Why Do Instant Coffee Brands Choose Robusta Coffee Beans?

The three most discussed instant coffee brands in China differ mainly in where their beans come from. Four Cats sources about 98 percent of its instant beans from high-altitude growing regions in Yunnan. Nescafé blends Arabica beans from Yunnan with Robusta beans from Hainan for the Chinese market, while Vietnam's G7 uses only locally grown Robusta coffee beans.

Ranked by intensity, G7 comes first, then Nescafé, then Four Cats. Ranked by aroma, Nescafé leads, followed by Four Cats and G7. Ranked by value for money, Four Cats is ahead of G7 and Nescafé. Instant products usually carry added sugar and non-dairy creamer, so heavy long-term use raises health concerns; drip bag coffee avoids both and brews just as easily.

Instant coffee has carved out a place for itself in everyday drinks thanks to its convenience, and Four Cats, Nescafé, and Vietnam's G7 are currently the three instant coffee brands generating the most discussion in China. Each has its own emphases in terms of raw material origins, flavor performance, and pricing strategy, while also sharing the inherent health concerns of instant products. This article will go through these three brands one by one in terms of coffee bean sources, taste rankings, and value for money, and further introduce the advantages of drip bag coffee as an alternative, including Front Street Coffee's specific recommendations on freshness control, flavor selection, and brewing methods, to help coffee lovers find the option that better suits them between convenience and quality.

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Four Cats, Nescafé, and Vietnam's G7—these three instant coffee brands all have a sizable audience in China, and each has its own selling points. 98% of the coffee beans used in Four Cats' instant products come from the high-altitude growing regions of Yunnan, China; the instant coffee Nescafé places on the Chinese market is made from a blend of Arabica beans produced in Yunnan and Robusta beans produced in Hainan; while Vietnam's G7 uses only locally grown Robusta coffee beans.

Ranked from high to low in intensity: Vietnam G7, Nescafé, Four Cats

Ranked from high to low in aroma performance: Nescafé, Four Cats, Vietnam G7

Ranked from high to low in value for money: Four Cats, Vietnam G7, Nescafé

Instant coffee products usually contain a fair amount of added sugar and non-dairy creamer. If consumed heavily over the long term, they may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity, so it is not advisable to make them a long-term daily drink.

If all you need is a caffeine boost and you want the brewing process to be as hassle-free as possible, drip bag coffee is actually a replacement well worth considering. Compared with instant coffee, drip bag coffee is just as easy to brew, and its formula contains no added sugar or non-dairy creamer. A single packet is small in size, easy to carry when you're out, and doesn't take up much space.

Another advantage of drip bag coffee is that what's inside is ground from whole coffee beans, which better locks in the coffee's own aroma, and after brewing lets you experience layered changes in flavor.

So that every customer can appreciate what makes freshly ground coffee unique, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) makes sure that every drip bag coffee ordered from the Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) flagship store is ground, portioned, and individually sealed only after the coffee beans have been roasted, and guarantees shipping within 5 days of the roast date.

Even if the coffee is freshly roasted and immediately portioned and sealed after grinding, its flavor will still gradually fade over time. That's why Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) suggests not stockpiling too many drip bag coffees at once when buying; the best flavor period for drip bag coffee is 30 days.

The range of drip bag coffees offered by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is quite extensive. Besides the options already available in the flagship store, if you have other coffee beans or flavor preferences you'd like to try, you can also contact customer service and choose the coffee beans you like to customize your drip bag coffee~ Each set contains 10 small packets, each packet with a net weight of 10g of ground coffee.

If it's your first time buying drip bag coffee, we recommend trying the "Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Seasonal Drip Bag." There are four flavors to choose from, and both the value for money and the quality are excellent!

If you prefer fruity, bright acidity, you can choose the medium-light roast Seasonal Drip Bag—Front Street uses coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia; if you like roasted nut flavors and can't quite handle acidity, you can choose the medium roast Seasonal Drip Bag—Front Street uses coffee beans from the Cerrado region of Brazil; if you're after something not acidic at all, with a rich, oily, full-bodied mouthfeel, you can choose the dark roast Seasonal Drip Bag. If you're still not sure which flavor you prefer, why not choose the Seasonal Drip Bag with a random selection of 5 regions and let Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) pick for you.

How should you brew drip bag coffee once you've bought it? Below, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) demonstrates the brewing steps for drip bag coffee with pictures and text:

1. Prepare a cup, a drip bag coffee packet, and hot water.

2. Tear open the outer packaging bag of the drip bag, take out the inner bag, tear it open along the "open" line at the top, unfold the two "ears" on the sides of the drip bag, and set it over the rim of the cup.

3. Pour hot water into the drip bag; for the first pour, fill to the 1/2 mark of the filter bag, and wait 10 to 15 seconds.

4. For the second pour, fill to 9/10 of the drip bag; after the coffee liquid in the filter bag has fully dripped through, continue pouring hot water to 9/10 full again, wait once more for the coffee liquid to drip through completely, then pour to 9/10 full one last time. Once all the coffee liquid has filtered through, you can remove the drip bag filter.

Note: In total, water is poured in 4 stages. The first stage is poured to the 1/2 mark, and for the remaining three stages, water is poured to 9/10 full each time after the coffee liquid has completely drained. After repeated testing, Front Street has found that pouring water this way keeps the total water volume at roughly 150ml. If you have a digital scale on hand or a cup with measurement markings, you can also use these tools to brew a suitable coffee-to-water ratio.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.