One of the most frequent questions we receive is: why do we mix our creatine in a hot liquid? Our response: Studies suggest that creatine powder breaks down and dissolves more effectively when mixed in warm water as opposed to cold water. Thus, maximizing the absorption of creatine into our muscles after consumption. Additionally, some users indicate that taking creatine in warm water prevents stomach upsets.
Now, in order to appease all of the naysayers, there are some arguments that it does not matter whether creatine is taken with hot or cold water. These individuals believe that so long as you are taking a high quality creatine monohydrate then the powder should dissolve effectively regardless of the temperature of the water. Creatine Coffee uses a pharmaceutical grade creatine monohydrate and therefore does dissolve very effectively in both hot AND cold water. However, through our experience, it without a doubt dissolves better in hot water.
The second argument is that since the temperature in the stomach is roughly 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit with a pH of around 2, the creatine that is not dissolved will be broken down once it hits the stomach. There are a couple points as to this. First, the acidity of the stomach does not cause the stomach to get hot. The stomach's temperature state of 98.6 causes food/water/supplements to either heat up or cool down to that 98.6 degrees. So therefore, the creatine simply hitting your stomach, will not make it hot, it will merely make it normal body temperature. Secondly, while your body will warm up the creatine to the relative temperature of your stomach, depending on what your goals are, it may too late by then. The warm water makes the creatine more soluble. This has the obvious benefits of wasting less (it won't get stuck in the bottom of your glass or clumped up) as well as making it more soluable prior to entering your digestive system. The more soluable the creatine, the more bio-available it is. Meaning you will be able to absorb more creatine from the same 5g dosage. This easy bioavailability is coincidentally why people report less upset stomach when consuming with hot water.
It should be noted, that you should not heat up water with creatine already in it. When you do this, the process of boiling the water with the creatine will cause the creatine to denature, meaning you are only able to absorb very little, if any. At the end of the day, if you are getting the results you want out of your creatine then you shouldn't mess with a good thing. If however, you would like more results, the answer may lie in a little prep work. Heat the water before hand, mix in 5g of Creatine Monohydrate (aka Creatine Coffee) and consume within 30 minutes. (Studies have found that your body is able to absorb maximal amounts in a half hour and after that you begin seeing diminishing returns.)
In summary, we are not saying creatine can only be taken with a hot liquid. In fact, we have recipes that are for a delicious Iced Coffee Frozen Yogurt. What we are saying is that there are studies that demonstrate creatine is more readily absorbed by the body when taken with a hot liquid. And if you are paying for good creatine, why not make the most of all its benefits?