How do you drink coffee with a beard? 10 Options

When I was growing a beard, there was a moment, about three months in, where I realised that pretty much everything I ate and drank got into my beard. I used to drink about two or 3 cups of coffee a day, and I became very self-conscious about the amount of milk foam leftover in my beard. I researched the different ways to drink coffee with a beard without it ending up in your moustache.

You can drink coffee with a beard by using a moustache guard, pushing out your lips, using a disposable cup with a lid, using a straw, drinking coffee without any milk, and using a handkerchief to remove foam and coffee.

In this article, we will go over everything that I discovered about drinking coffee with a beard and how you can make it less messy.

There are three main ways that you can drink coffee with a beard without it ruining your day:

  • barrier method – this means putting something between you and your beard. Typically this is a bit of metal or plastic, which stops the coffee from contacting the moustache.
  • Bypass method – using a straw or other method of avoiding the moustache altogether and delivering the copy straight into your mouth.
  • Boss method – this method involves putting up with whatever gets into your moustache while you are drinking and removing it with a handkerchief or leaving it for later!

Let’s take a look at the variety of options in these three methods in much more detail.

Moustache guard/Whisker Dam

The first barrier method which is worthy of note is using a moustache guard or a Whisker Dam. These options put a physical barrier between your moustache and the drink so that it literally cannot end up in your moustache. They are typically made of plastic or metal, and there are various options to suit every budget.

My two favourite options are the Moguard and Whisker Dam.

MoGuard

The Moguard is an inexpensive way of protecting your moustache from beer, coffee, and other liquids. It is made from a flexible silicone material, which fits onto almost any glass and cup. The flexible silicone material also means that you are not likely to damage or scratch the glass in any way.

It is small enough to fit in your pocket and even comes with a carabiner so that you can attach it to your keychain.

Whisker Dam

The whisker dam is a high-quality metallic clip that gets placed on your cup or mug to protect your moustache. This metallic clip can be carried in a high-quality leather pouch throughout the day in your pocket. The metallic surface means that it is easy to clean, and I wouldn’t hesitate to stick it in my dishwasher.

Even though this is slightly more expensive than the option above, I think the added craftsmanship and potential for the whisker down to last many years is worth its extra price.

Pucker up

Another way to ensure that coffee doesn’t end up in your moustache is to push your lips forward and pucker up while taking a sip. This approach is particularly effective if you have a short beard and a moustache, and I have found that it often is all I need to do to avoid getting a majority of the foam in my beard and moustache.

Learning to provide direct access to your lips is also another way to make kissing more effective. If you want to know more about kissing someone with facial hair, check out my other article – how do you kiss some with facial hair – everything you need to know in a simple and informative article – click here to be taken to the article.

How do you kiss someone with facial hair - Beard growing pro

Cup with a lid

Even though I only drink coffee when sitting in an establishment and I rarely get takeaway, asking for your coffee in a takeaway mark with a lid is another way of ensuring that you keep all of that pesky phone out of your moustache and beard.

Most cafés will carry a range of disposable takeaway containers that includes a lid. The lid has been designed to be leakproof and has a small hole for consuming hot beverages whilst walking. The whole is typically small and is completely sealed with your lips. Your moustache can sit on top of the hole and be completely away from any potential milk foam.

If a takeaway container doesn’t suit your ecological conscience, you can carry your own reusable takeaway coffee cup and ask your Brister to use your moustache friendly receptacle.

Through a straw

A straw is one of the simplest options for drinking any liquid without it ending up in your beard or moustache. It can feel strange to drink coffee through a straw, but the strange feeling often goes away after you realise how effective it is at keeping your beard clean and fresh.

The world is currently replacing plastic straws with various metallic, pasta, paper, and other biodegradable materials. A friend of mine recently bought me a selection of metallic straws, and I often carry them to coffee meetings to avoid using plastic straws and be assured that my straw is clean and fresh.

With a fancy glass

Moustache cups were invented in the mid-1800s by an English Potter called Harvey Adams. In Victorian England, most men had pretty large moustaches, and many men waxed or even died them moustaches to keep them looking fabulous and aligned with the fashion.

Being English, they drank a fair amount of tea. Unfortunately, the wax would melt, and the dye would run out of the beards into the tea, causing embarrassment.

Harvey Adams decided to create a moustache guard. The guard was a moustache shaped ledge that went across the cup with an opening in the middle to sip the tea through. This invention allowed any moustached gentleman to drink the tea and keep his moustache and beard free of liquid. This item became very popular.

