23 Best Instant Coffees To Try in 2025

The best instant coffee offers convenience and a flavor profile that ranges from light to rich, bold and smoky. Are you a diehard coffee connoisseur who loves drip, French press or cold brew coffee? Have you heard that instant coffee isn’t as delicious or as readily available as whole or ground bean versions? 

You’ll be surprised to learn that instant coffee has risen in popularity and quality in recent years. You can find the best tasting instant coffee in markets, grocery stores and cafés. Even Starbucks offers a premium instant coffee option.

Are you wondering how the best instant coffee is made? Instant coffee is made from the same ground coffee beans as traditional brewed coffee. The beans are brewed, which creates a coffee concentrate. This is then freeze-dried or spray-dried into a powder.

In the freeze-drying process, the concentrate is frozen at an incredibly low temperature. Using a vacuum, the ice converts from solid to gas to create a very fine powder. With the spray-drying process, the extract is sprayed as a fine mist into a hot and dry air chamber. As the water quickly evaporates, it leaves behind fine granules. To make a cup, the powder is dissolved in hot water.

Check out this list of the best instant coffee brands to add some new options to your morning routine or afternoon pick-me-up. Instant coffee can also be added to mixed coffee beverages such as lattes, affogatos, mochas and iced cappuccinos.

 Jump to Section

• The 23 Best Instant Coffee Brands
• What Are the Healthiest Instant Coffee Brands?
• What Are the Best Brands of Instant Coffee?

 The 23 Best Instant Coffee Brands

1. Folgers Classic Roast

Well-known for its fun jingle, “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup,” Folgers’ history dates to 1850. Folgers instant coffee was originally introduced in 1953, when it wasn’t very well received. It was more successful when it was launched again in 1958. 

Folgers is a grocery store staple offering fine to medium-sized granules and medium-bodied flavor. Connoisseurs of the best instant coffee recommend drinking this with cream and say that it’s a good choice for adding to mixed coffee drinks such as iced cappuccinos and mochas.

2. Maxwell House

Another popular grocery store brand, Maxwell House, is one of the best brands of instant coffee for “Good to the Last Drop” flavor. Introduced in 1892 and named after the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Maxwell House started making instant coffee in 1946. 

This medium to dark roast variety dissolves easily in a cup of hot water. Along with Folgers, it’s perfect for blending into cocoa-inspired mochas and creamy lattes.

3. Nescafé Taster’s Choice

Nescafé Taster’s Choice is a brand that immediately comes to mind when talking about the best instant coffee. Developed in 1966, it was one of the first freeze-dried instant coffee brands on the market. 

This brand offers various flavors, including Colombian, House Blend and French Roast, which are considered some of the best instant coffee options. It is a light to medium roast with a subtle fragrance and fine to medium granules. You can try Nescafé Clásico Dark Roast for even more variety.

4. Café Bustelo Espresso Instant

Described as having a bold, rich and smoky flavor, Café Bustelo Espresso is a medium to dark-bodied roast with the bold, rich and smooth flavor of espresso. We found that the granules dissolve easily, making this the best instant coffee for camping, at the office or on the go. 

If you love a deep, dark roast with a smoky flavor, this might just be your new favorite brew. It goes well with coffee beverages like lattes or combined with peanut butter, almond milk and a banana in a smoothie.

5. Pilon Espresso Instant Coffee

Are you looking for an instant espresso coffee? Pilon’s Espresso Instant Coffee has a strong fragrance with a medium to dark roast. We like that it’s rich but not too heavy.

The coarse granule texture dissolves remarkably well. This is one of the best instant coffees to add to recipes like mocha cookies, chocolate cappuccino cheesecake, tiramisu and even bread, muffins and brownies.

6. Starbucks Dark Roast Premium Instant

A café favorite, Starbucks shines with its best instant coffee flavors. The Dark Roast Premium Instant comes in a tin can, which makes it handy to store at the office for those mid-morning meetings. It features a smooth flavor profile. We like the fact that it’s advertised as dissolving quickly in either hot or cold water.

7. Juan Valdez Instant Colombian

Juan Valdez is made with freeze-dried coffee to create large coffee granules. Made with 100% arabica Colombian coffee beans, this medium roast is light in color and medium to dark-bodied in flavor. The cool drying process preserves the unique flavors and fragrances. 

