Meaning & use
coffee granules
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
small rough pieces of dried coffee that you dissolve in hot water to make a quick cup of coffee.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun: The coffee granules are in the cupboard. It is not used with 'a' in this sense.
Patterns
- a jar of coffee granules
- dissolve coffee granules in water
She stirred a spoonful of coffee granules into the boiling water.
We ran out of coffee granules, so I had tea instead.
Instant coffee is made from coffee granules that dissolve quickly.
Word forms
| singular | coffee granule |
|---|
Common combinations
- instant coffee granules
- Instant coffee granules are cheaper than ground beans.
- a spoonful of coffee granules
- Add a spoonful of coffee granules to the cup.
- dissolve coffee granules
- Dissolve the coffee granules in hot water first.
- a jar of coffee granules
- There's a jar of coffee granules on the top shelf.
Synonyms and how they differ
- instant coffee
- Instant coffee refers to the finished drink or the product as a whole, while coffee granules are the individual pieces you dissolve.
- coffee crystals
- Coffee crystals is a near-synonym, often used for the freeze-dried type that looks more like crystals than rough granules.
Word family
Commonly confused: coffee granules or ground coffee?
coffee granules vs ground coffee
Ground coffee is finely crushed roasted beans that you brew in a filter or machine, not dissolve; coffee granules dissolve in water.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'coffee granules' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The noun is plural and takes a plural quantifier like 'some'. 'A coffee granule' means one single piece, which is too small for a cup; 'a coffee granules' mixes a singular article with a plural noun; 'coffee granule' without a determiner is ungrammatical in this sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coffee granules”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.