Brewed Coffee Holding Time

Brewed coffee has a short shelf life measured in only minutes.  The holding time can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as 60 minutes depending on how the coffee is held after brewing.  Once the coffee is brewed a litany of chemical reactions begin to occur.  The research has determined that holding temperatures in the range of 175 to 185 degrees F is optimum for achieving a balance between preventing the least desirable reactions and allowing the more desirable ones.  Temperatures above or below this range will result in a shorter hold time.

An open glass carafe of fresh brewed coffee sitting on a hot plate will cook the coffee at the hot plate boundary.  The non volatile compounds in the pot break down the desirable flavor compounds into bitter ones.  The open top of the carafe allows the gaseous volatile flavor compounds to escape into the air and evaporation causes the strength to increase.  This combination of cooking and evaporation quickly turn brewed coffee into an undrinkable beverage.  Coffee held this way has quickly become bitter and strong and should be poured out after only 20 minutes.

The equipment manufacturers are moving away from the hot plate type brewers in favor of the thermal carafe brewing systems where the coffee is brewed directly into a closed insulated container.  A well designed double wall vacuum insulated carafe and lid will keep the coffee hot well past the maximum recommended hold time. It also eliminated the cooking of the coffee at the boundary between the hot plate and the container and the lid reduces the rate of escaping volatile aromatic flavor compounds. This is the recommended method of holding coffee.

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