RULE 45

Let your coffee cool down a little bit.

Coffee professionals evaluate the taste of coffee after it has cooled off considerably.

Extra-hot coffee is a strangely prevalent phenomenon in our go-go coffee world. We’re here to tell you that extra hot coffee might not be all that great.

Your piping-hot coffee might be a warm comfort on a cold morning, but let us gently advise you: a bit of cooldown time is really for the best. When coffee is hot, not only is it a danger to yourself and others, but it’s also nearly impossible to taste anything because heat dampens our ability to detect flavor. At temperatures between 120°F and 140°F, your flavor receptors will be able to pick out just how complex and dazzling coffee can be. In fact, coffee professionals grade coffee in what’s known as a coffee cupping and only evaluate the taste after it has cooled off considerably—and many go back to these samples when the coffee is cold. Heat also degrades the natural sugars in milk, so that extra-hot cappuccino isn’t going to be as sweet as it could—heck, should be!

Second, there are very real dangers inherent with hot beverages. When Stella Liebeck spilled hot McDonald’s coffee in the early 1990s, many people only remember that she inadvertently catapulted the great American tort debate. What many fail to realize is that she suffered horrific second- and third-degree burns on her body. And she didn’t even ask for it extra hot!

Third, who are you to demand a specific temperature on your beverage? Kidding, kidding. Who are we to say you’re wrong in liking hot and less flavorful coffee? You do you. Just be careful out there.

Drinking coffee at its hottest not only denies you the chance to taste coffee at its fullest, but it could also burn your mouth, or worse. So for the sake of safety and enjoyment, let your coffee cool off.