Recommended preparation
Recommended equipment: Vending machine · manual preparation with a spoon
Use & recommendations
Professional use — vending machines, meeting rooms, waiting rooms, hotels, institutional catering. Yields around 250 cups per 500 g (one level teaspoon, approximately 2 g, per 150 ml of hot water).
Positioning: Carte Noire, founded in 1978 by René Monnier and owned by the Lavazza group since 2016, presents a freeze-dried coffee, using a process that preserves aromas better than spray-drying, blending Arabica and Robusta for a full body and notes of chocolate and malt.
Directions for use:
- Vending machines — in the ‘instant coffee’ canister of hot drinks machines.
- Large volumes — prepare in a jug or thermos flask for meetings and events.
- Manual preparation — one level spoonful in 150 ml of hot, not boiling, water, then stir. Useful as a fallback when the espresso machine is out of order.
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Frequently asked questions
Instant coffee vs espresso capsules — what's the difference in the cup?
Two distinct categories:
- Instant coffee (this product) — coffee extracted industrially and then dried (freeze-dried in this case). Dissolves immediately in hot water. Advantages: ready in 5 sec, no equipment needed, around 250 cups per 500 g, long shelf life. Limitations: no crema, reduced aromatic complexity, less rich aromas than coffee freshly extracted into the cup.
- Freshly extracted coffee from capsules / beans — ground coffee extracted to order at 9–19 bar of pressure. Advantages: distinctive golden crema, preserved aromatic complexity (coffee oils, volatile esters), an ‘authentic espresso’ profile. Limitations: requires a dedicated machine, one capsule per cup.
Choosing: high demand with no equipment budget = instant coffee; espresso quality with equipment = capsules/beans.
What are the disadvantages of instant coffee?
Instant coffee is coffee that has already been extracted and then dried: this is what makes it convenient, and it is also the source of its limitations.
- Fewer aromas — some volatile aromas are lost during drying, more so with spray-drying than with freeze-drying, the process used for this Carte Noire coffee.
- No crema — without extraction under pressure, the coffee lacks the foam of an espresso.
- Sensitive to moisture — the powder clumps if the pack is left open: reseal it after each use and store it in a dry place.
In return, it takes just a few seconds to prepare without a dedicated machine, and 500 g makes around 250 cups.
Is it compatible with my vending machine?
Yes, for vending machines with an ‘instant coffee’ hopper, such as those from Necta, Bianchi, Saeco or Rheavendors. Check the following first:
- The hopper — a dedicated compartment for instant coffee, separate from those for chocolate or milk.
- The dose — around 2 g of powder per 150 ml of water, adjusted to suit the cup size and your users’ tastes.
- The machine manual — some machines specify the type of instant coffee they accept (freeze-dried or spray-dried).
What's the difference between Carte Noire instant coffee and Carte Noire capsules/pods?
Our Carte Noire selection comes in several formats:
- Carte Noire Pro instant coffee 500 g (this product) — B2B vending, quick manual preparation.
- Senseo-compatible Carte Noire soft pods — Classique Équilibré N°5, Corsé & Aromatique N°7, Espresso Intense N°8 — packs of 60 filter paper pods for Senseo-type soft pod machines: a long coffee, one pod per cup.
- Nespresso Original-compatible Carte Noire capsules — for domestic Nespresso Original machines, espresso with crema.
- Carte Noire Professionnel coffee beans — 1 kg bags for bean-to-cup machines.
The distinctive Carte Noire character is available in different formats, with consistent profiles adapted to each system: instant coffee for vending and quick preparation, soft pods for long coffee at home, capsules and beans for espresso.
Carte Noire — history and positioning?
Carte Noire — a French coffee brand created in 1978 by René Monnier, who had already founded Grand'Mère coffee, with a positioning that was new at the time: premium pure Arabica sold in supermarkets, popularised by its advertising inspired by perfume campaigns and its slogan ‘A coffee named desire’ (1985).
Business history:
- 1978 — brand created by René Monnier.
- 1982 — acquired by Swiss company Jacobs Suchard, then transferred to Kraft Foods and Mondelēz International.
- 1995 — first eco-refill for instant coffee.
- February 2016 — acquired by the Italian Lavazza group, which modernises the historic factory in Lavérune (Hérault).
- Today — an active range (ground coffee, coffee beans, Nespresso-compatible capsules, Senseo-compatible soft pods, instant coffee — this product), positioned as premium French coffee, a pioneer of pure Arabica.
This Carte Noire instant coffee is intended for professionals: freeze-dried coffee in a large pack for vending machines and by-the-cup service.
How is instant coffee made — freeze-drying or spray-drying?
Two industrial processes for making instant coffee:
- Lyophilisation (freeze-drying) — concentrated extraction followed by rapid freezing, then sublimation under vacuum (water changes directly from ice to vapour without a liquid phase). Advantages: optimal preservation of volatile aromas (low temperature), a distinctive crystalline granular texture, better flavour quality. Limitation: higher production cost.
- Atomisation (spray-drying) — concentrated extraction followed by high-temperature spraying (~200 °C) into a drying chamber. The water evaporates instantly and the powder falls. Advantages: lower production cost, high industrial output. Limitation: partial degradation of volatile aromas (high temperature), a finer, more powdery texture.
Carte Noire Classique Professionnel is a freeze-dried coffee.
Other formats and complementary drinks?
Complementary B2B products:
- Milk for reconstitution — Prolait skimmed milk 500 g for vending machine lattes.
- Vending chocolate — Ristora chocolate 1 kg.
- Instant teas — Ristora mint, Ristora lemon.
- Sugar — Lavazza sugar sticks x700.
- Cups — 20 cl cups x50.
Verified product reviews from our customers
Recent reviews
‘The coffee is good, but delivery to the Netherlands takes a very long time! The local couriers hold on to the parcel for weeks!’
- Vladimir K.Verified purchase
4/5The coffee is good, but delivery to the Netherlands takes far too long! The local couriers leave the parcel sitting around for weeks!
Review dated , following an experience on 03/03/2026
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