Coffee

I am a big fan of coffee. I like a cup of hot drinks to go with my meals, and most often than not, coffee is the choice to go. Doesn't matter if it is local coffee, white coffee, instant coffee or freshly brewed coffee, I like them all. Prefer to go with milk, rarely black. I am not a caffeine addict, I don't drink to keep awake (I sleep like a baby even after consuming coffee).

At cafes, I go with Flat White.
At coffee shop, I have kopi-c.
At home, I take 3-in-1 white coffee.
Cycling pitstop, I choose kopi-peng.
Starbucks, urm, Americano because I think their cappuccino and latte is not good.

Kopi-peng!

Few months ago as Covid-19 came and changed our lives, I've been staying home a lot. And I know how bad 3-in-1 white coffees are, loaded with sugar and many other substance that is not good for health. Being jobless, I have also cut away 'angmoh' coffee which can cost between RM10 to 12/cup.
Latte, Flat white, Cappucino is categorised as 'angmoh' coffee :)

'Angmoh' coffee

Considered the option of making my own 'angmoh' coffee at home, but the investment is high to make a good cup of coffee. You need an espresso machine, grinder, milk frother and a whole lot of other tools that comes with it. Talked to a friend and he advise to invest in a good one rather than buying the brand-less cheap version off online platform like Lazada/Shopee/Taobao. He said it makes a difference a good machine vs a cheap machine.

That's how instant coffee gets into my radar. It's easy to make, just put 2 teaspoon into a glass, add hot water and milk. Walaaa, a fragrant cup of coffee! I can opt not to add sugar, so to me, it doesn't seem as bad as 3-in-1 coffee. And most importantly, for someone as lazy as me, it's easy to prepare.

Then the curiosity in me start thinking.
What exactly is instant coffee?
How is it different from 3-in-1 coffee or 'angmoh' coffee?
Is it unhealthy to drink instant coffee?

As usual, Google has the answer. Google always have the answer. Welcome to the world of Internet.

From what I read, which is not a lot, just a couple of articles, instant coffee has about the same benefit as freshly brewed coffee in terms of vitamins. Different article give different answers, I don't know which is more true than the other unless I read research paper. I am health-conscious but not to the extend of reading research paper just to find out if instant coffee is bad for you....it's beyond me, and too boring **yawn


Summary of my finding (as I understands it):

• Caffeine content in instant coffee may be less than regular coffee. I don't drink coffee because of it's caffeine content anyway, so I can accept that
• There are 2x amount of acrylamide - a type of chemical formed when coffee bean are roasted that may increase risk of cancer and harmful to the nervous system. Well, I think this one I can accept too because it's not like I drink 3 cups of coffee a day. Only a cup a day, or every other day. I can take that sort of risk
• The process of making instant coffee is brilliant (human are very smart creature). It involves more of a physics process rather than chemical process. I believe chemical process would be more harmful as it introduce unnatural product into the process

All in all, anything that involves less process is better. However, beggars can't be chooser. For now, I will live with instant coffee until when I can invest in a good 'angmoh' coffee machine.


The sources that contribute to my conclusion:
https://www.mashed.com/218519/the-real-reason-you-shouldnt-drink-instant-coffee/
https://www.mashed.com/213334/the-untold-truth-of-instant-coffee/
https://coach.nine.com.au/diet/instant-vs-ground-coffee-health-benefits/7fd0c0ca-f50d-4b4f-93c5-1d58c054a34a