Yes! You can put hot coffee in the fridge, but it will lose its flavor and heat up your fridge. It’s best to drink it immediately or store it in an airtight container.
Instead of ice cream or juice, coffee drinkers love to have cold coffee on hot summer days. It not only makes you chill but serves you the same as hot coffee. So simple thinking comes to mind, can I put hot coffee in the fridge?
Yes, you can put hot coffee in the refrigerator to cool it down. But you have to know some basic etiquette of coffee as well as refrigerator. Let’s check the ways to put hot coffee in the fridge.
How To Put Hot Coffee In The Fridge?
Cold coffees are energy boosters, and the house of anti-oxidant is as hot coffee. But, it tastes less bitter or acidic than hot coffee only if you use cold brew. Cold-brew coffees are brewing for 18-24 hours longer inside the refrigerator. On the other hand, cold coffees use instant icing. You may use cold water, or ice cubes or put them in the freezer for cooling down.
Sometimes you may need to put coffee in the fridge right after brewing with hot water. Or, you are in a hustle but badly need a cold coffee. Can you put hot coffee in the fridge? Yes, you can. It is not a big deal to refrigerate an amount of 250-300 ml hot coffee. But have to make sure that you are using an airtight container for this purpose. Even if you put average-temperature coffee in the fridge, use airtight containers. Otherwise, it will be stale easily.
The oxidization effect starts once the beans are roasted and ground. Also, the grounds collect humidity from the air. So, both coffee grounds and drinks get stale quickly. Putting coffee in an airtight container prevents oxidization. Also, you can store coffee in the fridge for 3 days in this way. But, you may need to consider a few more things before putting hot coffee in the fridge.
Precautions For You
We all know that the fridge uses to freeze foods and store them for longer than usual. But we also need to know the dos and don’ts of fridges. If you put hot temperature things inside the fridge, it cools things down. But, it does not work in a faster way. It will take almost the same time to cool down things at room temperature. Moreover, the fridge has to work more than the ordinary temperature due to placing warm items.
So, it is good to reduce the coffee heat to room temperature before refrigerating. If you do this, your coffee will cool down quickly. The same method goes for hot soups, foods, and other items. Since your fridge has not had to work more to force cooling down, it serves you longer.
Now, consider a few reasons that you cannot put hot coffee in the fridge directly. It affects the coffee drinks that are not in airtight containers.
- It takes the same time in chilling down while putting it on the desk
- Contact with open-air accelerates oxidization the coffee drinks
- While sitting longer after brewing, it makes the drinks bitterer and stale
- Coffee effortlessly picks up other smells from the refrigerator if you put coffee in an open cup or jar
If you want to chill a bunch of hot coffee in the freezer, that will not be a wise decision. You will have 2 options to serve cold coffees to your enormous customers.
- Brew a cold brew overnight
- Put ice or iced coffee cubes
Alternatives Of Putting Hot Coffee In The Fridge…
There are a lot of substitutes for cooling down your coffee instead of putting it in the fridge. Some of these methods take longer, while some of these are faster.
1. Let It Cool Down At Room Temperature
It is wise to serve right after the hot brewing. So, drinkers can check and drink at their preferable warmth. In this case, follow some techniques to let the drink cool faster.
- A big cup with a wider rim
- Metal cups are faster in exchanging heat than porcelain or ceramic mugs
- Room temperature and the place you put the cup for cooling
- A cup without a lid cools quicker than the lid on
If drinkers order a cold one, then cold brew or iced coffee is the best option to serve.
2. Use Ice Cubes
Leave a few ice cubes in the cups to cool down your coffee. But it will make the drink weaker.
Iced coffee cubes are the perfect solution to cool down coffee drinks in a more instantaneous way. It adjusts the coffee taste as well. So, you will get a perfect cup of cold coffee in no time.
3. Put Hot Coffee Over An Ice Tub
You can use a square-shaped ice tub to cool your hot coffee and beverages. Place the cup or can of coffee in the tub with the lid on. Check after a few times and drink when it gets the required low temperature.
4. Make A Cold Brew
Cold brew is the best if you care about the coffee quality with temperature. The cold brew method requires you to put the hot coffee in the fridge overnight at first. It is a slow brewing process but produces less bitter coffee than hot-brewed. Usually, it is a concentrated brew, so you need to use water or milk to dilute it.
Can I Put Hot Coffee In The Fridge? – The Conclusion
Since you are busy having a cold coffee right now, put your cup in the fridge with the lid on. You can follow our alternative methods to cool your coffee that are effective. Because putting hot coffee inside the fridge does not let you drink within a few minutes. You have to wait for long as you do at room temperature. But, you can use refrigerated coffee for consecutive 3 days without brewing a new batch. So, there are lots of choices for you. Just pick one and enjoy it at most.
Enjoy Your Coffee!