Why You Should Start Ordering Your Starbucks Drink 'Extra Hot'

Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A barista prepares a drink at Starbucks' Vigo Street branch in Mayfair, central London.A former Starbucks barista has revealed some tips and tricks for ordering a coffee at the perfect temperature. 

Alecia Li Morgan worked at Starbucks for five years, first as a barista and later as a store manager.

Throughout her time there, she had many customers who ordered their drinks "extra hot," she wrote in a thread on Quora.

"Back when I first started working at Starbucks, the acceptable range for beverage temperature was around 145-165 degrees," she wrote. "That's not really all that hot."

The perfect temperature for a coffee, she learned through extensive trial and error, is 180 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Morgan offered these tips and tricks for when and how to order a drink "extra hot:"

1. When it's cold outside. "When I worked at Starbucks in North Dakota, the temperatures would reach -30F plus wind chill, so drinks cooled down QUICKLY if taken outside/ordered in a drive thru," Morgan wrote. 

2. When you are ordering a milk-based drinks. Creamers, even when steamed, can cool down the temperature of a coffee. Tell the barista you want the milk steamed to 180 degrees, and it won't negatively affect the taste of the espresso or coffee.

3. When you don't plan to drink the coffee right away. If you want to enjoy your coffee at work but there's a convenient Starbucks location closer to home, ordering it extra hot will keep it warm during the commute.