Question: I come from a land of tea-drinkers and have only recently taken a fancy to coffee. I just ordered [this](http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00H34OA7U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00) coffee-maker for myself, which is the first that I'll ever own. 

I am a bit perplexed as to what *type* of coffee is used in a coffee-maker. It gets all the more confusing since I couldn't get my hands on all the types on the internet.

Until now, I had been making coffee with the help of this Nescafe.

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/IFWNE.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/IFWNE.jpg)

Is this instant or ground coffee? What is the difference between the two? Can they be used in my coffee-maker?

Along with the coffee-maker, I also ordered myself a bottle of **Grandos Espresso Instant Coffee**. Would I be able to make it with the help of my coffee-maker?

Answer: 
Ground coffee is just the roasted coffee beans ground up to a fine powder. In order to make the beverage coffee, you need to combine this with hot water to extract the flavour (there are many different ways to do this). Typically, there is a filter that makes sure that the water can pass through the ground coffee but none of the ground ends up in your drink. 

Instant coffee is dried brewed coffee - they grind up the coffee beans, brew the coffee and then remove the water.

A coffee machine or coffee maker is used for brewing coffee from ground coffee, not instant coffee. Instant coffee powder just needs to be rehydrated, so adding hot water is enough. It will completely dissolve in the water, which the ground in a coffee maker will not.

The machine you bought seems to be an espresso machine (it puts the water with high pressure through the ground coffee). This requires a relatively fine ground. Preground espresso will probably work, or you can also buy a grinder and grind the beans yourself. It also seems to have a pressurized filter basket, which means it will be quite forgiving and therefore easy to use.
You have bought a wonderful coffee machine which produces espresso (concentrated coffee) which can be consumed whole or mixed with milk/water to create amazing drinks such as latte's or cappuccinos but not limited to these.

To make it simple for you, I will make a short list of what you need to produce coffee on that machine.

1. Coffee Beans - I would suggest to step into Starbucks/Costa/Coffee Day or any similar retailer and ask for espresso blend/beans/roast. If you can find the manager, explain the situation and ask for tasting.
2. Coffee Bean Grinder - You need something like this <http://www.amazon.in/dp/B003U2V5GS> or similar, but do make sure that the grinder you buy is capable of producing a fine grind, as we want the coffee powder to produce espresso, this is crucial.

The coffee you produce with this method will be divine, the aroma will fill up your spaces for sure. What is critical is that you store the beans in their original form and grind only what you need, that will produce the freshest and tastiest coffee.