As it stirs and dissolves well without leaving residue, it’s one of the best instant coffees available. It’s described as having a smooth and nutty flavor with hints of chocolate and honey. Fans say this can be the best instant coffee, particularly good with added cream.

8. Black Rifle Coffee Company

Black Rifle Coffee Company is one of the best instant coffee brands, available in single-use packets for on-the-go convenience. It features a medium body that’s described as being “smooth with a bit of a punch.” 

The granules are very fine and dissolve easily in hot or cold water. Use it to make iced coffee or an affogato, or add cream for a frothy finish.

9. Mount Hagen

Mount Hagen has fair-trade and organic certifications to make it one of the best instant coffee brands for those who prefer eco-consciousness and sustainability in their beverage choices. It’s a freeze-dried instant coffee option that delivers medium-sized granules in a medium to dark roast coffee that offers bold and smooth, fresh-brewed flavor.

10. Twin Peaks Original Pour Over 100% Colombian Coffee

Another pour-over option in the best instant coffee category, Twin Peaks Original offers a toasted and silky but not too strong flavor. If you’re looking for convenience but want something as close as possible to traditional brewed coffee, this is it. Pour-over coffee gives you the option to make it stronger or weaker by adding more or less water.

11. Kuju Coffee Medium Roast Basecamp Blend

Are you looking for a bold and strong cup of Joe? Kuju Coffee offers a medium roast that’s very strong and described as being like an espresso. This pour-over version of instant coffee works like traditional pour-over coffee.

A tea bag-like sachet is held above the cup while hot water is poured over it. You can enjoy honey, oak and chocolate flavors. If you’d like to make it an Americano, just add more water. 

Kuju is part of the ethically sourced collection, sourced from Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and other areas. It’s one of the best instant coffees designed for on-the-go convenience while backpacking, camping and hiking. And, it’s equally convenient in the office or at home.

12. Partners’ Brooklyn Blend

Partners’ Brooklyn Blend offers a medium-bodied roast with the subtle flavors of fruit, toffee and cocoa. Roasted from sustainably sourced beans in Brooklyn, New York, is one of the instant coffees, brewed and dehydrated slowly to retain the rich flavors. We like the convenience factor of the single-serve packets for mornings on the go, while traveling or off in the great outdoors.

13. Blue Bottle Craft Instant Espresso

Perfect for a sweet espresso beverage, Blue Bottle Craft Instant Espresso delivers a bold and robust flavor profile of molasses, toasted malt and dark chocolate. It’s described as having the most “coffee-like” flavor of any of the best instant coffee brands. 

Fans say it makes an excellent iced latte and is one of the best barista-style instant coffee brands. We like the fact that it’s available in single-serve sachets and a multi-serve canister.

14. Verve Streetlevel Craft Instant Blend

Available in medium and dark roast, Verve Streetlevel Blend is created with Honduran, Colombian and Guatemalan coffee beans. With a rich aroma and bold flavor, it’s no wonder it’s considered one of the best instant coffees. It's also described as being a blend of pour-over coffee with the smoothness of a cold brew. 

We like that the product dissolves quickly, delivering Streetlevel’s signature tasting notes of clementine-like citrus, red apple acidity and a honeycomb finish. With this wide array of flavors, it would be wonderful combined with cocoa powder and milk and blended into a mocha.

15. Starbucks Via Colombia

Starbucks has even joined the instant coffee game with some of the best brands of instant coffee. It’s made with arabica beans, just like the company’s roasted beans. Fine and powdery grounds are packaged in individual packets, making it one of the best instant coffee options that come in handy for a day at the office, on camping trips or just on the go.

16. Death Wish Dark Roast Premium Instant

For dark roast goodness, look no further than Death Wish Dark Roast. This fair-trade, organic and premium instant coffee is made with arabica and robusta coffee beans from Peru, India and other South and Central American countries.

It’s described as having a bold and bitter chocolate flavor and a big smack of caffeine, making it one of the best instant coffee options for coffee lovers. Death Wish developed a freeze-dried version for NASA, which the agency then packaged in drink pouches for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Single-serve packets are the perfect travel companion for planes, road trips, boats and RVs, as well as at home or at the office. The skull and crossbones logo gives a rugged outlook to it.

