Hot vs. Cold: A Cafecito414 Debate

It is that time of the year, the sun is out, days are longer, and the lakefront is seeing more people pass by. And we are all drenched in sweat if we spend more than five minutes outside. In Milwaukee, the summer brings another energy to the city. It doesn’t take long before you start spotting people taking advantage of the many patios and outside areas. At this point, the lakefront Colectivo patio has become a Milwaukee staple with its colorful chairs and historic 19th century building, The Historic Milwaukee River Flushing Station. Other places crack open the big garage doors or put out the patio seating, like Wantable Cafe’s transformation to a summer collaborative workplace paradise. 

And with the summer heat there comes an important question for los amantes de cafe like us: hot or cold coffee? It is a question that divides people all over the world. Some people staying true to hot drinks amid the rising temperatures (like Gabe), while the folks with clinking tumblers find their time to shine and enjoy their chilled coffee without worry of snow in sight (like Saúl). 

Now, these debates can get a little testy, and so we decided to lay our own arguments and opinions on the line in a friendly, but no-holds-barred debate. We are also going to share some of our summer favorites and chat a bit about how we beat the heat.

Gabe: So, I’ll get this started. I love me some ice cream, or even better a milkshake, when the thermostat starts getting ridiculous, but I will not stray from my hot coffee. To me, the flavors of coffee were enjoyed hot, plain and simple. Added to that is nostalgia. Coffee to me is holding a warm cup on a cold morning in Peru, with the rising sun on a hike in Colombia, with my grandmother in her kitchen. How about for you Saúl - why does cold coffee hit the spot for you?

Saúl: You bring up some good points. Especially around nostalgia and mornings. Cold coffee for me represents the chillness with which I want to tackle the day. If I’m going to be fighting the heat and the sun, I feel like my coffee should help maintain my “cool”. And also the convenience of buying pre-made, quality coffee like Colectivo’s canned cold brew makes for a fun activity to explore different brew methods.

But for me, I can trace back my love and affinity to cold drinks when I worked in California a couple of summers ago and had to start my days early at 6 in the morning (for me, this is early). I had to drive through the California morning traffic to drop off students at summer camps. At first, the idea of making freshly brewed coffee in the Mr. Coffee machine seemed appealing. But I wasn’t able to get a brew that worked for me. And if my coffee didn’t taste good, it really made the SoCal traffic unbearable. So one day, I went to the supermarket and bought (I still get flashbacks) a big bottle of Cold Brew. I gave it a try the next morning, and let me tell you… It changed the way I looked at iced coffee and commutes. There’s just something about beating the heat and watching the California sunshine. And now, as I walk and drive around Milwaukee, I just connect my iced coffee with a good morning.

Iced Americano from Wantable

It looks like for the both of us, we hold some nostalgia/affinity to our hot and iced drinks. Kind of funny, how we attach memories to our preference. So, Gabe, has there been a moment or place when you’ve ordered a hot coffee that has stuck with you (ex: a sunny NYC day where you saw everyone get an iced coffee, but you still ordered that hot drink) or made you think, yeah… people are going to think this is crazy.

Gabe: Great question Saúl. Funny you should bring up New York because I was just there this past week with my family and had this exact experience. We traveled with the whole crew (i.e., our 5, 3, and 1 year olds). It was 90 degrees on day two of meetings, and I was lagging from two nights of trying to corral all three to sleep and joining them on the pull out in the hotel room (I also have to shout out my partner, though, who managed all three in the wild city while I was in the meetings). I needed a caffeine boost and spent the last half hour of the morning distracted and looking for nearby coffee shops. I settled on Common Address a few blocks away. I could feel sweat beads forming from the pores of my lower back as I asked for a hot black coffee with a little dash of milk. I just had to see what the flavor of their coffee was like and judge the place for myself (rated 4.7 on Google Maps). And by the way, definitely recommend it.

Also, I completely appreciate the nostalgia factor. It sounds like that California experience really laid down a baseline for you of what a cold coffee means. I might get a bit too into my academic side here, but I think there is so much power in what an experience means to us, beyond just how it hits our senses or makes our dopamine flow.

I don’t know if I will ever come around, but I can certainly see your perspective and it gives me a bit more pause when I judge all those cool, hip New Yorkers with their cold Starbucks beverages.

Saúl: I can only imagine how hectic it must be to navigate NYC on a hot day searching for some cafecito. But even during the busyness of life, a good cup of coffee can really help you get through the day. Like you mentioned, it is interesting how places and moments set a tone for our coffee preferences. Even now, in Milwaukee, I still find solace in the ice clinking and smoothness of an iced latte because it complements the early morning silence that blankets the city. 

And even though we might have some different preferences, we still find some time to appreciate our differences and perspectives. We can still agree that the journey to that cup of coffee (hot or cold) is what matters.

We want to hear from you!

Whether you’re walking to work with a warm cup of coffee in your hands or trying to cool down in this Milwaukee heat. Your preferred temperature should add to your day, not detract from it. So now we would like to ask you if you have a preference by answering the poll below or by leaving a comment.

Coffee Preference

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• Hot
• Cold