The Best Instant Coffees For A Smooth And Refreshing Iced Coffee

Instant coffee has a bad reputation for being bitter, burnt, and nothing like freshly brewed. However, you may be surprised to learn instant coffee has come a long way over the years. It wins out for convenience and is perfect whether you're in a rush, camping, or traveling somewhere without a coffeemaker or a Keurig. But it also makes a great choice when you want to drink an iced coffee at home but don't have any store-bought iced coffee options on hand. Going out to a coffeeshop and getting iced coffee can be expensive. Do it every day, and your coffee bill will add up. To find the best-tasting, most dissolvable, smoothest coffee for a refreshing homemade iced coffee I tasted ten different instant coffee brands and made my own iced coffee at home. 

Though you might be inclined to assume otherwise, instant coffee is indeed made with real coffee. It's brewed the usual way from coffee beans and then either spray-dried or freeze-dried to remove all of the liquid. The result is a granule that you can then add back into water to make, theoretically, a freshly brewed cup of coffee. (On top of that, you can also bake with instant coffee. Who could blame Ina Garten for always having it on hand?) However, not all instant coffees are created equal. I tasted the following ten instant coffees to find what tasted the best over a tall glass of ice.

Aldi is known for its loyal fan base and viral products. While I make frequent trips to Aldi and know that I enjoy many of the German-based retailer's offerings, I found the Beaumont Instant Classic Roast Coffee to be somewhat disappointing. It wasn't a terrible product and would work in a pinch, but I predict this jar of instant coffee will sit unused in my pantry for quite a while.

I followed the directions for making the coffee, which was to dissolve a teaspoon full into hot water. It dissolved well in the water and then I poured it into a glass full of ice. Because I wanted to get the full flavor of each coffee, I didn't add my usual milk or sugar to each coffee but sampled them black. Maybe the ratio was off and the mixture needed more than one teaspoon of coffee, but the flavor was weak and seemed a little watered down. The flavor and fragrance just didn't compare to a freshly brewed cup of coffee. I did consider this could be due to the melting ice, however, other coffees on our list prepared with the same method didn't have the same watered-down flavor. 

Folgers is a familiar coffee brand that's been around since 1850.. Folgers offers ground coffee, K-Cup pods, and a line of instant coffee. I was excited to see they also carry an Instant Iced Coffee, which can be dissolved into cold water. Folgers Instant Iced Coffee gets points for dissolving easily into room temperature coffee. After that, I could add ice to the glass without waiting for it to cool down or experiencing an ice melt.

As for taste, Folgers had a bitter flavor which was helped when I tried adding milk to the iced coffee. But on its own, along with the bitterness, there was a slight taste of chemicals. Overall, it lacks the robust flavor and smoothness that makes a great coffee. But, just like the Aldi brand, it works in a pinch, and you can't beat the convenience of an instant coffee that dissolves well in cold water.

Nescafé began making instant coffee in 1938, and the product became very popular among soldiers during World War II. Today, Nescafé makes several variations of instant coffee, and we chose Nescafé Gold Espresso Blond for our taste test. The first thing I noticed was how fine of a powder the instant coffee was compared to the granule texture in other instant coffees. The other thing I noticed was a nice aroma when I opened the canister. The fine powder dissolved easily in hot water and I poured it over a tall glass of ice.

The result was rich and full-flavored coffee with a pleasant aroma. The depth of the coffee makes it a good choice for iced drinks, and the flavor stands up to add-ins like milk and sugar. It didn't have the chemical aftertaste that instant coffees sometimes have. Overall, the Nescafé was a smooth and flavorful choice to make a tasty iced coffee.

Café Bustelo is an American company founded in New York in the 1930s by Gregorio Bustelo. Bustelo, who was born in Spain, was inspired to create the coffee after living in Havana. Today, you can pick up Bustelo coffee in just about any supermarket across the country. Café Bustelo Espresso Instant Coffee is an instant espresso rather than instant coffee. This means a cup of Bustelo should have a stronger, more concentrated flavor than traditional coffee. The granules dissolved easily in hot water, and I poured them over a glass of ice. The result was a smooth, not bitter, iced coffee. While it wasn't as strong as a typical cup of espresso from the coffee shop, this could easily be modified by adding more Bustelo to your cup.

Overall, this is a solid option, and an affordable one, for making a quick glass of iced coffee. Once you add milk and sugar, it becomes a mild, and pleasant iced beverage. However, for people who are hoping for a strong, robust espresso, it may be worth experimenting with more or less coffee depending on your tastes.

Unlike the Nescafé Bold Espresso, Nescafé Ice Roast is meant to be dissolved in cold water. The product debuted in 2024, along with Nescafé's Bold Espresso. According to the company's press release, the Ice Roast is meant to be mixed in cold water or cold milk. It really does make a difference when you're in a rush to be able to mix your instant coffee into a cold drink rather than heating up water and then cooling the coffee.

As promised, the granules easily dissolved in cold water without a lot of stirring necessary, making this a quick and convenient way to make an iced coffee. The result was a mild-tasting, not at all bitter, smooth cup of iced coffee. Though the flavor was mild, it still had a robust coffee taste with the slightest hint of cocoa. Overall, this instant coffee is strong enough to stand up to ice and other mix-ins.

