I’m a coffee fiend, and it fuels my day. Without it, I have been described as grumpy AF! However, it doesn’t matter if you are an occasional coffee drinker or a connoisseur of the beverage, sometimes that drink ends up in the fridge.
It may be that you didn’t have time to finish your morning cup of joe. Therefore, coffee has a finite life in the refrigerator, particularly when milk has already been added. But how long does it last?
Key Takeaways:
In this article, we set out to explore just how long a milky coffee can remain in the fridge and remain safe to drink! We also explore some ideas on prolonging this period (some are obvious, some not so!)
How Long Can You Keep Coffee w/ Milk In The Fridge?
Ah, that milky coffee, it could be a Latte, a Cortada, a cappuccino, or just a plain and simple flat white. Whatever your favorite coffee drink is, once it is in the fridge you need to know how long it remains fresh enough to drink.
The problem here isn’t the coffee element. Without milk and being appropriately sealed, coffee can be safe to drink for up to two weeks. However, we all know that dairy products have a limited shelf life, and this is the main consideration when answering the above question.
With that in mind, and before we take a deeper delve into this question, let’s give a simple answer – If your milk was at its freshest when you added it to your coffee, then it should last 7 days and be consumed within the week!
Factors To Be Considered When Refrigerating Coffee With Milk
Of course, this can be affected by several factors, let’s have a look at some of the areas that can alter the lifespan of coffee with milk in the fridge.
- The freshness of Milk – If your milk is already past its best before you add it to your coffee, it will considerably shorten its life expectancy.
- How long was the milk out of the fridge? – If the milk or milked coffee drink has been out of the fridge for some time before you refrigerate it, this affects the length of time it remains fresh.
- The performance and settings of your fridge – Not all fridges are equal! Ideally, you need your fridge to be at or below 40° F. If your fridge is inefficient or you have a higher temperature set then this will have a big effect on how long it retains freshness.
Any of these factors will have a detrimental effect on the longevity of your coffee with milk. But there are some ideas you can put into practice to improve the drinkable lifespan of your coffee.
In most cases, the goal is to reheat your coffee and get the taste. After reheating I like to put my hot drinks in a Yeti Rambler. In a recent article, I wrote about how Yeti Ramblers are the best for hot drinks and how they keep drinks hot for 5 to 6 hours.
How To Improve The Time You Can Keep Milky Coffee In The Fridge
Some of these are obvious like always using the freshest possible milk when making your drink.
But others may not be so obvious, next we will consider some of the obvious and less-obvious tips to help you prolong the storage life of your milky coffee:
- Add the milk only when required – By far the simplest solution, particularly if you pre-prepare a jug of coffee for reheating or making iced drinks, is simply to wait until you are preparing your drink before adding the milk.
- Use UHT milk – Although once it is opened, it doesn’t last as long as when it is sealed, you will still get a day or perhaps two longer out of your drink.
- Don’t store your milk in the fridge door – A little-known fact about fridges is that the fridge door is the warmest part of the interior. To ensure you get the best possible shelf life out of your drink store your milk in the interior of the fridge. The same rule applies to your coffee drink, storing it in the fridge door compartment will result in a shorter lifespan.
- Make sure it is left out of the fridge for the shortest possible period – It might just seem like a minute here or a minute there, but all this adds up and adversely affects how long it stays fresh.
- Ensure your Fridge is at the right temperature – Milk keeps best at temperatures between 32° and 39° F, always make sure your fridge is set to operate somewhere between these two temperatures.
- Seal the drink in an airtight container – This helps retain the freshness of the drink over a longer period.
- Keep your fridge door shut – I admit I’m terrible at opening the fridge and staring at the contents for prolonged periods whilst wondering what I can graze on. This is bad practice when it comes to prolonging the life of everything in the fridge, not just the milky coffee drink. Try to keep the door closed as much as possible.
- Use organic milk – It is a fact that organic milk stays fresher than the non-organic option. This isn’t to do with any magic to do with the milk itself, rather it is down to the fact that organic milk often has to travel farther before it reaches the supermarket shelves. Therefore, organic milk goes through a different and more effective preservation process, resulting in longer-lasting milk.
- Use a milk alternative – Using alternatives like coconut, almond, and cashew will give your beverage longevity. Here are 6 dairy alternatives that will last longer than cow’s milk.
How To Tell If Coffee w/ Milk Is Still Safe To Drink
Mostly, this should be obvious. Look for signs of curdling on top of the drink, and of course, sour milk does tend to have a unique aroma!
However, there are those borderline cases when it is touch and go. Approach these circumstances with caution, have a good sniff at the coffee first, and if the results are still inconclusive, then it is time for the taste test!
If the milk has gone off, there will be a sour aftertaste that won’t leave you with much doubt as to the freshness of the drink.
In a nutshell, if it tastes and smells okay, then it probably is okay.
