Cooled Down Coffee

[Soundman7]

Another update: I've noticed another interesting part of this phenom....I've been using a Technivorm with a thermal caraffe and have concluded that not only does cooling contribute to this curiousity, but BREATHING is apparently a factor too. As previously stated, after sitting and cooling, coffee sometimes takes on a good characteristic. However, many times now I've noticed that taking a sip of coffee left in a cup for hours tastes great. Then upon finishing the cup I say to myself "MM MM, that was tasty, I'm going to pour some more of that" then I pour the last half cup or so remaining that has been stored and sealed in the caraffe. Although it is now mid afternnon and the coffee has now cooled to the same room temperature as what was left in the cup, exposed to open air, it does not taste as good. Therefore, I conclude that coffee left in open air is different than coffee sealed in a container. I suppose perhaps it may be the same type of principle as a bottle of wine being opened, but allowed to "breathe' awhile before drinking. You may think I'm crazy, but there's definitely something to this. I wish Tom would test and/or comment on this disscussion, because apparently I'm not the only one who's noticed this.

[Mike_K]

The Pavina's from bodum are awesome glasses, very good insulation and they're clear. I like mine a lot.

Just got a set of those the other day, and we love them. I cover my coffee cup with a small piece of foamcore board, which helps keep the coffee at drinking temperature a lot longer.

[Mike_K]

Another update: I've noticed another interesting part of this phenom....I've been using a Technivorm with a thermal caraffe and have concluded that not only does cooling contribute to this curiousity, but BREATHING is apparently a factor too. As previously stated, after sitting and cooling, coffee sometimes takes on a good characteristic. However, many times now I've noticed that taking a sip of coffee left in a cup for hours tastes great. Then upon finishing the cup I say to myself "MM MM, that was tasty, I'm going to pour some more of that" then I pour the last half cup or so remaining that has been stored and sealed in the caraffe. Although it is now mid afternnon and the coffee has now cooled to the same room temperature as what was left in the cup, exposed to open air, it does not taste as good. Therefore, I conclude that coffee left in open air is different than coffee sealed in a container. I suppose perhaps it may be the same type of principle as a bottle of wine being opened, but allowed to "breathe' awhile before drinking. You may think I'm crazy, but there's definitely something to this. I wish Tom would test and/or comment on this disscussion, because apparently I'm not the only one who's noticed this.

I've noticed the same thing. I mostly do manual dip into a carafe, and I find two hours in the carafe is the max for me. Once it's past that, I reach for the Bailey's, or Drambuie, or whatever... I often leave a kitchen timer in count-up mode running next to the carafe, so I know how long it's been there.

I drink a lot of Ethiopian coffees, and I notice that they have the best cup flavors when they cool a bit. Hot, they're not enjoyable. I typically end up at 188 F coffee in the carafe after brewing, which is way too hot to drink.

[mldavis2]

Great comment by Mike_K about putting an insulated cover on the Bodum cups. I have the Pavina cups and the large exposed surface area allows the coffee to cool a bit too rapidly...much faster than the double-walled cups would be expected to lose heat. Why didn't I think of that before ...