Orange juice in coffee! Yum or gross?

Coffee and orange juice are the two most popular things to drink in the morning, right? If you’re a fan of both, you’ve probably considered combining them before. Could it be too acidic to drink? How much of each should you use? And iced or warm; which is better?

OJ and Coffee: the myths and the facts

Won’t it damage your teeth?

Orange juice, being no more acidic than most coffee types - though less acidic than lemon juice or lime - shouldn’t damage your teeth any more than black coffee would. Drinking a lot of coffee or orange juice could harm your teeth, but it should be fine if you’re just drinking one cup of citrus coffee. People with naturally soft enamel should take care, however.

If you’re drinking this in the morning, be careful about brushing your teeth too soon after drinking coffee or orange juice. The acid found in both drinks temporarily softens your enamel. This enamel can get brushed away if you don’t leave it to harden up again.

Will it give you a stomach ache?

Probably not, as long as you eat some breakfast with it. If you’re usually able to drink coffee or orange juice without getting a stomach ache, mixing them shouldn’t become a problem since they are no more acidic than what your tummy is used to having. But do make sure to get a good breakfast beforehand.

Will it curdle?

If you love milk in your coffee, rest assured - curdling is unlikely. Since oranges are on par with coffee in terms of acidity, and the coffee itself doesn’t typically curdle dairy, you can add milk or cream to your coffee-orange drink without fear of curdling.

So, how do you make it?

We recommend mixing any of our dark roast or espresso type coffees and orange juice as an iced beverage. Doing this makes a nice refreshing drink - and it’s a lot less like accidentally pouring orange juice into a cup of hot coffee on a weary morning!

1. Make your favorite strong coffee and let it cool. You’ll need about half a cup or 2 ounces.
2. Fill a tall glass about halfway with ice.
3. Pour some orange juice over the ice to this halfway point.
4. Top up the glass with the cooled coffee, taking a moment to appreciate the Instagram-worthy layers mingling!
5. Stir and enjoy!

You can add a little sparkling water on top for a refreshing summertime drink if you like.

What do you think?

It turns out this extra citrusy drink is quite popular! Arizona, home of the famous iced teas, is also home to a coffee shop called Infusion, which offers a frothy nitro orange coffee drink named “SprOJ”.

What about lemon?

A typical refreshing juice to add to tea is lemon juice. But how does lemon go with a coffee?

For centuries, Portugal has been whipping up sugary lemon-coffee mazagran, while coffee lemonade is another popular drink. And you make this the same way you would make orange coffee.