Coffee Reheating Hack

Coffee has a profoundly special place in my life.  If I saw irrefutable proof that coffee shortened your life by many years, I’d be like “see you soon, Jesus!”  Yep, I’m one of those crazies who buys fancy beans, grinds ’em herself in a fancy burr grinder, and brews it all up in fancy ways that use precise combos of time and temperature to get the best cuppa I can.  I even have a way-too-big (not really) collection of seasonally appropriate coffee mugs, because TRUTH coffee tastes better in a cute cup!

These are a few of my Easter mugs – that cotton tail kills me!

Sadly, I am also an easily distracted piddler who always abandons said perfect cuppa long before it’s finished.  For many reasons I hate thermal mugs, so it’s off to the microwave.  But, haven’t you noticed that a cup of coffee reheated in the micro tastes, um, well, gross?  To me it just gets burnt and flat tasting, which is hella disappointing considering the drama I go thru to make that cup!

I was pondering why that happens and it hit me.  Coffee is pretty sensitive.  It has to be brewed at very precise temperatures – too low and you’re losing out on flavor compounds and body, too high and you may as well drink charcoal water.  What if, when I’m reheating my cuppa in the micro, I’m overheating it and torching the flavor? BINGO!

I tried reheating my coffee at 40% power for the shortest amount of time necessary to get it drinkably hot.  Et voila!  That gently reheated coffee tastes exactly like it did when I first poured it, not like nasty ol’ burnt leftover coffee.  Here’s what I do:

• heat the coffee at 40% for 30 seconds – STIR!  The microwave doesn’t heat your items evenly so stirring prevents flavor ruining scorched areas.
• Repeat for 20-30 second intervals till your coffee is the temp you like.  Try it – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
• Bonus tip:  if you’re not brewing your coffee into a thermal carafe, the minute your coffee finishes brewing TURN THE MACHINE OFF!  No good comes from leaving coffee on a scorching hotplate for any length of time.  You’re better than that!

Happy coffee drinking, friends!