The main reason people use instant coffee is for its convenience and speed of preparation. Add a spoonful of instant coffee into hot water and it dissolves instantly so that in seconds you have a cup of hot coffee ready to drink. Of course you want to keep your instant coffee fresh and close by on hand, but what is the best way to store instant coffee? I will get to the answer soon.
Instant coffee has a long shelf life and could last past the expiration date on the container if it is kept in optimum conditions. The shelf life of instant coffee is longer than that of coffee beans, and even longer than for ground coffee. Time is the enemy for coffee beans and ground coffee beans because they lose flavor as the coffee essential oils evaporate over time. Instant coffee does not have this problem due to the manufacturing process of dehydrating coffee into granules or powder form.
Instant coffee does however have a different enemy and its name is Humidity. Instant coffee will quickly spoil if not kept dry. When this happens you will see the instant coffee grains stick together and start turning into a gooey mess, and it won't taste the same, meaning it will taste terrible.
Instant coffee usually comes packaged in glass jars, vacuum packed resealable bags, and tins. You may need to transfer your instant coffee to a smaller air-tight jar with a screw top lid as you use more coffee and the volume of instant coffee goes down, while the air in the empty space of the bottle increases. When this happens there is a chance of introducing more humidity into the container's environment.
Always remember to tightly cap or close the container after taking a portion of your instant coffee out.
Another tip is to always use a clean and dry spoon when measuring out your instant coffee.
How to Store Instant Coffee
Instant coffee was made to be stored pretty much anywhere. This usually means in the pantry closet, kitchen counter top, or dining table. This way of storage works for most dry environments. When we lived in California and even Honolulu, Hawaii--we had no problem with our instant coffee going bad.
However, if you live in an area with high humidity, such as the east side of the Big Island, Hawaii where we now live, than I recommend that you store your instant coffee (tightly capped) in the refrigerator. Other people may insist that you do not need to store instant coffee in the refrigerator and that it defeats the purpose, but they probably live in a dry area so that don't know any better.
If you want to give or drink the best tasting instant coffee, give our 100% pure Kona instant coffee a try. Our freeze dried instant Kona coffee is highly aromatic with a smooth flavor. It is much harder to find pure Kona instant coffee--the majority of Kona instant coffee is actually a blended Kona coffee product of 10% Kona coffee beans and 90% cheaper inferior beans. The price may be cheaper but it does not taste the same.
Check out our Kona Coffee blog category where we have Kona coffee recipes using brewed coffee and instant coffee, & other interesting things about Kona coffee.
I store my coffee in the refrigerator and it still loses flavour. Even expensive brands like Nescafe Gold. They all taste good when a new container is just opened, but soon after that, they start to lose flavour.
Posted by: Chris Malan | November 07, 2018 at 10:52 PM
Nescafe is being made or bottled in over a dozen countries....! I live in India, a hot (Temp>35Celsius and
humidity>80 !!) The coffee you get e.g. in Germany is far better than in India,Greece or China. Storage is highly dependent on where the coffee comes from.
TO KEEP MY NESCAFE INSTANT DRY AND BETTER TASTING, I KEEP A SMALL_4X4 CMS SILICA-GEL BAG IN THE COFFEE TIN, THIS WOKS FOR ME !!
Posted by: Captain Kenjle | April 12, 2020 at 06:54 AM
I asked a question about Folgers Instant coffee clumping in the container and how to prevent it from clumping. I got No direct answer regarding Folgers Instant coffee clumping but I did get recommendations for other brands. If you can’t answer the question asked, SHUT UP! I didn’t ask for recommendations!
Posted by: Cea FULCO | June 07, 2020 at 08:07 AM
Sorry, I did get some direct answers. Thank you
Posted by: Cea Fulco | June 07, 2020 at 08:56 AM
My instant coffee got wet. I poured boiling water into the container and now have instant 'liquid' coffee. Where do I store it, and how long should it last?
Posted by: Margie May Milhas | October 24, 2020 at 10:27 AM
I am not sure about your instant coffee getting wet, but I would imagine it should last in the refrigerator for a few days.
Posted by: Double Brush | October 25, 2020 at 03:23 AM