Starbuck’s “extra hot” coffee is 180º. I think McDonald’s coffee is still 180º. At 140º, water will scald skin within 3 seconds. I’m not sure how fast 180º hot water causes burns, but I’m guessing it’s in less time than it takes for a sip and a swallow. How does 180º coffee not cause scald burns in the mouth?
And related: obviously some people prefer their coffee that hot, or there wouldn’t be an extra hot option at Starbuck’s. In fact, I’ve known a few of those people. Is there a difference in the nerve receptors in their mouths or their saliva that broadens their temperature tolerance?
I have never been able to drink a hot beverage from any place without the tiniest of sips for at least the first several minutes. Even then, later in the day, my tongue will be tingly as if I’d burnt it. When I see people gulping down hot beverages I wonder if somehow I’m doing something wrong when drinking these things.
I was told to order my coffee at 140° if I want it cool enough to be able to drink right away or thereabouts. It works. It cools down quickly after it’s poured.
A lot of people slurp their coffee, which helps cool it down as it’s ingested. And they often blow on the surface right before slurping off the top.
Also, hot beverages aren’t staying in contact with the same body tissue for very long, and once it hits your stomach it’s mixed with cooler substances. So it’s not staying in contact with anywhere for 3 seconds.
I’ve known people who could drink nearly boiling hot coffee. I still don’t know how they manage that.
I, too, assumed the point of “extra hot” is “I want it to still be hot in 20 minutes, after I sit down in my office”.
I believe that coffee at 180º is unsafe to put in your mouth. But then, I haven’t bought coffee at McDonalds since learning that it wasn’t just an accident that it was two damn hot the two times I bought it.
Quantity and time. A single drop of 180F coffee won’t have enough energy in to to scald much of anything, especially if you move it around to cooler spots in your mouth. Fill your entire mouth with 180F coffee instead and hold it there for ten seconds, and you’re probably gonna need to visit the ER.
Like @Tabco, I can’t do much of anything with a cup of coffee from Starbucks or McDonald’s until considerable time has gone by. Even then, I’m usually slurping for a while, which brings in cooling air along with the hot liquid, and also tends to spray it on the interior of my mouth to spread the heat around, instead of aggregating it in a single area of my mouth where it could scald me.
The body can get accustomed to many things by means of repeated exposure. I have noticed over the years that I can comfortably drink hotter coffee now than when I first routinely started drinking it.
I was, however, surprised one time in a motel. They offered free coffee in the mornings, and I had gotten a cup and took it back to my room. I was drinking a little as I walked; it was hot, but not unreasonably so. But in the process of opening my room door, I spilled some on my wrist – and it scalded my wrist!
Thank you for the informative replies. It makes sense that people would want their coffee to stay hot until they reached their destination. I assume those are the only people who want their coffee that hot, then. Makes sense.
Huh. That’s fascinating. I’m sure you’re not alone. I wonder what the explanation is.
WAG: people who drink insanely hot beverages on a regular basis may have killed off a few nerve endings in their mouths so they don’t really notice slight injuries. Mouths heal really fast from a slight scald, anyway; when I’ve occasionally burned my mouth I just tell myself, “not to worry, the discomfort will be gone in a day or even less.” So a slight loss of sensitivity probably wouldn’t be that harmful.
My high school debate coach was like that. He could and usually did drink coffee that was disturbingly hot. He said, “the coffee doesn’t bother me at all, but sometimes it’s hard for me to taste other foods.” (He salted all his food quite heavily, even putting extra salt onto bread and butter.)
Slight nitpick: Is that an unusual thing? I always assumed that even at formal dinners, it is perfectly acceptable to butter and salt the bread that is served as an accompaniment, and I very much enjoy the taste of butter with salt on it.
There is an old saying that goes, “Salt and butter on your bread, keeps your cheeks warm and red.”
Yeah, it might very well do that, but it’s not a good thing, health wise. If your tastebuds need that much salt, you might want to take stock of your sodium consumption.
Personally, I love salt and can understand the appeal of heavy salting on almost anything. But, my blood pressure remains within normal range, so I can afford the occasional salt splurge. I am also at pains to be sure my palate remains sensitive to, and appreciative of, foods that contain little to no salt.
AFAIK, research indicates that some people can scarf up a lot of salt without damaging effect and others are not so lucky. I guess it is wise to know which category you fall into before salting that bread and butter. (And except for that debate coach, I’ve never seen anyone do it.)
I’m not sure what that’s got to do with the OP. It’s not like caffeine tolerance. I’m pretty sure that repeatedly burning yourself does not train your tissue to not get burnt.
I think at least some of it is a matter of getting used to it. I’ve noticed that I can comfortably drink or eat things that are too hot for my hands to handle; and there doesn’t usually seem to be any damage.
It’s probably not only one’s mouth that can get used to heat. My mother used to take baked potatoes out of the oven barehanded; I think she’d just been handling various hot things while cooking for so many years that her hands were inured to it. There were limits, though; she did use potholders with things like hot metal pans. – there are also limits to the heat resistance of my mouth; if I push it too far I can scald my mouth, and while it does heal fast it is noticeable for a day or two. (I don’t do that often.)
As near as I can tell, my ability to taste foods isn’t hampered by my being used to drinking things hot.
Cone to think of it, my ex could endure much hotter temps with his hands than I ever could; he attributed it to having held jobs as an institutional dishwasher and needing to get used to extremely hot water.
I don’t know how unusual it is, but anecdotally, I’ve never salted my bread and butter and never noticed anyone else doing it. On the other hand, (already) salted butter is a common thing.
Interesting, I’m the opposite. I can handle moderately hot food, but don’t like putting stuff like that in my mouth. And i routinely get impatient to eat pizza that’s still too hot, and scald myself. Like, i probably lose some skin inside my mouth nearly half the time i eat hot pizza.
I prefer to eat warm food, not hot food, thanks. Same with drinks.
I often add a bit of extra salt. (No, I don’t have a salt problem.) I’ve seen others do it too. I suspect some people do it in private so as not to run afoul of people who like to dictate how others should eat.