The Cup Temperature Hack You Need For Elevated At-Home Espresso
Coffee lovers speak the same language. We value the meaning of the first sip of coffee in the morning. We love to pivot our coffee methods from Moka pot, to aero-press, to the beloved espresso machine we bought for ourselves last Christmas, or return to our old but classic french press. We enjoy visiting our nearest coffee shop, knowing the barista will do a better cortado than last time. And of course, we love to dive into Reddit threads, TikTok accounts, and long articles about how to ace our at-home espresso.
You already know you should grind your coffee to suit your brewing method and take care of your quantities. You should have your utensils clean and well distributed, and be really aware of the water amount and temperature you are using. How to actually improve your homemade coffee? Well, you might want to start emulating what baristas do in coffee shops: Have your cups stacked over your espresso machine to have your cups warm before serving a drink. This is another way of saying to pre-warm your cups for a better quality espresso, as a barista and coffee shop owner advised Kitchn.
Pre-warm your cups to preserve the coffee aroma, temperature, and taste
As Jura explains, when you pour hot and fresh coffee into cold glass or porcelain, the cold material takes around 10 degrees of heat away from the coffee. Imagine preparing an espresso or ristretto, a small portion kind of coffee, and having it cool very fast. It's worst when we are adding milk, like for a macchiato or a cappuccino, sugar, or cold cream. This reduces the temperature even more. In brief words, the coffee experience is definitely not the same.
This goes beyond temperature. Above all, the interaction between a cold material and the espresso affects the coffee aroma, making it less intense, therefore, the flavor is not as present as it should be (via Gustatory). Even presentation gets affected: The crema, the layer above an espresso, stays longer if the cup is warm.
For a better taste experience and to preserve the high-quality beans, warm your coffee cups either with a cup warmer or by adding hot or steamed water to the cups for a few seconds (via Jura). This is just an extra step to your coffee-making ritual. Hopefully, this will enhance your experience in the morning, afternoon, or whenever you are enjoying your favorite drink.