Which # cup of coffee each day tastes the best

[StillShaving]

I used to believe that the first cup of coffee in the morning was always the best, that it was as good as it will get all day. As it provides a caffeine bump and positive start to the day. But now that I do more single cup brewing I am no longer sure it is the best tasting cup. I will post my two sentence punch line in a few weeks about what I have learned about my own coffee consumption, but was hoping you would indulge me and vote on which cup you find the best tasting or overall the most satisfying. The question assumes that you are brewing your own coffee with the same method all day long, so that there is consistency in the cup, so that the main variable is whether this is your first cup, middle cup, or last cup.

Obviously cup sequence number is not meant to be absolute. If you are a 3 cup drinker then 1st, 2nd, 3rd would apply, but if you drank 5 or 7 cups then maybe the 1st & 2nd count as first, while the last one or two count as last.

 

[Niles]

I usually drink two cups a day. The first is most often the best-tasting, in my opinion.

 

[Hirsute]

Not a number, because I drink a lot of coffee, but the best tasting cup to me is the mid-afternoon cup when I'm starting to lag. Nothing better.

 

[JPDyson]

3rd sip, first cup. It's about the ritual of the morning cup as much as it is anything else. The occasional afternoon cup never disappoints, but doesn't have quite the same effect.

 

[Jasonian]

If you said anything but "first", you might be basing it more on situation or experience than actual taste. There is a reason why cupping happens in the early morning. Your taste buds are more sensitive shortly after you first wake up.

However, mine is rarely the first. I think it has to do with the fact that my first cup is usually more practical than for sheer enjoyment. If I brew coffee in the afternoon, that's usually my "best-tasting cup" because I tend to be more relaxed so that I can more easily focus on tasting. The morning is always on a time line, which makes it more difficult to focus on the cup instead of the clock.

 

[EricBNC]

Jason, your Torpedo will be my first cup in the morning - those beans smell absolutely awesome.

 

[rockviper]

1st cup of the day for me ..... although I like the 2nd one as well

 

[gearchow]

First cup. I enjoy it the most, take my time with it too. For me there is definitely more tied up into the first cup of coffee then just tasting good coffee.

-jim

 

[Sullybob]

The first cup of the day tastes best to me.

 

[StillShaving]

Jasonian describes the better poll option, to compare first cup of the day VS. all the rest. My vote was for last cup of the day. That is not an absolute statement or true everyday, but over time I realized that my first cup was not the best tasting and that my later cups were better. It took me 6 months or more to figure out why...or so I think.

For context, I drink multiple cups of coffee every day of the year. I used to brew a pot in the morning and have 2-3 cups, where the first was the most fresh and enjoyable. And then have at least one cup in the afternoon. Now I drink mostly single cup servings immediately after brewing regardless of the time of day but stick to same method all day long. With aeropress, pourover, and presso being my primary/goto brewing methods. My comments apply to all 3 methods but especially to the Presso machine, which can produce great coffee but with more variability and less forgiveness than other methods. At first I noticed the second cup was always better than the first (at least 90% of the time). I thought it might be due to variations in brewing temperature or preheating of the presso machine, so I tried to better control that variable but found little difference. In the end I concluded the better 2nd cup had more to do with subtle adjustments in making the coffee, to add/subtract a few more beans to make the espresso pour more ideal. But even with that variable seemingly isolated I would sometimes find that my late afternoon cup of coffee to be fantastic. To taste so good that I immediately wanted another and reinforce my belief that no other food or beverage could be more enjoyable than this.

After more introspection, I believe the reason these late afternoon/early evening coffees were better is because I was more relaxed and not drinking them as quickly, which allowed the coffee to cool off a little more when compared to my first cup of the day, and as a result taste better. When I was younger, I used to drink my coffee hotter, probably because it was not as good. And the first cup of the day has existed just to reach the second. The take away is that like most things in life, slowing down can make your coffee more enjoyable....Or maybe its just the caffeine withdrawal kicking in at the end of the day.

 

[gearchow]

Ah, interesting. My first cup is consumed over an hour at least, so it does cool off. If I slammed it down, I don't think I would enjoy it very much at all.

-jim

 

[JPDyson]

Ah, interesting. My first cup is consumed over an hour at least, so it does cool off. If I slammed it down, I don't think I would enjoy it very much at all.

-jim

Good point; my first cup usually gives me a few hot sips while I prepare breakfast (I try to enjoy as much coffee as possible before I eat, so that I can enjoy the subtle flavors) then a few sips while I eat, and a few after while I flip through some of the goings-on from while I was asleep (read: check Twitter and my feed reader). So I get hot, cooled, with and without food. It's really not fair to the other cups

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

1st cup of Joe...in the morning!!!

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon". President Ronald Reagan

 

[Everett529]

I usually have 2 Aeropress sized cups during the day. I make one when I get to work, and one mid-afternoon usually. I like the one in the morning more I think, but both are darn tasty.

 

[BigBull]

It's about the ritual of the morning cup as much as it is anything else. The occasional afternoon cup never disappoints, but doesn't have quite the same effect.

I'm a pot-a-day kinda guy, but I wake up well before anything gets moving in my house (5am) which allows me to enjoy it slowly...ironically, this is also when I shave and work out.

 

[Rustonrazor]

mine is the second cup of the morning

 

[jazzman]

3rd sip, first cup. It's about the ritual of the morning cup as much as it is anything else. The occasional afternoon cup never disappoints, but doesn't have quite the same effect.

This. Unless a later cup is accompanied by a cigar.

 

[dpm802]

I usually prepare my coffee (French Press) the night before so its ready when I wake up.
After the coffee is done steeping, I put it in the refrigerator until I'm ready to drink it.

I drink about 12oz while I'm doing my morning wake-up routine and getting ready for work. The remainder of the pot goes into a 20oz travel mug.

But to answer the OP's question ... I think the 2nd one tastes the best. This would be the one I drink in the car on my morning commute. A 20oz travel mug will last me pretty much all day. I drink about 6oz on the way to work, and then sip on it whenever I pass by the break room.

Whenever I get coffee out, like at Starbucks or WaWa, I always put in a handful of ice to take the burn off the first sip. I hate that.
I picked up the ice trick from my father who always put a cube in his Medalia d'Oro, and I've been doing it myself ever since.

 

[BigBull]

Nothing beats a French Press.

 

[JPDyson]

Nothing beats a French Press.

Eh, I don't know. Ever since I got my Eva Solo, the press has gone unused.