The Reason You May Want To Drink Hot Coffee Instead Of Cold Brew

In the United States, the average coffee drinker consumes three cups per day, with over 50 percent of Americans over the age of 18 drinking it daily. This means there are over 150 million daily coffee drinkers in this county alone (via E-imports). Coffee is clearly a popular beverage, and for good reason. According to a 2018 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, drinking coffee can even help you live longer. But among coffee drinkers is an ongoing debate: Is hot coffee superior to cold coffee? The arguments can get heated depending on the temperature of coffee is in your cup. Some coffee lovers prefer iced coffee during warmer months and switch back to hot coffee once the weather cools, while others enjoy drinking their coffee at a preferred temperature year-round. 

So which is better: Iced coffee and cold brew or hot coffee? According to a study in Scientific Reports, research has determined that hot-brewed coffee has higher levels of antioxidants than cold-brewed coffee, but cold-brewed coffee is less acidic. Dr. Maheinthan Yogeswaran, a general practitioner with Medicspot, told Bustle that because iced coffee and cold brew are less acidic they can be milder on the digestive system and less likely to cause an upset stomach. Dr. Yogeswaran also noted that a lower level of acidity is also better for keeping your teeth healthy. What does that mean for hot coffee?

If you like hot coffee, no need to chill out with an iced cup, unless you want to. The study clearly favored hot coffee over cold. According to Niny Z. Rao, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at Thomas Jefferson University and the study's principal researcher, choosing a dark roast can help lower the acidity of hot coffee, so if that's why you're chugging cold brew, a switch to a darker roast may give you the same benefits. And speaking of a coffee's roast, hot-brewed coffee seemed to have a constant level of antioxidant regardless of roast. Cold brew coffee wasn't as fortunate — in fact, the antioxidant levels were notably decreased for light roasts, with a continued gradation that got lower as the coffee's roast became darker. As a result, hot-brewed dark roast coffee may be healthier than cold-brewed dark roast coffee (via Food & Wine).

And if all this science doesn't convince you that hot coffee is better than cold, a writer for The Cut asks you to consider the blending experience of your cream and sugar. If you've ever tried to add sugar from a sugar packet or half and half to cold brew or iced coffee it either settles at the bottom of the cup like sediment on the ocean floor or remains floating on top. You need a higher temperature for these additions to dissolve or mix well, and for that reason alone, you should drink hot coffee over iced coffee.