Dunkin' is known for its various iced coffee drinks. Made with coffee that's brewed fresh throughout the day and customized with a variety of flavors and syrups, it's a popular place to grab a cold drink. But do its powdered coffee packets live up to the brand's reputation? I decided to find out if I could have a Dunkin' iced coffee at home for a fraction of the price of ordering one from the restaurant. 

Dunkin' Cold Powdered Coffee comes in boxes of six instant coffee packs. Preparing your iced coffee is simple. The powder dissolved easily in cold water. The flavor was strong and bold, which was a nice change from some of the other instant coffees I have tried today. The strong flavor makes it a good choice when you start adding milk, cream, or sugar and pouring over ice. Overall, this little pack provided a surprisingly robust coffee flavor that made a smooth iced coffee.

Mount Hagen Instant Coffee gave me some trouble while preparing. Although the instructions said to dissolve the coffee in hot water, at the top of the canister was a sticker that stated, "Dissolves in cold water for delicious iced coffee!" Excited to see that I could dissolve the granules in cold water rather than heating water up, I gave this a try. I mixed the granules with room-temperature water, but the result was not good. Some granules turned to sludge and others remained whole, making a mess of an iced coffee with floating bits of granules. I gave up, dumped it out, and tried the hot water method, which dissolved perfectly.

After finally making a drinkable glass of iced coffee, I gave it a sip. Once the granules were in hot water, they dissolved instantly. The result over ice was a smooth drink with a mild coffee flavor. It's also organic and fair trade, giving it a boost over some of the other regular brands. The flavor was pleasant, not too strong, and contained no bitterness. Overall this is a tasty choice for iced coffee with enough flavor you could drink it black or with very few add-ins.

Maxwell House is a well-known American coffee brand that has been around since the late 1800s. Their instant version may be a controversial choice for the pure coffee drinkers out there, but if you're craving a creamy, sweet, sugary iced drink, this one could hit the spot. Maxwell House Iced Vanilla Latte with Foam Instant Coffee provides the ultimate convenient sweet iced coffee. You simply mix the packet with cold water and stir. I was surprised to see as I stirred, the foam began to develop on top of the coffee. Although it did require some brisk stirring, by the end the entire packet had dissolved and the result was a creamy drink. I added ice and took a sip. The result was creamy, sweet, and very tasty.

Note that this also comes in caramel and hazelnut flavors, but the one I tried was vanilla. A check of the ingredients shows that the foam is being made by stabilizers, such as xanthan gum. Also, the first three ingredients are sugar and sweeteners. This is not surprising considering how sweet the drink is. However, it works, and though the foam wouldn't be mistaken for Starbucks foam, it's a fun and tasty addition to the drink. Overall, if you like your iced coffee on the sweet side and want something conveniently made at home, this would be a good choice.

This was my favorite choice until I tried the instant coffee that ended up making the number one spot. Alas, that's why Starbucks Via Instant Italian Roast Coffee is number two. The Via Instant coffee comes in convenient packets and all you have to do is add it to a cup of hot water, no measuring required. The Via comes in a variety of flavors including Italian Roast, Columbia, Pike Place, and Blonde. Starbucks has been offering its instant coffee since 2009 as an easy alternative to making Starbucks coffee at home.

The instant coffee mixed easily in hot water, and then I poured it all over a tall glass of ice. This instant coffee tasted surprisingly like it was freshly brewed. Since the Italian Roast is a dark coffee, this had a strong, full-bodied flavor with just a hint of smokiness. Despite the strength, it wasn't bitter and didn't need milk or sugar to make it palatable, but was delicious black. Add your favorite customizations and you've got yourself a Starbucks iced coffee at a much cheaper price, and without even leaving your house.

Boomi Coffee is made in India and the beans are sourced by using eco-friendly practices. I had only two complaints with the Araku Boomi Instant Coffee that I sampled. One was that I couldn't find it at my local grocery store, and had to buy it online. The second issue was that strangely, it arrived without the cap that was featured in the product photos. There was a vacuum-sealed cover, so I knew it was safe to consume. But once I peeled that off, there was no lid and I had to store the leftover coffee in an airtight container. This appears to be a packing mistake and shouldn't be a repeat problem. 

The Aruaku Boomi Instant Coffee is a medium roast instant coffee that needs to be mixed with hot water. It dissolved easily, and I poured it over a glass of ice. The result was rich and smooth with a decidedly strong coffee flavor. This may be instant coffee, but it has a brewed flavor. This instant coffee made for a very drinkable glass of iced coffee that held onto its strong coffee flavor without any bitterness even after being poured over ice.

While any ranked list is bound to be subjective, I did my best to rate the coffees based on aroma, texture, ease of dissolving, and finally taste. I found ten instant coffees that are easy to find either in your local stores or online. I prepared each one using the instructions on the jar, however, you may want to play around with the amount of instant coffee and water ratio to get your favorite flavor. For rating purposes, I tasted each one black without adding milk, sugar, or cream. I wanted to try the coffee itself before it was altered by any other flavors. Coffees that rated the highest offered a smooth drink without any aftertaste. The winning coffee was closer to a rich, brewed cup than any of the others on the list.