# Optimal way to cool hot coffee? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [January 11, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788 "2016-01-11T05:18:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/21 "2016-01-15T13:57:29Z")
Why doesn’t adding cold milk or cream work? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/22 "2016-01-15T17:50:45Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Another thing you could do, is make coffee ice cubes. Let a carafe cool during the day, fill ice trays with the coffee and freeze overnight. That’s how I make iced coffee in the summer. Great minds. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/23 "2016-01-16T05:07:40Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Why doesn’t adding cold milk or cream work? I’d have to add at least 100cc to cool the coffee enough. I don’t like my coffee that light. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/24 "2016-01-16T05:18:40Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Time It belongs to us all. And yet, none may own it. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/25 "2016-01-16T20:21:54Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Why doesn’t adding cold milk or cream work? My mother used to say that I liked a little coffee with my milk, yet I wouldn’t add anywhere near that much milk or especially cream to make it cool enough for me to drink (although I can’t tolerate hot temps all that well, anyways). ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/26 "2016-01-17T02:26:21Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Optimal brewing temp for drip is 180F. Is that why McDonald’s has such damned good coffee? I remember from the infamous $80 million dumbshit-dumped-coffee-in-her-lap case about 20 years ago that the java in question was 185° F. I mean, say what you will about The Clown, but you can’t deny that he makes some mighty good coffee. Is the temp the secret? Also, as a bonus round question, I’ve been using instant coffee my entire life. I know that the instant you read that, many of you already relegated me in your minds to the status of somebody who laces candy with crystal meth and gives it to little children. So mote it be. It’s just that that’s what I grew up drinking, and that’s all I really have the energy and motivation to deal with at 6:00 a.m. The question is, does the temperature of the water make any difference with instant? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/27 "2016-01-17T03:10:16Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Time > [@Gatopescado](#): > > It belongs to us all. And yet, none may own it. And if a rich man eats it, he’ll starve. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/28 "2016-01-17T03:13:44Z")
It’s been said several times before, but time works the best. My trick is to pour the coffee and then take a shower. Can’t have coffee in the shower so I’m not missing it. When I get out, it’s the perfect temperature. When I’m going to have several cups of coffee, the other trick I have is to not refill the mug when it’s empty. Once I’ve drunk about 2/3 of the mug, I pour another cup. The cooler coffee in the mug brings down the hotter temperature of the fresh coffee in the pot to a more tolerable level. Since the coffee is from the same pot originally, I’m not diluting or changing the flavors in any way (except for the reduction of the water level in the coffee pot). ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/29 "2016-01-17T15:25:32Z")
A watched pot never boils, so that implies that staring at your mug for 10 or 15 minutes should do it. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/30 "2016-01-17T15:39:43Z")
Insert a coldfinger filled with ice water. Stir. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > If you have 60 bucks for a one-time purchase, there are these [Coffee Joulies](http://www.joulies.com/collections/retail-products/products/5-pack). According to the site, they cool the coffee right away to 140 and then keep it there for up to 2 hours. Stainless steel outside, “advanced phase change material” inside, which absorbs the excess heat and then puts it back as the coffee cools. > > I first saw them on America’s Test Kitchen; their Gadget Guru thought they were great, but I have seen mixed reviews. For what it is worth. Back when it came out I remember a test with thermocouples that showed it not making much of a difference. But maybe it does in a better-insulated vessel. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/31 "2016-01-17T17:45:03Z")
Whistle across the top of your coffee container. Just don’t engage your tongue. “You know how to whistle, doncha’ Steve?” ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788/32 "2016-01-17T17:52:45Z")
You guys are geniuses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-way-to-cool-hot-coffee/742788.md?page=1)