Blue Bottle Coffee is known for meticulously brewed, smooth espresso — and the crowds that line up to buy it.
Now the famed Bay Area roasters are getting into the instant coffee business, a category that has gone from punchline to craft brew, as more specialty brewers get into the game. On Nov. 7, Blue Bottle will start selling jars of Blue Bottle Craft Instant Espresso, freeze-dried crystals that can be stirred by the teaspoonful into warm water or milk and served in multiple espresso drinks, from iced to steaming hot.
The company, which is owned by Nestlé SA and has more than 100 locations around the U.S. and in Asia, has been working on the product for over three years, according to Ben Brewer, the senior director of global innovation and quality. That was even before the Dalgona coffee craze, which introduced whipped instant coffee to people who found it hard to access to freshly roasted and ground beans during the pandemic.
