WHO invented instant coffee? A quick Google search reveals the first instant coffee was concocted and patented in Britain in 1771, when it was called a 'coffee compound.' Soon after, the Americans experimented with 'cakes' of instant coffee rationed to soldiers during the Civil War.

Next came New Zealander David Strang. In 1890, he patented the instant, soluble coffee using a manufacturing process called 'dry hot air.' Several inventors improved the initiative of Strang, including William Magramo, who created the 3-in-1 coffee cubes, as an entry to the 1987 MIT intra-school science competition.