As a coffee snob, you need a cup of coffee or two during the day. What if you work in an office with no access to a coffee maker and coffee shops nearby? Or you simply don’t want to spend your money at your local cafe? In such circumstances, you can rely on your thermos and homemade coffee. And as a result, you’ll have more control over the quality of your coffee, its taste, as well as your finances. But is it practical? And how long does coffee stay fresh in a thermos?
When you store your coffee in a premium flask, it retains its temperature and taste for approximately 12 hours. On the other hand, your coffee is fresh for six hours when stored in a low-quality thermos. A high-quality thermos should retain your coffee’s temperature so that your joe is drinkable for several hours later.
This article will discuss tips to ensure that your coffee remains fresh in a thermos despite your location. After reading this article, you’ll be able to take your homemade coffee to work, the gym, or to a picnic in a different neighborhood, city, or town without any problem. Let’s begin.
How to Keep Coffee Fresh in a Thermos
1. Buy a High-Quality Thermos
Buying a quality thermos for your coffee is one way to ensure that it remains fresh for later consumption. Purchase a food-grade stainless steel thermos flask that can stand up for frequent use. Additionally, a food-grade stainless steel thermos is hygienic since it is easy to clean and its surface lacks cracks and pores that may harbor dirt, bacteria, and grime. Equally important, consider the weight of the thermos before purchasing it to ensure that you can carry it around at your convenience.
2. Clean Your Thermos
Another secret behind keeping coffee fresh in a thermos is thoroughly cleaning your thermos. Failure to clean your thermos well leads to an accumulation of coffee residues and oils on the inner surface of your thermos. As a result, oxidation of the coffee oil occurs leading to a highly unpleasant cup of coffee. Oxidation of coffee oil is the reason behind the rancid coffee taste.
You can clean your thermos with hot and soapy water or hot water and vinegar. Some thermos flasks models will allow you to open their bottom for more thorough cleaning. However, handle the thermos with care to avoid breaking the materials inside.
3. Pre-heat Your Thermos
The key factor to retaining the taste of your coffee in your thermos for a longer period of time is temperature retention. Preheating your thermos is one way of boosting its heat insulation capacity. This easy step is often skipped, but it’s usually worth it, especially during winter. To preheat your thermos, fill it to the brim with boiled water and put the lid on. Let the water sit in the thermos for three to five minutes then pour it out and immediately add your hot coffee. Ideally, you can fill your hot coffee to the brim to avoid any contact with air.
Apart from boosting the heat insulation capacity of your thermos, preheating your thermos with boiling water also kills any bacteria that may be present.
How Can You Check Your Thermos Effectiveness for Coffee?
Almost every household owns a thermos flask. So instead of buying a new one, you can check how effective the respective thermos is for your coffee. Here is how to go about it.
1. Check the Thermos Flask Manual
If you know the model of your thermos, you can check the manufacturer’s website for the product page. Under this page, you’ll find the “keep hot things hot for” section that tells you how long the stored beverage or liquid will remain hot.
In this case, the manufacturers assume that you have filled the flask with the liquid to the brim. Otherwise, filling it halfway allows the air trapped inside to absorb some heat from your drink. Additionally, temperature loss in your thermos flask begins 6 hours before the heat retention mark.
Therefore, if a manufacturer states that the thermos flask will keep your liquid hot for 18 hours, it means that your coffee remains fresh for 12 hours. Within 18 hours, the coffee has lost enough heat to make it taste stale.
2. Perform a Manual Taste or Temperature Check
If you have no idea of the thermos flask model, you’ll have to perform a manual check to determine how long your thermos keeps your coffee hot. You’ll need to:
- Clean your thermos
- Pre-heat your thermos
- Fill your thermos with coffee to the brim and ensure that you tightly close the lid
- At the desired hour, pour your coffee into a mug and take a sip. If the coffee tastes good, then it’s good for consumption. If it tastes bitter, you may need to upgrade your thermos.
Alternatively, you can conduct a manual temperature check by dipping a thermometer into your thermos after 6 hours of storing coffee. If the thermos loses more heat in the 6 hours than coffee that has been exposed to air for 6 minutes, then your flask can’t keep heat.
Can Drinking Old Coffee Make You Sick?
Drinking old coffee that has been stored well and gone bad due to temperature change will not make you sick. However, the coffee won’t taste as good as a freshly brewed cup of coffee but you can still chug it if you need a caffeine boost. On the other hand, drinking coffee that has been made with rancid or expired coffee grounds will make you sick.
Usually, expired coffee has to do with actual coffee beans and coffee grounds (whether they have impurities or mold). On the other hand, bad coffee is coffee that doesn’t taste good as a result of temperature loss or over oxidation. Microwaving coffee that has lost its temperature doesn’t restore its original taste. As long as your thermos flask maintains its temperature, your coffee should also remain fresh.
Is Coffee Still Fresh to Drink After 12 hours?
Coffee stays good and fresh in your thermos flask as long as the temperature is stable. Usually, thermos flasks lose heat with time depending on the model. Some will lose heat after four hours, while others will retain heat for up to 18 hours. Your coffee is good or fresh for consumption after 12 hours if the model of the thermos flask allows you to go beyond the 12 hours heat retention mark. Otherwise, your coffee will go bad after 12 hours. In short, as long as your thermos can keep your coffee hot for 18 hours, you can store your coffee for later use.
Conclusion
The quality of your thermos flask determines how long your coffee remains fresh. The best thermos flask for your coffee should be able to retain temperatures for an 18-hour period. Additionally, consider buying a portable thermos that you can carry around and that has a decent look even when carried in professional settings.
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