Friday, February 1, 2008

Right Temperature For Hot Coffee

The Right Temperature For Hot Coffee

Coffee is a widely appreciated beverage that many people love to drink. It has become a social symbol and has developed into several flavors, forms and presentations. Hot coffee drink is still more popular than the modern iced coffee drinks. Despite the numerous adaptations and flavors that have cropped up recently, black hot coffee (with or without cream) is still one of the foremost beverages all over the world.

Drink It While It's Hot

The right temperature is needed for a person to fully appreciate the delightful taste of hot coffee. If the water used to brew or mix the coffee is too hot, and the drinker drinks it immediate, there is risk of scalding the drinker's tongue. Waiting for the hot coffee to cool a little can be tricky because it may cool too much and therefore diminish its taste. Letting hot coffee stand in an open container for over 30 minutes deteriorates the flavor and gives you a bitter taste.

The ideal temperature for making coffee is just off the boil. This puts the water or the coffee mixture at around 195 degrees. This is the right temperature for extracting the correct flavor from the beans that you use. This is if you make coffee without the brewer or drip coffee maker. The term just off the boil means after the water has achieved a rolling boil; you take it off the heat and wait for around two minutes before serving. Hot coffee is ideal for drinking slowly. Care must be exercised when drinking just served hot coffee because in many cases, this is scalding hot and may burn your tongue.

Ideally, the right temperature for serving coffee is 165 – 175 degrees. This is just enough to preserve the flavor of the coffee. Letting your hot coffee stand for can reduce the heat but at the same time, compromise the flavor of the brew when it is left along for too long. Hot coffee in cups cools faster than brewed coffee in a carafe or an airpot. The airpot is the best way to preserve you brewed coffee since it is airtight and does not allow the coffee to cool easily.

Drinking hot coffee is not only for mornings, many people have extended the practice of consuming the dark beverage after meals or during late afternoon. Some even drink hot or cold coffee at night after dinner. Hot coffee can be soothing for some drinkers and necessary for many others.

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