[dpark]

Standard coffee temperature recommendations reach 185. McDonald’s standards are up to 190. This is not “way hotter”.

I’ve read about the case.

[hcknwscommenter]

You are purposely conflating the temperature at which coffee should be made (~185), with the temperature at which coffee should be served (~160). Yes, some folks suggest they are drinking 175 degree coffee. Those folks are wrong.

[dpark]

This is a weird split. Do you typically make coffee and then leave it sitting for 20 minutes before consuming? I make coffee and then drink it.

Also, no. Coffee is brewed higher than 185. The Specialty Coffee Association on their own page advocates for 195-205 for brewing temp.

https://sca.coffee/research/protocols-best-practices

Wikipedia claims that SCA advises up to 185 for serving and that Starbucks does exactly that. I don’t see citations for this specifically, though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Rest...

“Similarly, as of 2004, Starbucks sells coffee at 175–185 °F (79–85 °C), and the executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America reported that the standard serving temperature is 160–185 °F (71–85 °C).”

[dpark]

For fun, I went and brewed a cup of coffee on my Nespresso. Coffee coming out was 185 degrees. The finished cup was 170 (but that obviously depends a lot on the cup).

If this was brewing into a foam cup, it would have been served very close to 185. Regardless I’m currently drinking a cup of coffee quite close to the 175 number you seem to think is unrealistic. Yeah, it’s hot. It’s definitely not the hottest coffee I’ve ever had, though.