Iced Coffee in Winter: Not as Weird as It May Seem

MAGGIE ELIAS ’17
SENIOR EDITOR

It is the heart of winter, with temperatures dropping to single digits at night, yet cups of Goldberg’s, Peter B’s, and Underground iced coffee are still seen frequently all over campus. Every classroom I enter, there is at least one Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks plastic cup of iced coffee sitting on a desk. Sometimes, people are even fortunate enough to have a Styrofoam cup acting as a barrier to the chilly surface – I know it is not environmentally friendly, but it is a luxury! This past weekend, during my normal Goldberg’s Saturday breakfast run, I saw that they had even added cold-brew coffee to their menu. I was extremely surprised that they had chosen this addition in February. Don’t even get me started on cold-brew coffee – it is quite possibly the most delicious drink to exist. Nonetheless, I gladly ordered it with no complaints and enjoyed my cold coffee that lasted for all of 10 minutes.

I find myself often arguing with my friends over this. They are confused as to how someone could be holding such a cold drink with no gloves or what would  possess anyone to drink an iced beverage when it’s so frigid. However, it could be seven or 70 degrees and I will pick iced over hot coffee – no matter what.

Most importantly, iced coffee can be drank immediately upon ordering and it lasts for quite a while. Every single time I get a hot coffee, I have to wait at least 15 minutes before taking my first sip. Some people tell me I’m just sensitive to warm food and drinks. Either way, it is especially frustrating when it is first thing in the morning and I need my caffeine rush to get through a 9 a.m. class. Even after those first 15 minutes of “letting the hot coffee cool,” I still usually end up burning my tongue or spilling it all over me and scalding my skin. At least if I’m going to wear it, I don’t want to suffer first. I just want to be able to drink my coffee immediately and with iced coffee, I can enjoy the entire cup in the same time it would take me to even start to drink a hot cup.

Iced coffee is often stronger and has much better flavor than hot coffee. At least speaking from my experience as a barista, there is typically more coffee grounds used to make iced coffee and it is just a million times more enjoyable. Another personal preference – I  think coffee, and drinks in general, are so much better when sipped through a straw. It helps prevent stains on your teeth and keeps me from getting it all over me – at least when I’m not being a normal klutz. Thus, iced coffee again is better than hot.

Besides my weird reasoning and personal love for iced coffee, I think that temperatures in buildings all across Trinity’s campus influence many students and professors’ decision to drink iced instead of hot coffee. Yes, drinking a nice, hot drink as you travel from the library to Seabury sounds enjoyable. But, the second that you enter the building, you are hit by a wave of heat. For every additional sip of hot coffee, you will break into even more of a sweat. Iced coffee becomes a reliable way to cool down during your three-hour class in a sauna. Perhaps if there was more temperature control throughout campus, hot coffee would be more popular.

At the end of the day, coffee temperature is a personal preference and people usually feel passionately one way versus the other. I am confident though that I am not the only one that favors iced coffee so strongly.