How can you start the day without coffee? Simple, you can't. It's that morning treat we desperately need: a nice cup of coffee, a deep breath, and we're ready to face whatever life has in store for us. But, as unusual as it may seem, there's a small detail that, if present, could ruin our morning ritual: coffee served in a scorching hot cup —so hot that, had Frodo Baggins ordered it, he could have saved himself the journey to Mordor and thrown the One Ring into that cup to destroy it.
But, fantasy digressions aside, it's increasingly common to order a coffee at a bar and have to wait a few seconds before picking up the cup. And while many baristas say that coffee should be served this way, this is actually a mistake: the cup shouldn't be boiling hot, but rather at a temperature between 104/40 and 113°F/45°C, and we'll explain why below.
What is The Right Temperature for a Cup of Coffee?
It may have happened to you – especially if you traveled to Southern Italy – to order a coffee at the bar and receive it in an excessively hot cup, impossible to even touch, let alone lift to your mouth. Although you might think that this might help keep the coffee warm or enhance its flavor, in reality this is a mistake, as the heat risks burning any aromas present in the drink. But not only that: it is also a sort of deception to the detriment of the consumer, as drinking from a cup that is too hot tends to numb the palate, with the consequence that the drinker may not perceive any defects in the coffee. Coffee, in fact, is a beverage with an incredible aromatic composition, with a notable quantity of aromas, which, unfortunately, can sometimes go unnoticed or even disappear entirely: this happens when there are errors in the processing or extraction of the coffee. For this reason, some baristas, to hide the defects of this elixir of happiness, serve it in cups that are decidedly too hot. So, should coffee be served cold? It would be nice to be able to simply say yes, but even in this case it's not that simple: the thermal shock created between the heat of the coffee and the cold of the cup risks dulling any aromas, making the drink, in terms of taste, less complex than it should be.
And now, finally, we arrive at the right temperature for a cup in which to pour our coffee: the optimal choice is between 104/40 and 113°F/45°C, halfway between the flames of hell and a sea of ice. At this temperature, you can fully enjoy your coffee which, remember, in addition to being a delightful moment of relaxation, is a drink with a unique flavor, in which you can find exceptional aromas that, depending on the origin, can range from dried fruit to chocolate, from citrus to spices to red berries.
So, in conclusion, our advice to truly savor your coffee – referring to a quality one, of course – and feel everything it contains, is to sip it, possibly bitter and in a cup that is at the right temperature.
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