One of the best things about cold brew coffee is its smoothness. The smooth taste and low acidity make cold brew coffee too easy to slurp down if I’m not paying close attention. Though cold brew coffee is both delicious and refreshing, it’s also reasonably high in caffeine which can hit you quickly if you’re casually sipping on cold brew without considering the caffeine content.
If you’ve ever gotten carried away and enjoyed your cold brew a little too much, you may have faced the coffee jitters (I know I have), leading you to wonder just how much caffeine is in cold brew coffee. It’s been great to see so many coffee companies emerging with decaf cold brew options I can enjoy without feeling so restless. But does cold brew coffee have more caffeine than your average cup of hot coffee? Or, more caffeine than iced coffee? Let’s explore.
Does cold brew have more caffeine?
The question of “Does cold brew coffee have more caffeine?” doesn’t quite have a clear black-and-white answer. In most cases, cold brew coffee has slightly more caffeine than other types of coffee, such as hot drip coffee or iced coffee. As mentioned by Hale Coffee Company, the higher caffeine content of cold brew is generally a result of the unique brewing process.
Cold brew coffee is made by steeping grounds in cold water for many hours, creating a concentrated, bold brew. The longer steeping time (12 to 24 hours) creates a prolonged extraction process which can leave your cold brew coffee with more caffeine than your average cup of drip coffee. As your cold brew extracts slowly over many hours, more caffeine seeps out, yielding a pretty caffeinated end product.
Factors affecting caffeine in cold brew
According to Healthline, the average 16-ounce serving of cold brew coffee contains around 200 mg of caffeine. This is where the caffeine question in cold brew gets a little more tricky. The amount of caffeine in cold brew can vary tremendously depending on several variables within the brewing process. Let’s say you’re making cold-brew coffee at home.
The ratio of coffee to water you use will vary depending on how strong you like your coffee compared to someone else making cold brew. Cold brew made with a higher coffee-to-water ratio will have more caffeine than one that uses less coffee for the same amount of water.
Additionally, other variables come into the equation that can drastically change the caffeine content in cold brew. Other variables include:
Type of coffee beans and roast used
Part of the fun of making cold brew at home is experimenting with new steeping methods and trying new coffee brands and roasts. Different types of coffee beans and different roasts contain varying levels of caffeine. For example, Robusta coffee beans have a higher caffeine content than Arabica coffee beans.
Grind size and temperature of water
Finely ground coffee may contain more caffeine than coarse ground coffee. Medium-coarse ground coffee is generally recommended for cold brew to prevent over-extraction and bitterness from using too fine a grind. Also, warmer water extracts more caffeine from coffee beans than colder water.
Brewing time
Did you leave your cold brew overnight for 12 hours or steep it for 24 hours? The length of time spent brewing can also impact caffeine content. The longer your cold brew steeps, the more caffeine will be extracted from the coffee into the water.
Serving size considerations
It’s tough to make generalizations, given that so many variables can impact the amount of caffeine in a cold brew. However, it’s also essential to consider the average serving size of cold brew compared to other coffees. Compared to iced coffee, cold brew and iced coffee are generally consumed in similar cup sizes (imagine the type of cold cups you’d get when ordering a cold coffee at Starbucks).
Cold brew usually has more caffeine than hot or iced coffee because of the longer steeping time. However, you also have to consider the serving size of each type of coffee drink. A standard cup of coffee (8 ounces) contains about 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine. While you might order a large, 16-ounce hot coffee, hot coffee is generally consumed in smaller servings than cold brew. There’s something about drinking cold brew through a straw that makes it easier to drink in much larger quantities.
The caffeine would likely be similar if you drink the same serving size of cold brew vs. hot drip coffee. Again, so many factors are at play (water-to-coffee ratio, amount of time spent steeping, type of coffee used) that it’s hard to hone in on a universal answer. Regardless of whether you opt for a cold brew coffee, iced coffee, or hot coffee, always check with your Barista if you want to know exactly how much caffeine is in your cup.
