Here we will see about the Can You Microwave Starbucks Cups?
In this modern era, microwaving food material has now been a common practice. Microwaving is employed to heat up food materials for the purpose of warming it or as a means of preservation. This can also be said of microwaving the leftover beverage inside Starbucks cup.
It is practically inadvisable to microwave Starbucks cups owing to the components of the cup. The cup is coated and lined with a mix of wax and plastic for the purpose of holding the beverage and retaining its heat content, but not designed as an object of reheating or cooking. If Starbucks cup is microwaved, it can succumb to high temperature and melt the coatings as well as the cup components. In the light of this, Starbucks cups are not the go-to material for microwave.
Why Is Starbucks Cup Not Microwave Friendly?
Microwave ovens work by means of agitation, it agitates the water molecules in the food, making them to vibrate, which produces heat. The microwaves penetrate via openings in the top of the cooking cavity, where it gets diffused evenly throughout the oven by a stirrer
Microwaving of beverages is not the ideal issue, but it’s a function of the object which serves as the medium. Is Starbucks cup a suitable material to microwave beverage? To delve into that, let’s take into consideration the makeup of Starbucks cup. Polyethylene is part of the materials used to make plastics and plastics in turn, form part of the components of Starbucks cups, so it is safe to say that Starbucks cups are coated with a mix of wax and plastic. These materials can only hold and retain hot coffee but cannot withstand high temperature.
In addition to that, there are other components within the cup that are not designed to withstand high amount of heat generated from the microwave. Aside from the glue that holds the plastics in place, there is inner lining as well as the ink which are not temperature friendly. If these materials are exposed to high temperature, it can result into melting and contaminate the beverage.
Is It Safe to Microwave with Paper Coffee Cups
Microwaves are efficient in rapidly heating up food. It can pass through many materials such as glass, plastics, ceramics, and paper, making containers made up of these materials a good fit for microwaves. Microwave instructions make an explicit information on which containers are microwave friendly.
Speaking in terms of paper cups, when they are put into the microwave, the contents heat up very quickly. Most of these paper cups are designed for single use which are readily decomposable and these have made them to become convenient and available for everyday use. This easy accessibility of these paper coffee cups have made people to over utilize them into heating them in microwave.
Either it is safe to microwave paper coffee cups or not is a question of the components of the paper cup. Microwaves tend to produce high temperature and heat up content rapidly and efficiently, such high temperature may be too high and the cup may not withstand such amount of heat, this may cause the components of the cup to start to disintegrate and melt down. Ultimately, this can cause the mess of the whole process.
When deciding to microwave paper cups, it is crucial to take into cognizance the makeup of the particular paper cup if it is one that is microwave friendly or not as such knowledge will determine if it is safe to microwave paper coffee cup or not.
Why Is It Bad to Microwave with a Non Microwave-Safe Material?
Many people do not enjoy cold coffee especially a leftover cold coffee without attempting to savor the taste by microwaving it. Does it really worth it to microwave the coffee with the Starbucks cup that is not an ideal microwave friendly material?
These are some of the reasons why it is not the best idea to microwave Starbucks cups and other similar paper coffee cups:
- Starbucks cups are lined and coated with the mix of plastic and wax to make it waterproof, and these materials don’t do well with high temperature.
- Microwaving may introduce toxic contaminants into the coffee
- Microwaving may make the cup to leak owing to the disintegration and melt down of the glue that holds the cup and other components
- The paper burns may alter the taste of the coffee.
- It maybe be detrimental to health due to the introduction of contaminants from the softened and melting components.
- There are chances of fire outbreak if the paper coffee cup cannot withstand too much of heat generated from the microwave.
Taking into consideration the aforementioned reasons, we can logically reason that the risk of microwaving in a non-microwave-safe materials outweigh the benefit.
How Can We Enjoy Our Hot Coffee In Starbucks Cup Without Incurring Danger?
Most people will agree to the notion that coffee is enjoyed when it’s hot unless drinking an iced coffee is intended. While you insist on reheating your coffee to savor the taste, it will be best to play safe by considering an alternative.
You can consider transferring the beverage into a microwave-safe cup and heat up your drink. After which you transfer again to your Starbucks cup and enjoy your hot coffee. This method is similar to cooking. You cook your meal with your cooking ware and later transfer to your favorite dish and enjoy your meal. Replicate this method in microwaving your coffee and get rid of using a non-microwave-safe material that can be counterproductive.
Conclusion
Granted, hot coffee is best enjoyed in Starbucks cups. Sadly, the temperature generated from microwave is way too much for Starbucks cup to withstand which make it a non-microwave-safe material. So it is safe to say that Starbucks cups are not suitable for microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can coffee be microwaved with metal material?
No, it is practically inadvisable and particularly unsuitable. Metal materials tend to reflect microwaves and hinder food from cooking. They can even cause damage to magnetron when microwaves are reflected back into it.
What are microwave-safe materials?
The word microwave-safe simply means products or materials that won’t melt if subjected to high temperature inside a microwave oven. Microwave-safe materials are those materials that microwave can penetrate such as glass, plastics, ceramics, and paper, making containers made of these materials a good choice for microwave. There are some materials which have the clear inscription on them that they are microwave-safe. Such materials clear the doubts on their safe use.
