To wonder why women 65+ are all determined that coffee should be mouthscaldingly hot

[Everythingisnumbersnow]

My mum, her friends, all the ladies

A normal temp is "cold please bring another one"

Is this an era thing or will it come for me too?

Further to that, my MIL would hand a cup to me that was hotter than the sun, holding the handle to me 'so I didn't burn myself' - but it had no effect on her own asbestos robot claw... 😬

Apparently this is a thing, but it's a generation thing, not an age thing.

I can't find the article I read on it previously, but it's something to do with the way coffees used to be made and served at scalding temperatures, usually using instant coffee. So Boomers grew up with very hot coffee and that's what they like.

Most places don't make coffee like that anymore, probably partly because of being sued for burns and partly because people use fancy beans these days and don't want to burn them. So following generations grew up with coffee of a different temperature.

As with all generational generalisations, there will be Boomers who like lukewarm coffee and other generations who prefer very hot coffee - but as a general trend, this holds true.

So to answer your question, no, you are very unlikely to switch to wanting scalding coffee when you hit 65.

Oh dear Im 62 and insist my coffee is nuclear powered scorching. I didn't know this was an old person thing.

I am so so tired of this ageist shit.

No it’s not an era thing. I’m in my 30s and cannot abide coffee or tea that isn’t piping hot.

The manufacturers say the optimum temperature of water to prepare coffee is about 93-95 degrees.

I'm in my 60s. Coffee used to be served from a glass pot resting under the machine it was made in (using a paper filter). If the coffee wasn't very hot in a restaurant/cafe it meant it had been there a long time and was therefore not very fresh, somewhat stewed. Therefore cool coffee means old bitter coffee.

Because that’s how they like them?

How is it ageist? Different age groups DO have different behaviours. Feel free to do a thread on how millennials hate using the phone and I'll agree.

Asbestos claw? Wtf?

So ageist.

By text obviously

What does 'all the ladies' refer to?

I am 41 and I have been drinking scolding coffees and tees since I was old enough to drink caffeinated drinks. If I want a tepid drink, I can just have tap water.

I, at 39, will wait by the kettle as it boils so I can instantly pour out the freshly boiled water into my mug to ensure it is as hot as I can possibly get it before I drink it. YABU. And what of it.

I think it is a generational thing. Coffee was always served much hotter than it is now in coffee shops. Since coffee drinking became a lifestyle (about 20 years), people have grown up only drinking coffee prepared by specialist baristas who have researched coffee to the nth degree. They serve coffee at a lower temperature. To older people it’s cold.

Not me. I'm well past 65 and know coffee should not be too hot, thought everyone knew that. If it is scaldingly hot it spoils the flavour.

Said with respect - she was a tough as old boots war baby.

This is me and if I forget because say someone calls me unexpectedly, I’ll boil the kettle again before pouring it out. I like my iced drinks super cold and my hot drinks hot.

Yep. If it’s not MILs it’s anyone over 60. Tiresome. 🥱

I’m 63. My mother used to use a stove top percolator when I was growing up. She did start drinking instant later. And yes filter coffee that had been standing on the hot plate for a while was disgusting.

And yet she is the customer.

I’m just impressed you’ve managed to meet every woman over 65 in the world. How did you do it? Also, how do you keep on top of it given people have birthdays everyday.

I also boil the kettle if making instant but I don't pour on boiling water, I wait a bit. It destroys the flavour if you boil coffee. It's not tea which is better for boiling water. It's still quite hot.

By the tone of some posts on this thread, you’d think they grew up before the Industrial Revolution!

Period novels often circumstantially suggest a far greater tolerance for ‘cold’ hot drinks in the past. Dorothy L Sayers novels written and set in the 1930s often depict people saying they’ll put a saucer on top of someone’s half-drunk cup of tea or coffee to keep it for them while they need to go and do something.