begins when coffee berries are picked from the coffee trees.
Did you know coffee trees usually take between 3 to 4 years to grow before they bear coffee berries ripe enough to pick?
Each berry contains two coffee beans which make up only one third of the berry. The berries are processed by being carefully washed, dried and hulled to remove the other two thirds: fruit pulp, skin and husk. The processed coffee beans are referred to as green beans, which are expertly sorted and graded by size and quality.
The sorted coffee is packed into sacks and inspected by taking samples from a large number of the sacks. Each sample is carefully examined, roasted and tasted by coffee experts before it is either approved or rejected. Only the best quality coffee is approved and allowed to continue the journey.
To produce the different coffee blends you know and love, varieties of coffee beans are blended together before being expertly roasted by master roasters. Roasting releases the seductive aroma and special flavour of the beans. The beans are roasted for varying amounts of time depending on the desired roast: light roast, medium roast or dark roast.
When grinding coffee, the roasted beans will pass through a rolling mill which will grind the coffee into the required size, depending on how the coffee is to be enjoyed. Did you know espresso coffee uses a different grind size to plunger coffee?
Finally, the coffee is ready to be sealed in air tight packaging to ensure maximum flavour and aroma is retained for you to savour and enjoy.
After the coffee has been carefully roasted by master roasters, large quantities are ground and expertly brewed. The brewed coffee is then concentrated by evaporating the water component. The strong tasting brewed coffee is then dried using one of two techniques: freeze-drying or spray-drying.
Freeze-drying: The coffee concentrate is deep-frozen, causing the water particles to form ice crystals. The ice particles are then extracted by drying in a vacuum chamber and what's left is freeze-dried instant coffee. Freeze-dried coffee is the highest quality instant coffee, with a more rich aroma and smooth taste than granulated coffee, which is produced using the spray-drying technique. Freeze dried coffee particles are larger, stronger and provide better aroma retention than granulated coffee particles.
Spray-drying: The concentrated coffee is sprayed into the top of a high tower together with hot air. Due to the heat, the water evaporates as it falls to the bottom of the tower. This powdered coffee can now become granulated using equipment which moistens the powder particles which then stick together to form the granules. The moistened granules are then dried using hot air. Granulated coffee is of a lower quality in taste and aroma versus freeze-dried coffee due to the high temperatures needed for this process.
At the end of the process, the coffee particles are packed into airtight jars which you see on your supermarket shelf. Now you can feel good about enjoying your coffee, knowing it is 100% natural.
| [1] | Mattila P, Hellstrom J & Torronen R. Phenic acids in berries, fruits and beverages. J Agric Food Chem. 2006;54(19):7193-7199. |
| [2] | Evergreen B.V, The World of Coffee. Douwe Egberts Coffee Systems International B.V. 2001, Netherlands. Douwe Egberts Coffee. |
