# Will my coffee stay hotter if I wait a bit before milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473 "2025-03-12T14:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/21 "2025-03-12T20:31:57Z")
OK, but what if you cover the hot coffee mug with the creamer carton? Then it’d insulate the coffee AND warm the creamer instead of the room, right, for an even hotter final mix…? ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/22 "2025-03-12T20:57:32Z")
Previous similar threads: > [@Iced Coffee and Thermodynamics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-coffee-and-thermodynamics/811432): > > Say I want to make a glass of iced coffee. I have the following at hand: 4 oz. cold coffee 4 oz. hot coffee 16 oz. glass Plenty of ice My objective is to combine the hot coffee, the cold coffee, and the ice so I end up with the least-diluted coffee after it sits for a minute or so. In what order do I add the ingredients for best results? Or doesn’t it matter. Note: Glass breakage due to heat/cold variance is not an issue. > [@Which cools hot coffee quicker: milk into coffee, or vice versa?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cools-hot-coffee-quicker-milk-into-coffee-or-vice-versa/520327): > > I’ve always wondered, if you pour an inch of milk into the cup, and then the coffee, does that make the eventual mix cooler than if you pour the coffee first and then pour the milk? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/23 "2025-03-12T21:28:31Z")
Why not just nuke the mug with coffee and cream already in it? That’s what I do. I suppose purists will say that it changes the taste of the coffee, but with sugar and cream in there, I don’t think it’s going to make much difference. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/24 "2025-03-12T23:30:32Z")
And we love to add our own self important anecdotes. So I’ve been using plant based creamers in my coffee. Waiting on the French press, First I splash hot water from the kettle into my cup. After I plunge the press. I empty my cup and immediately add the lightener then the hot coffee. I don’t even need to stir. 👨‍🌾 ---
**Author:** ![BrantMcFritter](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brantmcfritter/32/18722_2.png) [@BrantMcFritter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrantMcFritter)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/25 "2025-03-13T00:00:13Z")
Yeah I don’t stir either. Homogenised coffee is for people who don’t like surprises ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/26 "2025-03-13T14:34:56Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > adding the milk immediately decreases the heat transfer from the now less-warm coffee to the colder environment around it This, I believe. And I spent the last few years of my career working on heat transfer. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/27 "2025-03-13T21:37:28Z")
> [@BrantMcFritter](#): > > Yeah I don’t stir either. Homogenised coffee is for people who don’t like surprises Unhomogenized coffee is for people not lazy enough to put the creamer in first. Let the coffee do its own stirring. Work smarter, not harder. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/28 "2025-03-14T00:06:32Z")
I have to ask: how slow do you drink your coffee? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473/29 "2025-03-14T00:21:28Z")
I don’t gulp it down all at once. Like the apocryphal Groucho Marx remark on _You Bet Your Life_, I take the mug out of my mouth every once in awhile. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-coffee-stay-hotter-if-i-wait-a-bit-before-milk/1015473.md?page=1)