So, while we're around the coffee pot...

[davidtu]

can anyone tell me why it's recommended to use cold water for making coffee?

[cabinetman]

George Carlin had the question "Why do they call them apartments, when they're together?" and "Why are they called buildings when they are already built? " The real question is who are they? "The sky is blue or so they say, But what is blue and who are they?"

THEY say to use cold water because most coffee makers have a heat sensor for the water that will sense through a tiny itsy bitsy teeny weeny wire the temperature to start heating. That sensor continues to do its thing to shut down and heat the hotplate, or shut off altogether. COLD could be just a generalization. This was told to me by the cousin of the sister of the guys wife who lives two doors from me.

I hope this helps answer your question.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[maxparot]

It leaves more oxygen in the water. More oxygen in water results in improved taste for both coffee or plain drinking water. As an example taste distilled water which is pure but has less free oxygen. I just dosen't taste right. RO water(reverse osmosis filtered) tastes much better than distilled it is nearly as pure but has much more free oxygen.

[just4funsies]

Couple of things...

There is a difference in the taste of hot water, largely because you are ALSO tasting the inside of your WATER HEATER.

Also, the innards of a coffee maker are not happy dealing with hot water on the input side of the heating element.

[Tequila]

Pretty much what everybody's saying. Cold water will bring less of the junk that's hanging out in your pipes. It's generally going to be cleaner than hot water.

[Tom Miller]

Another thing to consider is that the cold water tap in the kitchen usually bypasses the water softener, if installed. So your sodium intake won't be drastically increased by using soft water from the hot tap.

But I doubt that's what the coffee maker manufacturer hand in mind when writing the directions for use.

Regards,
Tom

[Russianwolf]

I have also heard that old pipes can contain lead that can be leached by hot water. So enough coffee could give you lead poisoning.

[jwaterdawg]

I think I am taking your question differently than everyone else.

If you mean using cold water to put into your normal coffee maker (which then heats the water) the answers you have received sum it up.

However, if you are asking about the cold drip process in which the water is only heated after being filtered through the coffeee, I think it is to reduce/eliminate the bitter taste from coffee.

[430752]

to make you feel better

b/c if you had to heat your water before putting it in the coffee maker, you'd start to wonder why you went a spent on an "automatic" coffee maker and not one of them old fashioned percolator things you put on the stove top. (or, I suppose a press coffee maker like a bodum). So, its all in marketing.

or, at least that's my cynic's view.

curt j.

[davidtu]

Curt, I don't intend to heat the water separately (on the stove)... just use the water from the hot water tap.

Jay, you guessed wrong, everyone else guessed right. Didn't think about cold-filtering, but that's interesting to know.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for your insights... I will always use cold water!

Hmmmm...nothing from Loring?