As far back as I can remember, there have been basically two warring factions in the world: those who think iced coffee is the superior cooler-downer, and those who believe that hot coffee is the stronger, quicker cooler-downer.
This feud has raged on since time immemorial, or at least since that Smithsonian article came out a few years back. At any rate, I've never been one to shy away from a heated debate, so today I'm diving into this issue head-first.
According to research published by the University of Ottawa's Thermal Ergonomics Lab, drinking hot drinks on hot, dry days can cool you down. (See: Body heat storage during physical activity is lower with hot fluid ingestion under conditions that permit full evaporation)
As usual, leave it to Ottawans (Ottawanians?) to stride right into the fire zone. No surprise that they would be the ones to come out with controversial findings about thermal ergonomics.
But what do these findings mean for Greater Alberta, and the rest of us?
Let's break them down:
When Can Drinking Hot Coffee Cool You Down More Than Drinking Iced Coffee?
The operative words in "drinking hot drinks on hot, dry days can cool you down" are "dry" and "can."
The circumstances have to be just right:
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Your clothes need to be of thin, light, and of a type that will allow your sweat to evaporate rather than trapping moisture.
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It has to be a dry heat. Sorry, Floridians. (And Alaskans, weirdly enough).
Why it Works:
When you drink hot coffee on a hot day, you sweat much more than when you drink an iced coffee. So your body is putting out much more sweat than it should given the local weather conditions. If you're in a dry heat, the disproportionate "over reaction" of your body to the hot coffee can cool you down well more than drinking the hot coffee heats you up.
The study talks about thermosensors in the esophagus/stomach being responsible for this phenomenon. Who knew?
It also talks about findings regarding local temperature changes of the rectum following hot fluid ingestion, which I would gladly discuss in elaborate detail, but unfortunately we're short on time. So let's just stick to coffee.
Here's the big catch: If the air around you is too humid, or if your clothes won't allow your sweat to evaporate, drinking hot coffee won't cool you down.
In other words, rejoice Arizonians and Utah...nians! You can now feel completely justified walking into a coffee shop and ordering up a cup of steaming hot coffee on a hot day!
Now the only question is, would you want to?
So yes, on hot, dry days, drinking hot coffee can actually help you cool down more than iced coffee. And while this scientific evidence may not be enough to sway the die-hard iced coffee drinkers out there, the international cold brew cabal, or me, it's at least something for you to consider next time you're debating what to order on a scorching hot day.
Just remember that if you're in humid/muggy weather, a trusty glass of iced coffee or a nice, subtly sweet cold brew is still a much better way to beat the heat.
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P.S. (And no, before you leave a comment, coffee doesn't dehydrate you. It's 98% water. So drink up!)
P.P.S. (If you want to read that Smithsonian article I mentioned, here ya go.)
