Question about coffee.

[Havok]

This may be weird.

Why is it that when I drink hot coffee, I have to go to the bathroom shortly after, but when I drink cold coffee, it doesn't have that effect.

This is something I actually realized and observed when I worked at Starbucks for about three years, and was reminded of this morning.

Does the heated caffeine absorb quicker into the system than cold would? Wouldn't any liquid change temperature to our internal temps relatively quick after ingestion?

[Feil]

Might this be a causation - correlation goof? If you drink hot coffee when you're cool (read: not sweating) and cold coffee when you're hot (read: sweating, even if only slightly), or if you drink cold coffee when you're thirsty, you'll retain the liquid in cold coffee because your body needs it, but void the liquid in hot coffee because your body is fine.

[Broomstick]

Ingestion of food or liquid of any sort tends to prompt bodily waste elimination - it could be that in your case hot food or liquid acts as a stronger stimulus than cold

[CmdrWilkens]

I can think of only two things:

1) The ingestion of warm fluids acts to relax the muscles constraining the baldder allowing release while the cold fluid does not do so (or alternatively the codl fluid constricts the muscles slowing release)

or since neither of those seems all that likely

2) Its all in your head.

[Medic]

WRT staying hydrated, I've always been told by medics that water closer to your body temperature hydrates you faster cause, for example in the summer time, cold water has to be warmed to your body's temperature before it gets distributed.

If true, I suppose that applies to coffee too.

[Molyneux]

Here's a thought: you probably finish the cold coffee more quickly than the hot coffee, so there's a longer gap between then and your need to use the bathroom.