Nescafé Gold Blend: Freeze Dried Instant, Explained

Every jar of instant starts life as a large batch of brewed coffee, and what sets Gold Blend apart is how the water is taken back out. Freeze the extract, lift the ice away under vacuum, and far more of the smell of coffee makes it into the granule.

Made twice: brewed, then dried

Instant is not a different kind of coffee. It is brewed at factory scale, then dried back to a solid that keeps in a cupboard, and the drying is where jars part company. Spray drying sends the liquid through a blast of hot air, which is quick but carries much of the aroma away with the steam. Freeze drying freezes the brew first, then pulls the frozen water away in a vacuum, sparing the coffee a second round of heat.

That is why the granules look open and crystalline, and why the cup comes across rounded rather than harsh. The published ingredient list we hold is short: soluble coffee, plus a small share of roast and ground coffee at 3%. It names none of the major allergens, though recipes can change, so check the jar itself before relying on that.

Choosing between the 95g and 190g jars

The two jars hold the same coffee; only the quantity changes. At a rounded teaspoon of about 1.8g, the 190g jar works out at roughly 105 mugs, and the 95g jar at around half that. If you are trying Gold Blend for the first time, or it is going to an office kitchen or a caravan, the small jar makes sense. Once it is the household coffee, the bigger jar means topping up less often.

Whichever size you choose, the lid matters more than the weight. A jar left open beside a steaming kettle soon starts to clump and lose its smell, so close it straight after spooning, keep it away from the steam and use a dry spoon every time. And remember that a heaped spoon empties any jar far faster than the arithmetic above suggests.

Getting a better mug from the same spoon

Three habits make more difference than the jar. Let the kettle rest for around thirty seconds after it clicks, so the water lands at about 90 to 95 degrees; water at a full rolling boil leaves a faintly burnt edge in the cup. Then dissolve the granules completely in the hot water and stir before any milk goes near them. Milk poured onto dry coffee cools it too quickly, leaving specks at the bottom and a thin cup above.

The third habit is drinking it while it is hot. Gold Blend is built around smoothness, with the bitterness kept well down, and that soft profile has little holding it up once it cools. A smaller mug finished promptly beats a large one abandoned on a desk. It takes a splash of milk comfortably, because the body is medium rather than thin, but it does not need much.

The packs we stock

• Nescafe Gold Blend Instant Coffee, 95g (barcode 8445291692824)
• Nescafe Gold Blend Instant Coffee, 190g (barcode 8445291846975)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Nescafe Gold Blend Instant Coffee, 190g (barcode 8445291846975) names none of the 14 major allergens. Look at the Gold Blend jar on sale; Nescafé may change the freeze dried recipe and allergen advice.

Ingredients, as published: Soluble coffee, roast and ground coffee (3%).

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The Gold Blend jar itself has the final say.

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Hobnobs Milk Chocolate Biscuits, 262g: A crunchy milk chocolate biscuit that sits well beside a smooth, medium-bodied mug with a splash of milk.
• Maryland Minis Cookies - Choc Chip 6 Mini Bags, 118.8g: Individually bagged cookies sit happily beside the jar, one bag for each quick mid-morning mug.
• Border Dark Chocolate Ginger Organic Biscuits, 150g: Ginger warmth and dark chocolate give a gentle, low-bitterness coffee something to push against.

Elsewhere in the Nescafé range

• Nescafe Azera Americano Decaff Instant Coffee, 90g
• Nescafe Azera Americano Instant Coffee, 140g
• Nescafe Azera Americano Intense Instant Coffee with Finely Ground Beans, 140g
• Nescafe Azera Decaf Americano Instant Coffee with Finely Ground Beans, 135g
• Nescafe Cappuccino Decaf Unsweetened Taste Instant Coffee Sachets, 7 Sachets 105g
• Nescafe Cappuccino Instant Coffee, 7 Sachets

The full range is on the Nescafé brand page.

FAQ

What does freeze dried mean on a jar of instant coffee? The brewed coffee is frozen and the ice is drawn off under vacuum instead of being dried in hot air. Less heat means more aroma stays in the granule.

How many mugs are in a 190g jar of Gold Blend? Roughly 105 at a rounded teaspoon of about 1.8g. Heaped spoons bring that figure down quickly.

What is in Gold Blend? The published ingredient list we hold names soluble coffee and roast and ground coffee (3%), and none of the major allergens. Always check the current pack.

When should the milk go in? After. Dissolve the coffee in hot water and stir first, or the granules will not dissolve properly.

Is Gold Blend a strong coffee? Not especially. It is smooth and medium in body with little bitterness, so for a bolder cup use a touch more coffee rather than expecting punch from the standard jar.

Curator's note: Make it in a smaller mug than you think and drink it while it is still hot. Gold Blend is at its best as a quick, familiar cup, and there is nothing wrong with wanting exactly that. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Nescafé Gold Blend: Freeze Dried Instant, Explained

More from the tea wiki

• Nescafé: The Instant Coffee Benchmark
• Tea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea vs Coffee
• Tea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start
• Chai vs Coffee
• Best Instant Coffee UK

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