What is the correct temperature for serving coffee?
QUESTION:
Can you tell me what is the proper temperature to serve coffee?
ANSWER:
Coffee is best served at a temperature between 155ºF and 175ºF (70ºC to 80ºC). Most people prefer it towards the higher end, at about 175ºF.
Do you remember that lawsuit that MacDonalds lost when a customer scalded herself after she spilled some of her coffee?
Back then the MacDonalds manual for its employees stated that coffee should be served at "195 to 205 degrees and held at 180 to 190 degrees for optimal taste."
As they discovered when they lost the case, that was too hot.
In any event, at those higher temperatures a lot of the volatile oils in coffee evaporate and some of the finer elements of flavor are lost.
You won’t go far wrong at 175º.