These cuts quickly became all the rage, and they made their way through Europe and America. You can still purchase cups of this nature on popular marketplaces, and they are often dishwasher and microwave safe and make the perfect addition to your pantry.

Low on the foam

If you still enjoy milky coffee and do not want to give up your daily coffee, you can choose a style of white coffee that doesn’t contain a significant amount of foam.

Foam in coffee is one of the hardest things to consume as it provides a layer of impenetrable bubbles before you can set the liquid underneath.

Here is a list of coffee styles that you may want to consider if you want a coffee with a low foam or no foam component:

  • Macchiato – this has one shot of espresso and only two teaspoons of steamed milk
  • Long Macchiato – this has two shots of espresso and up to 4 teaspoons of steamed milk.
  • Flat white – this originates from New Zealand and Australia and is very similar to a cappuccino but lacks the foam layer and the chocolate powder.
  • Café au Lait – typically made in a French press instead of in a special shot and has warm milk instead of steamed milk.  
  • Iced coffee – an iced coffee becomes very popular in the summertime, and it can be varied by using different syrups. It contains no foam and is easy to drink with a moustache.

If you do not want to run the risk of having milk in your coffee and, therefore your moustache, you can drink a coffee without the milk.

Without milk

Milk, when in a moustache, can easily become rancid and cause several beard smells. Having good hygiene and shampooing your beard regularly can avoid nearly all beard smells but, avoiding milk can make sure that your beard is fresh throughout the day.

Here is a list of coffees that do not have any milk component whatsoever.

  • Cold-brew – cold brew is a very sweet black coffee typically served cold and is very smooth to drink.
  • Long black – long black is similar to the Americano, but it originated in New Zealand and Australia and generally has more crema than an Americano.
  • Americano – This is a popular breakfast drink and contains one shot of espresso and 3 ounces of hot water
  • Black eye – this contained two shots of espresso and 7 ounces of drip-brewed coffee.
  • Red eye – this coffee contains one shot of espresso and 7 ounces of drip-brewed coffee
  • espresso – one shot of espresso which can be hard to master. Make sure you go to a good quality café to drink your espresso.

Drink your coffee without milk is the perfect way to avoid any issue with foam or milky residue leftover in your moustache. Even the smallest amount of residue and a hot day can leave your beard smelling a little bit musty.

With a handkerchief

There’s one thing I’ve learned about owning a beard: sometimes you cannot go without stuff getting in your beard. I often carry a cotton handkerchief to wipe out any residues from my beard that may get caught up during eating and drinking.

I often ask for a paper napkin at a café if I do not have my handkerchief.

Getting into the habit of asking for a paper towel or napkin when you order is one way of being proactive about stuff ending up in your beard and moustache.

I have found that the simple explanation of it getting into my beard is enough for even the busiest baristas to provide me with the extra napkins needed to clean my beard.

With friends

Sometimes I want to not worry about all of the food and drink that ends up in my beard. When I feel like I want to go and relax, I make sure that I am either on my own or with good friends who don’t mind me getting a little bit of food in my beard. It can be hard to be always concerned about what people are thinking about you and your beard, but I have found that I am much more relaxed with good friends.

If you don’t want to care for an afternoon, I would highly recommend heading out on your own or with some close friends, and I can assure you that your coffee will feel much more friendly, and you will not worry about what is in your beard as much.

Wax it out of the way

if you have a particularly long moustache, you can use a stronghold wax to hold it out of the way of your coffee.

Having a long beard enables the person to sweep the hair away from the mouth. Even people with a very long beard can trim up their moustache relatively short so that they free up space around their mouth.

Unless the person has specifically grown at a long moustache – like a fancy moustache – drinking with a longer beard is relatively unobstructive.

A fancy moustache can be waxed to the sides once it surpasses a couple of inches in length which can take a few months. But, once it is there, beard balm and beard wax can easily keep the moustache well out of the way and swept to the sides of the face.

If you are willing to push through the moustache growth stages moving it to the side is the easiest way to free up space for drinking.

How do you drink coffee with a beard? Summary

This article has gone over everything you need to know about drinking coffee with a moustache. Using the techniques in this article, I am sure that you will drink coffee confidently and avoid some of the worst side effects – like the smell, from ruining your day after drinking a delicious cup of coffee.

The Author


Andy Stapleton

Andy is a writer and YouTuber with a PhD in science. He has written and/or produced videos for Science Alert, COSMOS magazine, and Australia's Science Channel among others. He is an avid beard grower and after many years of growing and trialling different beard styles, he started this blog to share the tips, tricks, and science that he has learned along the way!