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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.

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Comments for
What is the correct temperature for serving coffee?

Click here to add your own comments

Dec 26, 2011
Proper temps for perfect coffee
by: CIA Chef

Coffe must come in contact with grounds at 200 degrees to taste good. Proper serving temp is 180. Your cup should be pre-warmed. If 180 degree coffee hits a cold cup it will drop to 160 or less depending on how cold the cup is.

Mar 15, 2011
Fun Fact
by: Anonymous

To the one guy who said he likes it very hot,
Think about this, in Tibet, at the the top of Mt Everest,water/coffee boils at 70 degrees Celcius. If you went there, you could go drink a cup of coffee at literally a rolling boil.

May 15, 2010
the temp I want it
by: Anonymous

I like to keep my taste buds. For some reason I can eat a pizza straight out of the oven, but I like my coffee at 145 degrees- no higher... I just stuck an instant read thermometer in mine with my morning coffee. If I drank 175 degree coffee, I would not be able to taste my meal! Ouch!( I can always cool mine down at the table, but you can't heat yours back up..)

Nov 27, 2009
my coffee was too hot
by: Anonymous

i just made a cup of coffee and took a sip... now my mouth hurts...so i became curious how hot is not too hot... so now i know from 150-175 which helps... better coffee next time. i like mine hot but drinkable not so hot where my mouth gets sore from the first drink and it hurts to drink more!!

Aug 04, 2009
Hot coffee, Americans, etc.
by: Anonymous

I am from Kona, Hawaii, and frankly the comments about HOT coffee are based on poor tasting coffee to start, in my opinion. I like it at the 155 degree level, but that is pure Kona coffee, not the hot dirt served at 99% of the establishments around the world. I assure all coffee lovers that 1 cup of Kona will change your mind forever about coffee.
I am also not suprised about the comments about "Americans" and our coffee. We just can't seem to do anything right, according to the rest of the world! ;)

May 26, 2009
I like it very hot
by: koam

I really like my coffee piping hot. I just measured a cup and 180 F is as low as I can go for a fresh cup. The reason for this is that I like it to remain hot to the end of the cup. And I take it black. If I were to add milk or half & half on occasion, I'd preheat the dairy before adding the coffee.

I'm going to continue measuring the temperature of coffee when it comes out of my drip brewer or out of the microwave when I reheat it. I also use a tabletop cup warmer to help keep the coffee hot to the last drop.

The temp of 180 F+ is probably hot enough to burn the flesh. It does leave a "heat memory" in my mouth but, at this point, it does not burn my mouth. Of course I don't gulp it at that hot temp. But if it gets much cooler, I'm likely to gulp it down before it gets too cool to enjoy or else I'd go reheat it.

Apr 13, 2009
I don't understand what the fuss is all about
by: Enowil

I was curious about what the best temp for drinking coffee is and ended up here. I totally don't understand, I guess because I'm not a regular coffee drinker, and my palate is perhaps, more sensitive to hot temperatures.I totally don't understand how someone could put something that hot in their mouth and like it. When I try to drink coffee I usually end up with a scalded tongue that hurts for days afterwards. But if that's what it takes for y'all to enjoy coffee, more power to ya.

Apr 07, 2009
don't have a clue about coffee?
by: Anonymous

Yeah, people don't actually know what they like. It's all a facade.

Mar 23, 2009
I like it hot!
by: Anonymous

I consistently have the same problem at ALL the coffee places in the USA: coffee is warm when it should be hot. I am from Argentina and we never have to say "extra hot", coffee is always hot there and I'm sure it is the same for Italy, Brazil, etc. I just think that americans don't have a clue about coffee. You can tell by the amount of things they add to it (soy milk? please!)

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