(DME) is wort from which nearly all moisture has been removed. See wort. The production process of DME is very similar to that of instant coffee, whereby the hot wort is sprayed through an atomizer into a heated chamber. Blowers create vigorous air currents within the chamber. As a result of this turbulence, the wort droplets remain suspended, dry out, and eventually settle to the floor of the chamber. DME, unlike liquid malt extract, is never hop flavored, because the hop compounds would not survive the drying process. See liquid malt extract (lme). To make beer wort from DME, the powdered extract simply needs to be mixed with water to rehydrate it. The ratio of DME to water depends on the desired wort gravity. See original gravity. Once reconstituted, the DME solution can be boiled, hopped, cooled, and fermented like regular wort.