Smokers and hot coffee aficionados brave the heat in Philly

Just because it’s hot, not everyone treats it that way. For many smokers and hot coffee purists, the heat is no deterrent.

During this prolonged heat wave, most people look for any excuse to stay in air-conditioning, but some Philadelphia smokers say habit trumps high temperatures.

 

Matt Duffy took a smoke break Thursday under the beating sun in Center City.

“I’m addicted, and there’s really no stopping that regardless of heat,” Duffy said. “It’s a little unbearable, but it’s only five minutes.”

Unlike Duffy, who said he doesn’t go out of his way to find a shady spot, Robert Branch asked to stand under a tree for his interview. He’s a summer smoker even though he says it’s more enjoyable when it’s colder.

Branch was among other smokers who also swore by their choice of hot coffee during the summer months.

“[Iced coffee’s] never caught on with me,” Branch said. “It seems strange, I don’t know. Coffee should be hot.”

A few blocks down, Aaron Roberge’s coffee taste is a cost-benefit analysis.

“What I do is, I’ll drink it like halfway and then put ice in it instead of getting an iced coffee,” Roberge said. “Iced coffee’s expensive and you get less in a way, less coffee, and I’m a coffee nut.”

He got his hot hazelnut coffee fix on Market Street outside the restaurant where he works.

Doctors caution against too many caffeinated drinks — whether hot or cold — during this summer heat since they are dehydrating.