Have you ever taken a sip of hot coffee — expecting the blossoming heat of the drink to warm you up on a cold morning — only to be betrayed by its scalding contents coating your tongue?

If so, you’re clearly familiar with the pain, betrayal, and anguish related to drinking coffee hot. As someone who has spent too much on coffee — both hot and cold — in the past few weeks, I believe that iced coffee is a superior product to hot coffee for three key reasons: It’s pain-free, better for you, and more versatile.

As discussed, you’re far less likely to face any semi-permanent injury in the name of your favorite cold beverage. At the most, you’ll suffer a brief brain freeze, but really, is that so bad compared with third-degree burns?

Second, iced coffee can actually be better for you than hot coffee. While iced coffee made from simply cooling off the previously warm coffee is no different from its warm counterpart, cold brew is significantly less acidic because it doesn’t involve the heating process, which gives coffee a pH suitable for etching metal. Cold brew is much better for your stomach, because your body prefers a more alkaline environment.

Last, while warm coffee has its perks, there are few things that beat a refreshing — and cheap — iced coffee complete with whatever syrup or flavoring fits your mood. Iced coffee is simply far more versatile than hot coffee. Are you feeling like enjoying a nice dessert? Deck out your iced coffee. Need a quick, cheap, and low calorie pick-me-up? Go with iced coffee. Want to enjoy coffee in its purest form? Consider iced coffee because the coffee’s natural flavor, when unimpeded by hot coffee’s acid, is far stronger in iced coffee.

Next time you’re feeling like a nice caffeine boost, consider iced coffee over hot coffee. Even as winter approaches, make sure to stunt on everyone at your 8:30 discussion by proving your tolerance against the cold pangs of winter.

My coffee adoration would have never started if it were not for the comfort, smell, and hand-warming dual purpose of a beautiful fresh hot cup of coffee, especially to start off my day.

I drink my coffee hot first thing in the morning and periodically throughout the day for comfort and that extra caffeine boost I long for. I prefer the warmness and strong scent that hot coffee provides over the chilling goose bumps and masked coffee flavor of iced coffee. I mean, who doesn’t want to be warmed up and eager to seize the day in the morning?

Let’s be real, the morning is a rough time as we all try to battle our laziness. Being able to indulge on a hot cup of coffee is relaxing as I get torn away from the cozy nest of my bed and have to ease into my busy day. The slow sipping of hot coffee is metaphorical to how I gradually begin to accomplish my long to-do list of life. With iced coffee, it slams me with the chills and makes me want to crawl back into my warm bed, which is by no means motivating. Relishing on a hot cup of joe gives me this “I can conquer the world” feeling that iced coffee does not.

To be sure, hot coffee is for the true coffee lovers. Cold drinks are for quenching thirst, not for easing into a day. A genuine coffee enthusiast will appreciate the strong aroma that a hot-brewed cup of coffee has right off the bat. They will always savor the bold roasted flavor of that fresh hot cup.

Now I must advise you as you are faced with the question of hot or iced coffee, choose the motivating and comforting hot cup of coffee every time. Save yourself from the goose bumps, the disguised coffee flavor, and the condensation that will be soaking into the fresh notes you just took in class.