There is nothing worse than a tepid mouthful of stale coffee. How you keep your
coffee hot depends a little on where you are and what you're doing. What happens
to coffee as we keep it warm? Are there things I should never do to keep my
coffee warm? Knowing a little more about coffee will help you understand how to
keep it hot and tasting great.
This little set of points should help you out in most situations.
- Use a thermal cup or mug for commuting or to keep it hot for short periods of
time
- Glass and stainless steel thermos style bottles barely effect coffee taste at
all
- French Press brewers (like Bodum) are not good for keeping coffee hot. They
continue to brew and can produce very bitter coffee
- Try to not use direct heat from an element or hotplate if possible
- A sealed or closed container slows the loss of essential aromas that influence
coffee flavour.
- You get the best flavour from coffee that is kept at least 170F.
There are a number of taste related components in a cup of coffee that change or
degrade over time. This means that the taste of a cup of coffee will continue to
change, for the worse most would say, just because time passes. The best way to
manage this problem is to simply brew smaller amounts of coffee more frequently.
As we all know, the best cup of coffee is a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
So as you get your next pot of coffee ready, think about how you are going to
consume it. If you plan on having it right away, no problem. But if you are
thinking about drinking it over a longer period of time, keep the points we made
above in your mind. Plan out how you will keep it hot and tasting fresh. Only
then start the brew.