Ever wake up and you’re stumbling around trying to get coffee, you brew what you think will be a fantastic cup and are let down by how fast it cools off? A cold cup of coffee can ruin your morning (unless you’re an iced coffee fan). If the culprit is your Keurig, ask yourself the next time a cup of joe goes cold – how do I get my coffee hotter from my Keurig?
Keurigs are designed to make coffee quickly, which means they use an energy-efficient process. While this works great for brewing a cup fast, it does not work well with keeping that cup of coffee hot. Having a few simple, quick, and straightforward tips will help those mornings go a little better and we have plenty for you. But that still begs the question – what can I do to get a hotter cup of coffee?
Table of Contents
Why is my Coffee From my Keurig Not Hot and What Temperature Does Keurig Brew At?
These are two very common questions that owners of a Keurig ask. Most Keurig machines will brew to a maximum of 192 F degrees because the company claims that any higher and your coffee won’t taste good. The K-Elite and K-Supreme line of products steps into the ring, being able to adjust your temp from 187-192 degrees Fahrenheit so you can try to get that perfect cup. Unfortunately, there isn’t one that gets your coffee hotter than that without some external help.
Some will argue down to a single degree on what makes the best cup of coffee, and if you’re one of those, you might not find this to be suitable with the temperature adjustments in such a tight range and should instead choose a single serve coffee machine without pods or a pod coffee maker that lets you set the brewing temperature. This default maximum temperature of 192 degrees is because Keurig has deemed this the ideal temperature for coffee to be brewed at.
Anything higher than that could cause your coffee to taste bitter, especially if you already use dark roast beans. This temperature also means that you can technically drink the perfect cup of coffee right away without burning your tongue. After all, why take the risk of potentially ruining your morning?
However, if you’re someone who simply must have a hotter cup of coffee, there are ways around it! You can purchase a more advanced coffee maker that allows you to brew at up to 200°F. Your other option is to fill up a kettle and heat it up on the stove or get an electric gooseneck kettle and pour hot water into a manual drip coffee maker or French press holding your coffee beans. Some electric kettles even come with temperature control settings.
Do you Put Hot or Cold Water in a Keurig?
This is a great question and might be something to consider when trying to get the perfect cup of coffee. The best way is to use room-temperature water in your Keurig; it all comes down to science and chemistry.
This is because the water needs to be at a particular temperature for it to extract all the flavors from your coffee. Using cold, or even room-temperature water isn’t going to help you achieve that perfect cup because when you use cold water in a Keurig, it will take longer for the water to heat up to the required temperature.
Hot water is fine because it goes through your Keurig system much faster when using a higher temperature, and in turn, it brews your coffee much quicker. If you’re able to heat water fast externally then you can try seeing if the overall time it takes to make coffee is shorter. We predict it won’t be that much faster, if at all, because the Keurig has its own internal heating element that directly heats the water for brewing. It also won’t help you get hotter coffee because the Keurig machine will still utilize its inbuilt thermostat to ensure that brewing happens at the set temperature.
We don’t advise using extremely hot water, however, because parts of the reservoir tank of your Keurig will be made of plastic, albeit very strong and food-safe plastic. These parts, along with the filter, tubing, and inner seals could get damaged if exposed to higher heat than what the machine is rated for.
Is Coffee Better When It’s Hot or Cold?
This is another question that gets asked a lot, and it really comes down to personal preference. Some will say cold coffee is better because it’s less bitter and acidic than hot coffee because the acids don’t get drawn out from coffee beans as much with room temperature or cold water. Others would argue that warm coffee tastes much better because of all the flavors being naturally drawn out.
On the other hand, hot coffee contains more antioxidants, and that’s a good thing for your health.
If you want to know whether you should drink hot coffee while it’s piping hot or once it has cooled down a bit, there is no perfect temperature for coffee because everyone has a different preference. It is common to serve tea, hot chocolate, and coffee at a temperature between 160 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit. However, this study concluded that the optimum temperature for drinking hot beverages is approximately 136°F because, at this point, you can safely consume it without the risk of being scalded while still getting satisfaction from the drink.
At the end of the day, it’s completely up to you. Why not try both hot and cold coffee at various temperatures and see what tastes better?
How to Adjust the Temperature on a Keurig
If you’re trying to get the perfect cup of coffee and that seems a little difficult with a Keurig machine, there are a few tricks that might come in handy. Whether it be lukewarm water, a weak brew, or slow brewing, those problems can be solved.
The first thing you can do is to purchase a Keurig that not only has temperature control but also can adjust for altitude. The only Keurigs able to do this are the Keurig Elite and Keurig K-Supreme Plus models but they let you increase Keurig water temperature a tiny bit.
Elevation is another thing that these Keurigs as well as the K-Cafe take care of. If you’re living somewhere that is more than 5000 feet above sea level, the high altitude setting on these Keurigs adjusts the brewing temperature, so you get the most out of every cup.
So, what about the popular K-Duo dual brew coffee makers? Unfortunately, they don’t come with temperature control or an altitude setting but the advantage there is that you have a choice of making a whole carafe of drip coffee or just a single cup at a time.
Once you’ve determined you have the correct kind of Keurig, take the following steps to be able to ramp up its temperature.
- First, you’ll need to make sure your water chamber is full.
- Next, locate the settings button on your Keurig’s screen.
- From here you will be able to set your Keurig from low to high temperatures after choosing the temperature option.
- Once you’ve selected which setting you’d like it to be, hit the back button on the screen and hit brew!
How Do I Make My Keurig Coffee Hotter?
There are several tricks that you can use to make your coffee hotter. Many of them depend on what kind of cup you’re using.
The simplest solution to keeping your coffee hot in a mug is to use an insulated travel mug like the YETI Rambler that can keep the extra heat in. Note that the Keurig K-Duo Plus model comes with a 12 cup thermal carafe, so you can brew either a single cup at a time or several cups and keep the coffee warm in the carafe for up to 2 hours.
More ways to keep your coffee hot include the following:
- Cover your coffee mug in a mug warmer.
- Preheat the cup in the microwave for 10 seconds or so before filling it with coffee.
- Porcelain mugs or those like them can be preheated to help your coffee be hotter and to stay hot longer. Run hot water in the cup before brewing to preheat it.
- Running a water-only brew cycle first will help to warm the water circuit in the brewer, thereby preventing any further temperature drops from the brew basket to the spout. While some coffee makers come with a hot water dispenser, Keurigs can just dispense hot water if there’s no pod in place, so do this first and then insert a pod to brew.
They are all great ways to keep your coffee warm, but none of them are as good as just brewing a cup and drinking it right away! It might seem inconvenient or time-consuming if you want another cup soon after the first, but it’s worth it if you want it to be a beautiful experience. Besides, Keurigs are designed to brew fast as long as the machine has been on before you hit the brew button. Most Keurigs will stay on with the water in the reservoir keeping hot for 2 hours after brewing a cup unless you turn it off.
