What is instant coffee

A. Instant coffee is coffee that has already been brewed, then evaporated in chimney towers using hot air. Manufacturers are notoriously secretive about processing, but instant remains an overwhelmingly industrial product, involving the brewing of vats of coffee in cast processing plants. The only real innovation since the Second World War is freeze-dried coffee, which smells different from powdered.

Q. How is it made

A. Instant coffee is made mainly from robusta beans, or the most basic cheap arabica, bought from commodity coffee-producing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam, which flood the market with cheap beans at prices below the cost of high quality "estate" producers.

Q. Is Britain a great coffee country

A. Coffee is the second fastest growing UK market after mobile phones.

The average Brit consumes only 2.4 kilos of coffee per year, while the average Swede, gets through 11.5 kilos.

In bulk terms, one year's consumption in the UK equals two days' in Italy.

The UK imports 70 per cent robista, the cheap bulk, workhorse bean of the world, not quality arabica; and 85 per cent of the coffee consumed in the UK is instant, rather than 'real'.

Q. Which coffee chain is the most popular in the UK

The first Starbucks opened on King's Road in London in September 1998. Now there are 211 in the Uk - an average of six new cofee shops each month. Starbucks is number two behind the UK's indigenous chain, Costa, which has built an empire of 240. Costa emphasises its 'true Italian experience' as it was set up in London in 1971 by immigrants from Parma, Sergio and Bruno, although it is now owned by Whitbread.

The UK coffee market grew by 55 per cent between 1997 and 2000, and a further growth is predicted. UK-owned chains such as Caffe Nero, Aroma and the sandwich chain Pret A Manger are appearing on the high street,

The first McCafe opened in Chicago in April. BSE in Europe has led to a decline in the burger market and McDonald's has chosen diverisification.

The McCafe has coffee shop leather sofas, white china and lace curtains - and offers a cappuccino for 20 cents less than Starbucks. Industry analysts predict that if McCafe takes off, McDonald's will open another 100-200 over the coming yesr.,

For more food and drink questions and answers, click here

By Katharine MacColl