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A brief history of instant coffee

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Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#11

Post by AlBugdy »

nosrepa wrote: post #7
AlBugdy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In electric kettles or a microwave or even in a moka pot or another small container on a decent induction stove it's just 2-3 minutes. There was a video I can't find where they increased the voltage or something for a kettle and at one point it boiled the water in like 10-15 seconds.

Technology Connections? https://youtu.be/INZybkX8tLI

It was another, shorter video, not by TC. Just different voltages (or maybe there were other variables) one after the other until the water boiled really quickly and afterwards the kettle blew a fuse or broke (can't remember).

I guess many people have tried doing something like this. But I'll watch TC's video, too - he hasn't disappointed me so far.

Edit: Watched it. Not the same video, but this one had a lot more info and troubleshooting than what the one I had in mind.

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#12

Post by jemmyw »

firefax wrote: post #3

it's never instant because boiling water takes sooooo longgggg. apparently uk teakettles are faster due to voltage differences? i want to look for a usb-c solution sometime

For real instant: install a hot water tap. It has a small boiler under the sink that keeps the water at near boiling. I've got one and it's great - instant tea any time.

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#13

Post by hysan »

firefax wrote: post #3

it's never instant because boiling water takes sooooo longgggg. apparently uk teakettles are faster due to voltage differences? i want to look for a usb-c solution sometime

Does it? It only takes like 2 min for my electric kettle to boil. If I was a more avid coffee/tea drinker, I’d get one of the always heated hot water dispensers that are common in Japanese households (def one of the appliances I miss since moving back to the US). Then you never have to wait.

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#14

Post by bigfatkitten »

jemmyw wrote: post #12
firefax wrote: post #3

it's never instant because boiling water takes sooooo longgggg. apparently uk teakettles are faster due to voltage differences? i want to look for a usb-c solution sometime

For real instant: install a hot water tap. It has a small boiler under the sink that keeps the water at near boiling. I've got one and it's great - instant tea any time.

I considered this when I rebuilt my kitchen last year but the price was obscene - starting at $1600 AUD installed.

I bought one of these for $79 instead and I’ve been perfectly happy with it.

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/digital-hot-water-dispenser...

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#15

Post by TacticalCoder »

MikeTheGreat wrote: post #2

Thanks for posting this! I started using instant coffee in hot chocolate as a quick DIY mocha, mainly because the cost-caffeine ratio was sooooo much better than beans (ground or whole) and the mix of ingredients that doesn't trigger any reflux (unlike the 400 mg / serving powdered energy drink I had been guzzling). Which is to say - this is a fun and interesting article about something I had just been taking for gra…

> ... and the mix of ingredients that doesn't trigger any reflux

Ah reflux! I drink way too much coffee since forever and recently asked my doc about it: he told me that if I had no reflux, then I simply shouldn't worry about it. Some people have reflux with coffee, others don't. I drink more coffee than 99% of the population and I get zero reflux. Since decades.

It's a cool article but in a way many coffee became instant coffee: as my coffee machine is often already warm (wife btw she's also a heavy coffee drinker), it's actually more instant to have my full auto coffee machine ground the beans and make a coffee than it'd take to boil water for an instant coffee. Same for the people doing the (very costly compared to beans) capsule coffee thing: it's ultra quick (and one of the reason capsule coffee like Nespresso conquered so many).

P.S: I'll try your mocha trick!

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#16

Post by mrwh »

softbuilder wrote: post #9
mikestew wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

U. K. 240v vs. 120v in the U. S., twice the voltage == twice the amperage (EDIT: oops, wattage, for the same amps) == half the time to boiling. I will note that doubling the voltage will still not make it "instant". For that I think you need liquid oxygen[0]. [0] https://improbable.com/2018/10/26/a-look-back-at-george-gobl...

Twice the voltage == half the amperage for the same wattage. Are UK kettles higher wattage?

Actually yes, around double the wattage. It's one of the things English people notice when they move to the US (true!).

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#17

Post by throwaway27448 »

mikestew wrote: post #4
firefax wrote: post #3

it's never instant because boiling water takes sooooo longgggg. apparently uk teakettles are faster due to voltage differences? i want to look for a usb-c solution sometime

U. K. 240v vs. 120v in the U. S., twice the voltage == twice the amperage (EDIT: oops, wattage, for the same amps) == half the time to boiling. I will note that doubling the voltage will still not make it "instant". For that I think you need liquid oxygen[0]. [0] https://improbable.com/2018/10/26/a-look-back-at-george-gobl...

You can also simply keep water near boiling.

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#18

Post by gib444 »

softbuilder wrote: post #9
mikestew wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

U. K. 240v vs. 120v in the U. S., twice the voltage == twice the amperage (EDIT: oops, wattage, for the same amps) == half the time to boiling. I will note that doubling the voltage will still not make it "instant". For that I think you need liquid oxygen[0]. [0] https://improbable.com/2018/10/26/a-look-back-at-george-gobl...

Twice the voltage == half the amperage for the same wattage. Are UK kettles higher wattage?

3000 glorious watts

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#19

Post by bombcar »

softbuilder wrote: post #9
mikestew wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

U. K. 240v vs. 120v in the U. S., twice the voltage == twice the amperage (EDIT: oops, wattage, for the same amps) == half the time to boiling. I will note that doubling the voltage will still not make it "instant". For that I think you need liquid oxygen[0]. [0] https://improbable.com/2018/10/26/a-look-back-at-george-gobl...

Twice the voltage == half the amperage for the same wattage. Are UK kettles higher wattage?

US circuits are about 15 amps; UK ones similar - but twice the volts.

So a US kettle is about 1500 watts, a UK one 3000.

You can get commercial water boilers in the US if you need.

Re: A brief history of instant coffee

#20

Post by marcellus23 »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #15
MikeTheGreat wrote: post #2

Thanks for posting this! I started using instant coffee in hot chocolate as a quick DIY mocha, mainly because the cost-caffeine ratio was sooooo much better than beans (ground or whole) and the mix of ingredients that doesn't trigger any reflux (unlike the 400 mg / serving powdered energy drink I had been guzzling). Which is to say - this is a fun and interesting article about something I had just been taking for gra…

> ... and the mix of ingredients that doesn't trigger any reflux Ah reflux! I drink way too much coffee since forever and recently asked my doc about it: he told me that if I had no reflux, then I simply shouldn't worry about it. Some people have reflux with coffee, others don't. I drink more coffee than 99% of the population and I get zero reflux. Since decades. It's a cool article but in a way many coffee became in…

> I drink more coffee than 99% of the population

How much is that?

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