Can you stave off hypothermia by drinking hot coffee?

In the very short term, yes. It would require more coffee than a person can consume to prevent hypothermia in the long term. If you can brew coffee then you probably have a heat source that can be better employed, anyway. read more

Drinking scalding hot coffee is dangerous. It is not “an acquired comfort level”, but there is an acquired skill level. First, the simplest solution is to just wait a few minutes until it cools off enough to drink. Or, you can “slurp” it, by quickly drawing air and a small amount of coffee into your mouth. read more

Hot chocolate or a similar sugary drink is a fine idea, but mostly because it includes sugar (more on this in the next section). Coffee, because caffeine is a mild vasodilator, may not be a wise choice. read more

You can always opt for an Irish coffee, which includes Irish whiskey and cream. There isn’t a drink quite so delicious for tea lovers. After all, you can mix up a hot toddy, also called a hot whiskey in Ireland. However, most people consider the hot toddy a remedy for a cold or the flu. read more