How to Hack Your Coffee at Work With Instant Coffee
If your work day starts at the coffee shop, your lunch time is spent standing in lines for more coffee, and your office coffee just isn't good, this article is for you.
Join us to learn how to upgrade your coffee at work using instant coffee!
We did some homework on how drinking coffee can actually lead to a better work day, and came up with the top three best ways to hack your coffee at work.
Why Drink Coffee at Work?
No doubt that most of us run on coffee on a daily basis. It is delicious, there are many health benefits that associated with it and it can even help us with our diets.
Committing to our coffee routine, no matter how you get it, can have a great effect on our day, mentally and physically. A study done by the University of Seoul reported that even simply smelling coffee beans can help us wake up. But not only smelling coffee can make you feel better, even just thinking about it can make the work! Another research by Eugene Chan and Sam Maglio has discovered that thinking about coffee can have similar affects on our body as if we were drinking it.
Other than aiding in keeping you staying awake, coffee can also help combat the physical effects of stressors on the body. A public release by the American Chemical Society showed that Americans receive most of their daily antioxidants from drinking coffee, which can help to protect against some of the most serious stress induced health threats.
Lastly, coffee at the office can even reduce the development of pain caused by computer work. A study done by the National Institute of Health reported that drinking coffee before settling into stiff positions at desks or tables, diminished pain in the study's participants.
Our Top Three Instant Coffee Hacks for the Workplace
1. Overnight Iced Coffee Cubes
You want to make your iced coffee at home and take it with you to work, but you get disappointed time after time. The hate/love relationship coffee drinkers have with iced coffee all stems from one annoying, recurring, problem: melted ice cubes ruining the flavor of the drink.
Making iced coffee at home is easy enough. Just let your pre-brewed or instant coffee settle into a mug or coffee tumbler with some ice; then add cream and sweetener to adjust the flavor to your liking. The difficult part is maintaining your beverage after the ice begins to melt.
Instead of using regular ice cubes to keep your beverages cool, try using iced coffee cubes. This will keep the flavor from dulling when the ice begins to melt and will make your iced coffee more travel-friendly. Put some coffee cubes in the freezer for the week and enjoy your fresh coffee to go! It will allow you to skip the morning coffee shop line and enjoy your morning brew.
Plain Iced Coffee Cubes
Ingredients:- Instant coffee ice cubes made with Waka instant coffee.
- Sweetener (optional)
- Ice cube tray
- Mix 1 cup of water (8-10 fl oz) with 2 tablespoons of Waka Coffee (or as strong as you need it). Bear in mind that the cubes will be diluted later on, so have them a bit stronger than you would like. Mixing tip: Add a little bit of hot water first, so the granules will dissolve faster, then add the remaining cold water.
- Pour the prepared instant coffee into an ice cube tray and freeze for at least 4 hours.
- Once frozen, put the ice coffee cubes into a long cup.
- Stir and let the coffee cubes melt into the milk for 2-3 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Flavored Iced Coffee Cubes
Ingredients:
- 2 packets (or 2 tbsp) of Waka Coffee per 8-10 fl oz
- Milk or milk substitute
- Any flavor add ins you might like: Caramel sauce, condensed milk, and chocolate powder are our personal recommendations
- Ice cube tray
- In a pitcher, mix instant coffee and water as in the previous recipe.
- Add your add ins to your liking. When calculating quantities remember, the flavors will get diluted in the final drink.
- Pour the prepared instant coffee and milk mix into an ice cube tray and freeze for at least 4 hours.
- Once frozen, put the ice coffee cubes into a long cup.
- Pour additional sweeteners or more milk if you choose to.
- Stir and let the coffee cubes melt into the milk for 2-3 minutes.
- Enjoy!
2. Coffee Syrup
Don't like the coffee flavor in your office? Want to eat your office snack with extra coffee taste? Spice things up with a coffee syrup.
Sure, you can always add milk or sugar to bad coffee but there’s no reason you can’t spice things up and add a little flavor to your cup. Amazon features a number of affordable variety syrup sets in travel sizes, so you can take them with you on your busiest days. These little bottles can bring your favorite Amaretto, Hazelnut, Caramel, Irish Cream, or Vanilla flavors in your favorite hot or cold drinks or desserts.
We mentioned before that coffee can even help you with your diets, so you are probably worried about the sugar contents in coffee syrups. Yes, it is definitely a concern but there are other coffee syrups products on Amazon that are sugar free.
You can also save money and make your delicious coffee syrup at home and bring it with you to the office. This recipe makes a sweet and delicious coffee syrup that is perfect to take with you on the go and mix with water, in milk, on breakfast breads, or even as a honey substitute for your morning yogurt and granola in the office.
Instant coffee syrup
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup of strong brewed Waka Coffee
- 3 tbsp instant coffee powder
- 1 cup water
Instructions:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add in the sugar and coffee. Stir to combine
- Let the coffee syrup come up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer until thickened (about 10-15 minutes)
- Transfer to a jar or bottle, let cool, pour and enjoy!
3. Instant Coffee Packets
Okay, it probably sounds a little biased... But seriously, switching to instant coffee will save you time and money in the long run when making coffee at work. All you need is water and a few packet (or bag) of Waka Coffee in your office drawer. Instant coffee has a rich history and can taste great if you choose the right brand. Make sure you look out for a 100% Arabica and freeze dried option for a drip coffee like taste.
Here is a simple warm instant coffee recipe when you want to make your office coffee fast and delicious.
Ingredients:
- 1 packet of Waka Coffee
- 1 (2) teaspoons of sugar (optional)
- 1 cup or 8 oz. of room temperature water
- Milk (optional)
- Optional: Cocoa powder to taste
Instructions:
- Let 1 cup (8 oz.) of water reach room temperature
- Pour 1 packet of Waka Coffee in a cup
- Add sugar if desired
- Pour a cup of water over the coffee (and sugar) mixture till dissolved
- Mix all ingredients together
- Pour in a desired amount of milk into the cup and stir
- Sprinkle cocoa powder on top
- Enjoy!
