Old Coffee at the Office: Drink It or Dump It?

guest post by Brittany Goodwin

In the corporate world, access to large amounts of coffee is a pretty basic necessity. For many office workers, a coffee break is not only a way to get some energizing caffeine into their systems; it’s also a good excuse for a mental break and a chat with some co-workers. But having your coffee in the office presents some unique problems, such as the question of what to do with old coffee: drink it or dump it?

Well, that depends on a number of factors:

How Long the Coffee Has Been Sitting There

Anything that has been left out in the open air has a relatively short lifespan. And while you were concentrating on that report for your boss, your coffee may have become somewhat unpalatable. The oils in your coffee can start to go rancid after four hours or so and, while this is usually not enough time to make you sick, it won’t make the coffee taste any better. Not sure when you put that cup down? When in doubt, pour it out and get a fresh one!

Verdict: Dump It!

Whether You Put Creamer in It

Creamer limits the life of your coffee even more, as we all know that it’s generally a bad idea to leave dairy products out. However, between the preservatives, pasteurization process, and existing bacteria that is in dairy, it’s unlikely (though not impossible) that you will get sick after a short amount of time. That’s why you’ll hear people tell you that they drank coffee with cream from the day before and were fine. Nonetheless, the longer that the drink sits there, the more bacteria in it will grow (and you do not want to be the exception who gets food poisoning). Thus, it’s a good idea to just grab a new cup if your cream-filled coffee has been there for more than a couple of hours or so – just to be on the safe side.

Verdict: Dump It!

Whether You Kept It in the Fridge

Refrigeration will [Read more…]