Coffee & Beer Temperatures

There are no small coffee cups in my house!

"You’re getting warmer. You’re hot! Just kidding, you’re ice cold." 

Every kid knows that game. The rules are simple and the concept stays the same whether you are three years old and playing or twenty eight. (No judging. I was bored.)

Hot, cold or warm? The same about temperature applies to coffee and beer. So for all you readers who don’t like coffee, this may still pertain to you. I went in search of the best temperature for coffee after being inspired by beer.

My husband and I were watching the Olympics, swimming to be exact and commercials came on. One for Coors light, the color changing cans with the screw cap that indicate the correct temperature to drink the brew, made my husband scoffed next to me. 

“Ice cold is the only way you can drink that beer. Awful stuff,” he said.

Having never drank Coors before I had to ask, “Why?”

Here’s something you should know to give my husband’s opinion a little credit. He is a home brewer. I support his hobby as he supports mine. After all, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a decent British beer without his brewing knowledge as I have a gluten free diet. 

Night time consumption: his home brews. Morning after: my coffee roasts.

Being an avid home brewer and an engineer, I knew he would have an answer that would be thorough. Since swimming was over and the announcers were a bit over dramatic about woman’s gymnastics, I didn’t mind listening. I even learned something.

The cold temperature needed to drink Coors was so that your taste buds would be numbed and unable to taste the lack of flavor the beer actually has. So what temperature should beer be served at?

“Best temperature for drinking beer would be at about 50ish degrees,” was my husband’s response, then the raised eyebrows I shot him made him put it in Sarah terms. “Beer should be drunk at fridge temperature or in your case with only a little carbon dioxide and at room temperature.”

I am one of those people who like drink their soda warm and flat. It’s the bubbles that distract from the taste by dancing around the tongue like pop rocks. 

This got me thinking about the overly hot cups of coffee you get from retailers like McDonald’s, Dunken’ Donuts and any gas station. Why brew so hot? 

Follow the beer knowledge share by my expert and apply it to coffee: with a burnt mouth you won’t taste the cheap beans and poor roasting. 

The Experiment:

I brewed in my drip machine a store bought blend; Papa Nicholas Hawaiian Island Blend. 

"Hawaiian Islands Blend combines the medium body of choice beans grown on the garden isle of Kauai with the full body of Colombian Supremo." (Taken from website).

I used the pre-ground option; something I don’t usually do because the longer a roasted bean has been in contact with the air, the more the flavors erode. When it has been ground and packaged, there are more surfaces of the bean that have been exposed to the air and will remain exposed after the vacuum seal is cut.

I poured the finished product into three identical cups. I drank one while it was still steamy, careful to avoid damaging my taste buds. I waited twenty minutes before I drank the second, so it would be at room temperature. The third I drank after an hour. It was cold. The differences in taste were incredible.

Results:

When the coffee was steamy, I couldn’t really determine any flavors. All I tasted was hot coffee. Smooth coffee, but hot. The second cup at room temperature surprised me. I don’t usually like light roasts because of the fruity almost tea like qualities that are enhanced. This blend didn’t have that. It was light, earthy (full bodied) and very smooth. The cup I allowed to get cold on the counter had subdued full body tastes while a natural sweetness I hadn’t picked up before surfaced. What a delightful surprise.

Papa Nicholas is the best store bought coffee I have purchased. The freshness and smoothness this brand is able to consistently achieve in their roasts is second only to home roasting. I have tried the Italian Espresso, French Roast, Hawaiian Island Blend and the Mocha Java Blend. I would buy them all again over buying the beans from the plastic bins like I did from WholeFoods earlier this summer.

I would suggest drink your coffee warm not hot for the best flavors. If it continues to be a hot summer, let your cup of coffee naturally cool down, without ice. Place it in the fridge or freezer if you want faster results. 

A perfect summer drink: cold coffee without ice to thin the flavors. Delicious.

But don’t take my word for it. Try an experiment of your own. Brew some coffee and try it at different temperatures to find out what you like. Let me know what your favorite blends are and what temperature brings out the best flavors. Use the comments box below or email me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.