For java junkies, morning coffee fix never takes a vacation

For Eastport resident Ina Meyer, the morning just wouldn't be the morning without hot coffee.

No matter how steamy it is outside, her cup always runneth over with a frothy tall skim latte.

"I can't do the cold thing in the morning," she said last week as the mercury hit 80 at just 7 a.m. and she placed her regular order at City Dock Coffee in Annapolis.

"I just need hot coffee in the morning. (Iced coffee) just wouldn't be right. I'd be verklempt without my hot coffee."

In the afternoon, though, especially in the summer, she'll sometimes switch to an iced latte. That's a pattern followed by many coffee drinkers: They run hot in the morning and cold on summer afternoons, although a small number of true diehards seem to never change.

These were the findings of a very informal survey of local java junkies in last week's hot, humid conditions. (In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that many of the interviews for this story were conducted with a notepad in one hand and a hot cup of coffee in the other.)

"I think the majority of the people start out with a hot cup in the morning," said Deb Hoffman, who owns The Big Bean in Severna Park. "It doesn't matter if it's hot or not. They're used to it."

Barrista Angela Cone said that even the runners who stop in fresh off the nearby Baltimore & Annapolis Trail drink hot coffee. "They still get hot coffee and they're drenched," she said. "We lay their money up on the counter to dry."

The same loyalty seems to apply to some tea drinkers. Susan Taylor, who stopped in at Ms. Hoffman's shop for a hot cup of Earl Grey, said it's just part of her routine.

"Iced tea?" she said. "Not in morning."

Even if it's hot outside, she explained, it's cool inside where she's drinking her tea.

Another patron, Kathleen Hilton of Severna Park, postulated that more people might prefer hot coffee in the morning because they believe it's stronger. They may think the ice in a cold coffee drink dilutes the kick, she said.

"I'm a purist," she said, adding that she had tried an iced latte the day before. "I need the real java."

Steve Duffy, who runs City Dock Coffee with his sister, Kerry, said summer days usually start off with lots of hot coffee sales, than iced coffee starts to get more and more popular as time, heat and humidity wear on.

Mr. Duffy said that beyond habit, many people are reluctant to try iced coffee because they mistakenly believe it's just old hot coffee that was left over. "Nothing could be further from the truth," he said, explaining that the company's iced coffee is specially brewed.

Nevertheless, early morning regular Winterson Hittle of Annapolis wasn't convinced. He said he won't try iced coffee. Ever. No matter how hot it gets.

"I don't drink cold coffee," he said. "I can't stand it. It makes my throat hurt."

Mr. Hittle (who later admitted it was probably habit more than anything that kept him running hot) had a compatriot of sorts in Cary Myles of Annapolis.

Mr. Myles was sipping a cup of hot coffee nearby at Hard Bean Coffee & BookSellers. Specifically, a grande dark roast with a little cream and a little sugar. "Just perfect," he opined.

He always has hot coffee to start the day, but has been known to make the switch to the iced variety in the afternoon.

"Iced coffee? In the morning?" Mr. Myles asked incredulously. "It's impossible. You can't do that. You wouldn't be right if you did that."

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