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Can Lattes and Pour-Over Coffee Be Reheated After They Get Cold? Do They Still Taste Good?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, So cold!!! Guangzhou's temperature suddenly dropped to 15°C. Do you know what that feels like? Besides the chill, the weather change brings us a host of problems, such as under-extraction, difficulty sensing milk frothing temperature, and coffee getting cold before we can finish it. FrontStreet Coffee's store has recently received many questions from customers about this.

It's so cold!!! The temperature in Guangzhou suddenly dropped to 15°C. Do you know what that feels like?

Beyond the cold, the temperature drop has brought us a host of other problems, such as under-extraction, difficulty sensing the temperature of milk frothing, and coffee getting cold before we can even drink it. For instance, FrontStreet Coffee's store has recently received a common question from customers: "Boss, this cup of coffee is cold! Can you reheat it?"

Changes When Coffee Cools Down

Very well. Before answering this question, let's review what changes occur when coffee cools down!

Changes in Taste

Our taste buds perceive different flavors depending on temperature changes! When coffee is at a relatively high temperature, our perception of sourness and bitterness is relatively low. Therefore, when we drink hot coffee, we can experience a relatively abundant sweetness.

When the temperature drops, the perception of sourness and bitterness recovers, and the suppression of one or the other reduces the sweetness. This cup of coffee will then become either more sour or more bitter depending on whether the beans used are light or dark roast!

Changes in Flavor

Coffee flavor, as we often say, belongs to volatile substances. Therefore, as time passes, flavors will gradually evaporate and dissipate. When the temperature decreases, the flavor compounds in the coffee will inevitably be fewer than when it was hot, resulting in a diminished tasting experience!

From these two points, we can determine that even if the coffee is reheated, it's difficult to restore it to the deliciousness (in terms of flavor) it had when first made! However, if we're not particular about flavor and just want to restore it to a high temperature, would it taste better and provide a better experience than cold coffee? This is the goal of our experiment!

Experiment Details

FrontStreet Coffee will make a pour-over coffee using light roast beans and a flat white using medium-dark roast beans (with not too much foam to more intuitively observe changes). We'll let them cool to room temperature, then reheat half of each to the original temperature when first made, to see what differences exist between reheated coffee and cooled coffee!

Pour-over details:
Beans used: Guatemala New Oriental Geisha
Amount used: 15g
Water ratio: 1:15 (225ml)
Brewing temperature: 92°C
Brewing method: Three-stage pour
Filter: V60

The New Oriental Geisha we're using today features sweet orange, white orchid, and honey flavor notes!

The espresso beans used are our old friend: Warm Sun Blend, with butter cookies, vanilla, cream, and whiskey as its flavor characteristics.

After preparation, the pour-over coffee was at 67°C and the flat white at 55°C. We tasted each respectively, then waited for them to cool!

After waiting for over an hour, the temperature finally dropped to room temperature.

Now we can begin our reheating process! We poured half the flat white into a milk pitcher and half the pour-over into the bottom chamber of a siphon brewer, then used a heating source to reheat them alternately until they reached the original temperature when first made!

(Using the pour-over as an example, from left to right: freshly made, after cooling, while reheating)

Pour-over Coffee Tasting Experience

When freshly made (67°C): It had very pronounced orange sweetness, white orchid aroma, and a rich mouthfeel, with relatively gentle acidity.

When cooled to 29°C room temperature: The aroma was almost gone, and the entire cup of coffee became "a rather sour tea," with distinct tea-like qualities, prominent acidity, and some sharpness!

When reheated to 60°C: As expected, the prominent acidity became somewhat gentler and overall less harsh. Although not as delicious as when first made, it was more pleasant to drink than the cooled coffee.

Flat White Tasting Experience

When freshly made (55°C): Rich and smooth in texture, with chocolate, whiskey, and butter cookie flavors very prominent. The milk and coffee were well-balanced, with high sweetness!

When cooled to 29°C room temperature: Since the blend contains Red Cherry with berry flavor notes, the flat white now showed some acidity, though it was still predominantly chocolate flavored. Compared to when freshly made, the difference was just a hint of acidity.

When reheated to 55°C: The hint of acidity disappeared again. Due to the milk content, the entire cup of coffee was only somewhat lacking in flavor compared to when first made, without significant impact.

From these results, we can see that reheating does, to some extent, reduce the negative experience of coffee. However, this is only when the beans don't have obvious defects! If the beans you're using develop noticeable negative flavors when cooled (bitterness, hay-like notes, etc.), then even reheating them won't reduce these negative sensations!

The reason is excessive release of chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid is easily soluble in water, but chlorogenic acid lactone, which decomposes from chlorogenic acid, is difficult to dissolve in water. Raising the temperature cannot solve this situation. Therefore, while reheating can indeed restore some of the experience, it needs to be considered case by case depending on the beans!