<p>I grind my own beans every morning and use a drip coffee maker to make a big pot. I’ve found that the best way to keep a pot of coffee tasting good is to turn off the hot plate under the coffee immediately after brewing. Let the pot steep for a few minutes for better taste. 
Despite all the opinion otherwise, I don’t think microwave reheating ruins the coffee at all. Of course, the taste does not improve with age, but less heat overall, and reheating is so much better than leaving the coffee on a heat source.
JMHO.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-18T13:39:26.473Z
2018-11-18T13:39:26.473Z
Bob Green
<p>Although coffee generally becomes staler with time, heating coffee up in the microwave <strong>does not</strong> produce any harmful chemicals - as long as the container you are microwaving it in is microwave-safe.</p>

<p>The microwaves emitted inside the microwave are a relatively safe form of radiation that cause the <strong>water</strong> molecules in the coffee to move faster, thus creating heat. This is relatively harmless.</p>

<p>As far as taste goes, you may consider just making a new coffee, as this will always taste better, in my opinion!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-02T13:56:05.150Z
2015-02-02T17:01:12.157Z
2015-02-02T17:01:12.157Z
Patrick Sebastien
<p>Sometimes I get distracted, and realise I've got a cold cup of coffee on my desk. Will reheating it in the microwave do bad things to it? I've heard people say it will alter the flavour, and some people even say that the effect of the microwave on the coffee will produce medically harmful chemicals. Is this true? Should I just chuck it and make a fresh brew?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-11T22:49:35.320Z
Couldn't that be already answered in Cooking SE: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/19252/why-does-coffee-taste-awful-after-reheating-it-in-a-microwave-oven
Anthony Pham
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-16T05:33:41.860Z
http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/q/5816/23404
Shokhet
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-20T12:36:46.410Z
@fredley what original tags? The first revision has the untagged tag, and don't see any migration stub. So now I'm curious, what happened here? :)
Shadow Wizard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-02T16:39:52.520Z
I'm sure there is a point if you left it going long enough to carcinogens could build up. I'd be interested if there is a researcher here to find where that point is. 

I probably microwave a cup every day because of a distraction at work.
Justin C
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-04T15:39:52.510Z
I think "is it dangerous?" and "will it change the flavour?" are significantly different questions and should, IMO, be posed as two separate questions.
starsplusplus
<flavor><health>
Is reheating coffee in the microwave a bad idea?
fredley
# Is reheating coffee in the microwave a bad idea?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-02)

Sometimes I get distracted, and realise I've got a cold cup of coffee on my desk. Will reheating it in the microwave do bad things to it? I've heard people say it will alter the flavour, and some people even say that the effect of the microwave on the coffee will produce medically harmful chemicals. Is this true? Should I just chuck it and make a fresh brew?

**Tags:** flavor, health

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I'm sure there is a point if you left it going long enough to carcinogens could build up. I'd be interested if there is a researcher here to find where that point is.   I probably microwave a cup every day because of a distraction at work.  
> **username_5**: I think "is it dangerous?" and "will it change the flavour?" are significantly different questions and should, IMO, be posed as two separate questions.  
> **username_1**: Couldn't that be already answered in Cooking SE: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/19252/why-does-coffee-taste-awful-after-reheating-it-in-a-microwave-oven  
> **username_2**: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/q/5816/23404  
> **username_3**: @username_0 what original tags? The first revision has the untagged tag, and don't see any migration stub. So now I'm curious, what happened here? :)  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2015-02-02. Score: 16 | Accepted answer

Although coffee generally becomes staler with time, heating coffee up in the microwave **does not** produce any harmful chemicals - as long as the container you are microwaving it in is microwave-safe.

The microwaves emitted inside the microwave are a relatively safe form of radiation that cause the **water** molecules in the coffee to move faster, thus creating heat. This is relatively harmless.

As far as taste goes, you may consider just making a new coffee, as this will always taste better, in my opinion!


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### Answer by username_6 on 2018-11-18. Score: 1

I grind my own beans every morning and use a drip coffee maker to make a big pot. I’ve found that the best way to keep a pot of coffee tasting good is to turn off the hot plate under the coffee immediately after brewing. Let the pot steep for a few minutes for better taste.
Despite all the opinion otherwise, I don’t think microwave reheating ruins the coffee at all. Of course, the taste does not improve with age, but less heat overall, and reheating is so much better than leaving the coffee on a heat source.
JMHO.


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