17. Waka Coffee Quality Instant Coffee

Waka Coffee Quality Instant Coffee has a rich and smoky aroma. We liked the fact that it comes in flavors like butterscotch, pumpkin spice, vanilla and chocolate mocha. Any of these varieties make the best instant coffee to use for a delicious hot or iced cappuccino. 

It’s prepared with 100% arabica beans using the freeze-drying method. It’s also one of the best instant coffees to use to make a creamy latte, blend into a cake or combine with peanut butter, almond milk and a banana for a rich smoothie.

18. Tandem Coffee Time and Temperature Instant Coffee

Are you searching for the best instant coffee with a fruity flavor? Pick up a container of Tandem Coffee Time and Temperature Instant Coffee. 

This freeze-dried instant coffee is available in single-serve packets and makes the perfect addition to your desk, purse or glove box for on-the-go accessibility. Based in Portland, Maine, Tandem works with small growers to produce single-origin and seasonal coffees, some of which are used to create their best instant coffee offerings.

19. Swift Coffee Mainstay

Are you craving a strong and bold cup of coffee with a tart berry flavor? Swift Coffee Mainstay may be just what you’re looking for. Produced in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, it’s one of the best instant coffees made with a blend of East African and Latin American coffee beans. 

The sweet and clean flavor profile has garnered it the title of favorite instant coffee by Food and Wine. It’s available in single-serve packets or in bulk, which makes it easier to add as much or as little as you like to your mug of hot or cold water.

20. Great Value Classic Decaf

Do you prefer decaf coffee? One of the best instant coffee decaf choices, Great Value Classic Decaf offers a rich and smooth medium roast without the after-effects of added caffeine. If you prefer a bolder cup, it’s suggested to add more than the recommended amount of powder. We found that the product features medium-sized granules that dissolve easily.

21. Happy Remarkable Dark Roast Instant

The bright white packaging of Happy Remarkable Dark Roast Instant stands out on the shelf. Made with 100% arabica beans, it’s one of the best instant coffee options with notes of sweet molasses and a smooth, rich body.

 We like the fact that this product comes in a container with single-serve packets. It’s a trouble-free way to have your coffee fix on hand, whether you’re traveling, in the office or just need a quick pick-me-up. It’s perfect for hot or iced coffee or combined into affogatos and lattes.

22. Sightglass Instant La Magdalena Tolima

Sightglass Instant Magdalena Tolima offers a flavor trio of red apple, concord grape and toffee that’s described as being close to fresh-brewed specialty coffees. If you add milk or cream, you can get a cozy caramel flavor that makes it stand out as one of the best instant coffees. 

The San Francisco-based independent coffee company sources green coffee and roasts the best instant coffee in small batches. The single-serve packets make it quick and easy to get a coffee fix.

23. Hills Bros. Cappuccino

If you’re fond of chocolate-inspired beverages, Hills Bros.Cappuccino is the drink for you. Try the French vanilla variety to enjoy rich, sweet and creamy vanilla flavor. Established in 1878 in San Francisco, Hills Bros. produced the first vacuum-packed coffee in its famous red packaging. 

Other flavors include double mocha, salted caramel and classic cappuccino, making it one of the best instant coffee options. For a café-inspired treat, add whipped cream and sprinkles to the top, or combine with other coffee for a rich and decadent beverage.

What Are the Healthiest Instant Coffee Brands?

Are you searching for the healthiest instant coffee? Like traditional brewed coffee, the best instant coffee offers benefits such as antioxidants and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, “drinking coffee with caffeine has been linked with improved mood and a lower risk of depression in some groups.” 

When consumed black, instant coffee has fewer calories, though adding milk, sugar, creamer and other flavorings can increase fat, sugar and calorie content. Likewise, instant coffee typically has less caffeine than brewed coffee.

What Are the Best Brands of Instant Coffee?

Whether you’re searching for the best instant coffee from leading coffee chains, grocery store brands or local roasters, the best tasting instant coffee delivers convenience, flavor and a pick-me-up, whether it’s mid-morning or early afternoon. 

If you want trouble-free preparation, go with Starbucks Via packets. If you’re looking for bold, brewed coffee-inspired flavor, Black Rifle Coffee Company offers a punch.

We hope this collection of the best instant coffee and the healthiest instant coffee has inspired you to try a few for yourself. The next time you’re craving a bold roast or a sweet and creamy cappuccino, reach for a packet or container of the best instant coffee brands on the store shelves.

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