The United States Food and Drug Administration and the National Coffee Association recommended standard temperature for safe hot coffee is around 160°F to 165°F (71°C to 74°C). This temperature range is considered hot enough to be enjoyable while minimizing the risk of scalding or burning.
These agencies do not have specific regulations or guidelines solely dedicated to cold brew coffee. However, there are general principles and best practices for handling and storing perishable food products that can be applied to cold brew coffee to ensure safety.*
Cold brew coffee typically requires more time to prepare than traditional hot brew coffee. While hot brew coffee can be made in just a few minutes, cold brew coffee is made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water for an extended period of time, usually between 12 to 24 hours.
The longer steeping time allows the coffee to extract more slowly and results in a smoother, less acidic coffee concentrate. After steeping, the coffee grounds are usually filtered out and the resulting concentrate can be diluted with water, milk, or other liquids and served over ice.
While cold brew coffee does require more time to prepare, many coffee drinkers prefer its smoother, less bitter taste and lower acidity compared to hot brewed coffee. Additionally, the longer shelf life of cold brew coffee concentrate makes it a popular choice for those who like to prepare coffee in advance and have it ready to drink throughout the day.
We cover the technical standards applicable to small to medium sized coffee preparation installations in a cross-cutting way during our Kitchens 200 colloquium.
* These recommendations are based on general food safety practices:
Water quality: Start with clean, potable water to brew your cold brew coffee. Make sure the water source is safe and free from contaminants.
Brewing process: Follow good manufacturing practices and ensure that your brewing equipment and utensils are clean and sanitized. Cold brew coffee is typically brewed using room temperature or cold water over an extended period. Ensure that the brewing container is properly sealed and protected from any potential sources of contamination.
Filtration: After the brewing process, filter the cold brew coffee to remove any sediment or particles. This can be done using a fine-mesh sieve or a dedicated filtration system.
Storage: Store the cold brew coffee in a clean, airtight container in the refrigerator. This helps to inhibit the growth of bacteria and maintain the quality of the coffee. Cold brew coffee can typically be stored for a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the specific recipe and preparation method.
Temperature control: Keep the cold brew coffee refrigerated at a temperature below 41°F (5°C) to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
Serve safely: When serving cold brew coffee, use clean and sanitized utensils, containers, and dispensing equipment to avoid cross-contamination. If you add any additional ingredients like milk or sweeteners, ensure that they are stored properly and do not exceed their recommended storage times.
Congratulations to our Lumen Scholars who are going out into the world and making a difference. Learn more about the projects they worked on during their time at Elon and what’s next here: https://t.co/iuh9wQ16NBpic.twitter.com/NJ3RiNTVS3
This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.
The Great Lakes have always carried more than ships. They have carried languages, ideas, students, and friendships from one shore to another.
— Standards Michigan (@StandardsMich) July 1, 2024
McGill figure parmi les meilleures universités du monde. 🌎 Classée 27e au palmarès 2025 du Center for World University Rankings, elle se situe dans le top 0,2 % des 21 462 établissements évalués
Bert Askwith worked his way through college shuttling students to and from Detroit Metropolitan Airport until his graduation in 1931; when two semester tuition cost $300. With no student debt he founded and grew Campus Coach Lines that still provides the same services at many other US campuses. He donated part of his fortune to establish a cafe in the Undergraduate Library; which now serves an expanding and bewildering catalog of caffeine-based drinks found in educational settlements worldwide.
When new foreign national students arrive at U.S. colleges and universities, they often enter environments where a left-leaning worldview is prominent and pervasive. Many campuses today emphasize themes of social justice, equity, and systemic critique that align with a preference for larger, more interventionist government. Faculty and administrative messaging can reinforce these ideas, portraying government as the primary instrument for addressing inequality, redistributing resources, and regulating social behavior.
For many international students, this can be both eye-opening and disorienting. They may come from countries with different political traditions, including skepticism of state power due to experiences with corruption or authoritarianism. Yet, in the university setting, they encounter curricula and campus cultures that valorize activist government solutions while often criticizing markets, traditional institutions, or individual responsibility. Programs in the humanities and social sciences in particular tend to frame policy questions through a progressive lens that sees expansive government action as not just beneficial but morally necessary.
This immersion—some might call it a “marination”—shapes perspectives over time. Students adopt the language of social justice, climate policy, and identity politics, often without exposure to robust counterarguments. While this experience can broaden horizons and foster empathy for marginalized groups, it also risks narrowing intellectual diversity and suppressing debate about the limits and costs of government power. For international students, it can mean graduating with a worldview significantly more aligned with the American academic left than with the diverse political traditions of their home countries.
In the late 1960s, the discovery of massive North Sea oil reserves transformed Norway from a modest fishing, shipping, and hydroelectric economy into one of the world’s richest nations. Oil revenues funded an expansive welfare state and created the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. This “outsized good fortune” should temper any sense of moral or cultural superiority some Norwegians express toward America. Striking oil is no guarantee of success — see Venezuela or Nigeria. Norway also benefited from American technology, open markets, and capital.
The United States further provided critical security: liberating Norway in WWII and leading NATO during the Cold War, allowing Norway to focus on welfare rather than heavy defense. No student debt! Arrogance ignores contingency. Norway’s success rests on oil rents, a small homogeneous population, high trust, and luck — not inherent superiority. America’s innovations and security role helped create the global order that enabled such fortunes in Norway specifically and Western Europe generally. Recall the American role in the destruction of the German heavy water refinement plants in November 1943 (The Heroes of Telemark) which bears an uncanny resemblance to the present USA Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
Gratitude and humility suit these discussions better than condescension.
University Researchers Help Level the Playing Field of Online Dating. Two business technology professors have generated new research that eases congestion in the busy lanes of online dating by improving matching efficiency, and a psychology professor specializing in improving romantic relationships reflects on dating tendencies and the “demographic cliff” challenging Western Democracies . (Relata: Homophily Michigan)
This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
