illy Instant Coffee Smooth Taste: How to Make It Well

illy Instant Coffee Smooth Taste: getting the best from the jar

The label on illy's Smooth Taste lists just two things, soluble arabica coffee and roasted ground arabica, the ground coffee making up 8% of the jar. It is the brand's gentle instant, meant for people who find most instant coffee either thin or harshly roasty.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

illy Instant Coffee Smooth Taste: getting the best from the jar, in summary: A mild, mid-roast instant: soluble arabica with a little roasted ground arabica mixed in. Rest the kettle to around 90 degrees, make a paste first, and a 95g jar gives about 52 mugs.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

The label on illy's Smooth Taste lists just two things, soluble arabica coffee and roasted ground arabica, the ground coffee making up 8% of the jar. It is the brand's gentle instant, meant for people who find most instant coffee either thin or harshly roasty.

Soluble coffee with ground coffee in it

An instant is a brew that has already been made and dried, so the extraction was decided at the factory, not in your kitchen. Alongside the soluble arabica, the label lists roasted ground arabica at 8%, so a little real ground coffee goes into every spoonful. It is not trying to be an espresso from the same house; it is illy's arabica applied to a different kind of product, and it should be judged as one.

Smooth Taste is the milder end of illy's instant line. The roast stops short of the scorched edge that makes harsh instant taste burnt, bitterness is kept low, and the finish is short and clean rather than ashy. It takes milk without disappearing under it. If you want a strong, roasty wake-up mug, this is the wrong jar; if the usual British instant is too harsh for you, it is the right one.

Three small changes to the mug

Most disappointing instant coffee is made with water that is too hot. Leave the kettle for about a minute after it boils, which brings it to roughly 90 degrees, and the coffee is not scalded into a papery harshness. Then put the granules in the mug with a small splash of that water and stir to a smooth paste before filling up. Fully dissolved coffee tastes rounder and less sharp than granules left half suspended.

The third change is the dose. Taking a rounded teaspoon as 1.8g in a 200ml mug, a 95g jar gives about 52 mugs by our own arithmetic; heap the spoon by eye and expect nearer 40. If a mug tastes weak, use a fuller spoon next time. If it tastes harsh, check the water temperature before blaming the coffee.

Where the jar fits in illy's range

Everything else from illy on our shelf needs equipment. The medium and dark roast ground coffees want a moka pot or an espresso machine, the Classico beans want a grinder, and the Lungo capsules want a Nespresso Original machine. This one needs a kettle and a spoon, and nothing to wash but the mug. That makes it the jar for the office, the caravan, the holiday cottage, or the second coffee of the morning once the machine is already clean.

Because the flavour is gentle, it suits a biscuit with some sweetness of its own. A caramelised biscuit beside a milky mug is the classic match, and a plain digestive dunked briefly works well because the coffee does not overpower it. Keep the jar tightly closed between mugs; like any instant, it is happiest kept dry and away from the steam of the kettle.

The packs we stock

illy Instant Coffee Smooth Taste, 95g

What the label says

The published ingredient list for illy Instant Coffee Smooth Taste, 95g names none of the 14 major allergens. If illy changes the Smooth Taste recipe, the allergen wording on your jar is the one that applies.

Ingredients, as published: 100% Arabica Soluble Coffee, 100% Arabica Roasted Ground Coffee (8%).

Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. What is printed on the jar overrides this page.

What to eat with it

Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Biscuits, 250g: the caramelised crunch of a Biscoff sits comfortably beside a mild, milky mug.
McVitie's Digestives Biscuits The Light One, 250g: a plain digestive for a quick dunk; a gentle coffee lets the biscuit's own flavour through.
Maryland Cookies Caramel & Chocolate Chip, 200g: caramel and chocolate chips give a smooth coffee some sweetness to play against.

Elsewhere in the illy range

The full range is on the illy brand page.

FAQ

Is there real ground coffee in illy instant? Yes. The label lists 100% arabica soluble coffee plus 100% arabica roasted ground coffee, which makes up 8% of the jar.

How many mugs does a 95g jar make? About 52 at a rounded 1.8g teaspoon per 200ml mug, by our own calculation, or nearer 40 if you heap the spoon.

Why does instant coffee sometimes taste harsh? Usually the water is too hot. Let the kettle rest for a minute, to about 90 degrees, and dissolve the granules to a paste before topping up.

Does the label list any allergens? No, none of the 14 major allergens appear in the published ingredients for the jar. Always check the current pack before buying.

Does it work with milk? Yes. It keeps its flavour under milk rather than vanishing, which is one of the better reasons to choose it.

Curator's note: Rest the kettle, make the paste, add a splash of milk. Three small habits and this becomes a mug worth making properly. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: illy Instant Coffee Smooth Taste: getting the best from the jar

Field	Detail
Brand	illy
Packs we stock	95g
Category	Instant Coffee
Allergens (as published)	Only Arabica soluble coffee and Arabica roasted ground coffee are listed, so no allergen from the 14 major ones is named.
Caffeine	caffeinated
Method	Kettle and spoon, no machine
Water	About 90 degrees, after a minute's rest
Best with	A caramelised biscuit