dissolve in cold water, ONLY THEN add hot water. The rationale behind it is that aromatics evaporate too quickly when the instant powder is infused with too/boiling hot water.
Starbucks tried to modernize it with these little packets a few years back, under the name “Via”. The older brands still exist too, such as Nescafé, which, as a Nestle product, I assume is made from the blood of indigenous people.
The production actually is pretty cool really. They basically brew giant vats of coffee and then freeze dry it into a powder that can be easily rehydrated.