There’s nothing quite like a nice steaming cup of fresh coffee. For many people, it’s the best way to start the day – or even the only way to start the day. But if you love your coffee piping hot, you may find yourself disappointed when it cools off too quickly.
If you leave the coffee pot on for an extended time, the coffee can taste burnt and lose its flavor. But if you want your coffee nice and hot to enjoy it, you need to learn how to keep it that way after it’s freshly brewed. Whether you are taking your coffee on the go, or just trying to finish it before it goes cold, here are some of the best ways to keep your coffee hot.
Ways to Keep Your Coffee Hot For Hours
Keeping coffee hot long enough to enjoy it fully and properly should not be a struggle. Thankfully, technology has brought us many new ways to keep our coffee hot. Not to mention, there are many classic methods that still work as well as they always did. You just need to learn about them and choose the option that works best for you.
Here are some of my favorite ways to keep your coffee hot, whether traditional roast or air roasted:
1. Use a cup sleeve
A cup sleeve can be an easy way to add some extra insulation to your coffee. There are some coffee cups made with built in or removable cup sleeves that serve this purpose. You can also make your own. They are inexpensive and easy to use. They also protect your hands from the hot coffee in the cup, so it’s a win-win.
2. Use an insulated cup or thermos
This is an oldie but goodie! If you like to sip your coffee slowly, or if you will be taking with you to work on anywhere on the go, it’s a good idea to invest in a thermos or other insulated cup. These containers are designed to keep hot liquids hot and cold liquids cold.
3. Preheat your cup
Another fun little trick to keep your coffee hot for longer is to heat your cup before you pour your hot coffee in. Make sure to use a cup or mug that is safe for this, to avoid injury or breaking your mug. When the cup itself is hot and you pour the hot liquid in, it will act as an insulator and help keep the coffee hot for longer. A good way to do this is to pour boiling hot water into your mug first. Let it sit for about a minute and allow the temperature to spread throughout the cup, then pour the water out and your hot coffee in.
4. Use a coffee cup or mug with lid
Using a cup with a lid just makes sense if you want to keep your coffee hot for longer. Heat will rise and normally escape through the top of the mug, but when you use a lid, it seals it all in. It’s simple and effective.
5. Use a car cup warmer
If you make your morning cup of coffee and take it to go, a car cup warmer may be the perfect solution for you, especially in the winter months. There are electronic cup warmers that plug into your car charger and will keep your coffee hot on the drive. Some models are also battery operated so you’re not limited to your car, and you could bring it inside to your work desk with you, too.
6. Use a scarf or other cloth
When nothing else is available and you need something in a pinch, grab a scarf, a sweater, a towel, or other piece of cloth and wrap it around your mug to hold the heat inside. Make sure it is a thicker material and not one that will burn you through the mug. It won’t last forever, but it will give you a few more minutes of extra hot coffee.
7. Invest in a thermal carafe
This is another smart invention we can thank technology for. If you typically have more than one cup of coffee, you may want to invest in a thermal carafe, rather than just a single-use mug or thermos. This means more hot coffee kept hot for longer. It’s also great for sharing.
8. Use an immersion heater
Just as the name suggests, this is a heater you drop right into your coffee or other hot beverage to keep it hot. They are usually wand shaped and they are liquid safe, of course. You can purchase one for less than $10, so it’s a worthy investment to always have hot coffee.
9. Invest in a smart mug
There are different types of smart mugs today and while some can get a bit pricey, it’s worth it if you drink coffee every day and you have to have it hot. Some styles are even app-enabled so you can keep your mug at the optimal temperature for as long as you need and want to.
10. Get some metal coffee beans
Yup, that’s really a thing! Metal coffee beans such as Coffee Joulies are an easy, innovative way to help your coffee hold temperature longer. These small, stainless-steel capsules shaped like coffee beans work to help cool coffee that is too hot to drink, then slow release distribute the heat throughout the cup so that your coffee stays warm for longer. Just drop them into your cup and enjoy!
How NOT to Keep Your Coffee Hot:
Chances are, you’ve probably heard a lot of advice about how to keep your cup of Joe nice and hot. And the truth is, not all advice is good advice. Here are some common myths about keeping coffee hot:
Microwave
The microwave might be your go-to solution to heat something up really fast but nuking your coffee will ruin its flavor. While it does the trick to make it hot, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be flavorful. Coffee is a bit of a one-shot beverage. This means it just does not keep or take to reheating, such as from the microwave. The other problem with the microwave is that it doesn’t heat it evenly
A Hot Plate
The hot plate is another no-no when it comes to keeping your coffee hot. While it’s true that it can take it from cold to scalding hot, it’s not the best solution. A hot plate will over-extract your coffee, making It bitter, and you’ll lose the flavor. It will be hot… but at what cost?
Do you have any tricks or ideas for keeping your coffee hot that you don’t see on our list? We definitely want to hear about them.
