Cold Brew Vs Americano – Taste, Calories, Caffeine Compared!

The battle of the brew of cold brew Vs Americano is something to weigh up when deciding which coffee you want.

There is a lot to consider from caffeine, to calories, taste and of course which one is healthiest.

Keep reading to find out how each of the drinks weighs up and compares with each other.

Cold Brew Vs Americano Caffeine – Does Cold Brew Or Americano Have More Caffeine?

A cold brew coffee and a café Americano are two different coffee beverages even though an iced Americano can look a lot like a cold brew coffee with ice cubes.

Let’s look at the caffeine content of each drink:

Cold brewed coffee: 

• Tall 12 Oz (360 ml): 155 mg.
• Grande 16 Oz (480 ml): 205 mg.
• Venti 24 Oz (720 ml): 310 mg.

Caffe Americano and Iced Americano: 

• Tall 12 Oz (360 ml): 150 mg.
• Grande 16 Oz (480 ml): 225 mg.
• Venti 24 Oz (720 ml): 300 mg.

It is clear that there is not a lot between the two coffee beverages in terms of caffeine content. In fact, we can get granular as say that a Tall 12 Oz (360 ml) and Venti 24 Oz (720 ml) has 5 mg and 10 mg more caffeine than a caffe Americano for the same drink size while a Grande 16 Oz (480 ml) caffe Americano has 20 mg caffeine more than a grande cold brew coffee.

There is not a lot between the two, 20 mg, the greatest difference between the two drinks, is very little and not something that your body will notice – unless you have a particularly high sensitivity to caffeine.

Read: Does cold brew have more caffeine than espresso?

Cold Brew Vs Americano Calories

Both of these two beverages are low in calories, fat and sugar-free and low in sodium. There is only a negligible difference in the number of calories for all drink sizes.

Make your choice for which drink that you want based on the taste, not the calorie count as the slight difference is unnoticeable to your diet.

Information is extracted from Starbucks website.

Cold Brew Vs Americano Taste – Is Cold Brew Or Americano Stronger

A caffe Americano has a stronger and more dominant taste due to the shots of espresso used to brew the caffe Americano; it’s bolder, stronger and has fuller body and higher acidity than a cold brew coffee.

A cold brew is a very mellow, well-rounded and balanced tasting coffee with an acidity level up to 66% less than an Americano.

Is Cold Brew Or Americano Healthier?

A cold brew coffee is just as healthy as any other coffee beverage; however, an Americano due to being brewed with hot water is able to extract more of the antioxidants, particularly chlorogenic acid.

Chlorogenic acid is a very powerful antioxidant that is found only in coffee and responsible for a number of health benefits. With this in mind, an Americano is healthier.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cold Brew Vs Americano

Is A Cold Brew Stronger Than An Americano?

Caffe Americano, be it an iced Americano, tastes stronger than a cold brew coffee. A cold-brewed coffee is a mellow coffee with a very balanced and rounded taste. Cold brew coffee does have a higher caffeine content than caffe Americano and is stronger in this way.

What’s The Difference Between Americano And Cold Brew?

A cold brew coffee is brewed with a coarse, even grind size using cold water and a coffee to water ratio of 1:8. It is intentionally brewed to extract all the low temperature flavor compounds. A caffe Americano and iced Americano are brewed by adding water to shots of espresso.

A hot caffe Americano has hot water added to a shot of espresso, while an iced Americano has cold water and ice added to a shot of espresso.

Read: Iced Americano Vs Cold Brew

Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than Americano?

An Americano, be it hot or iced, has a lower dose of caffeine than cold brew coffee. The only exception is the Grande 16 Oz drink size at Starbucks.

Caffe Americano:

• Tall 12 Oz (360 ml): 150 mg
• Grande 16 Oz (480 ml): 225 mg
• Venti 24 Oz (720 ml): 300 mg.

Cold brew coffee: 

• Tall 12 Oz (360 ml): 155 mg
• Grande 16 Oz (480 ml): 205 mg
• Venti 24 Oz (720 ml): 310 mg.

Cold brew coffee is available in the trenta drink size and has 360 mg of caffeine and has a significant caffeine kick. Caffe Americano is not available in the trenta drink size.

Which Is Stronger Americano Or Brewed?

Brewed coffee has a greater caffeine boost than caffe Americano.

Brewed coffee at Starbucks caffeine content:

• Tall 12 Oz (360 ml): 235 mg
• Grande 16 Oz (480 ml): 310 mg
• Venti 24 Oz (720 ml): 410 mg

Caffe Americano has caffeine levels ranging from 150 to 300 mg for the same three drink sizes.

Is Cold Brew Coffee Sweet?

Cold brew coffee is sweeter than other coffee brewing methods and techniques. It’s sweeter, more rounded and balanced. It is perfect for adding milk and cream and enjoying without the addition of sugar.

Read: Cold brew espresso

Do Europeans Drink Americanos?

Yes, having worked as a barista in Spain for many years I can tell you from experience that Spaniards love a caffe Americano. I worked a lot in the tourist resorts and towns where the majority of tourists are from France, Holland, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia. 

It is unquestionable, the European drink caffe Americano, it is a popular type of coffee for this group of people. 

Final Thoughts – Cold Brew Vs Americano

In the battle of cold brew Vs Americano, you have the finer details in this article to help you make your choice, you base your choice on caffeine, calories, taste or which is the healthiest choice.

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Derek Marshall

Coffee is love, it's more than love — it's a passion of mine. I've had the luck to have travelled and enjoyed the most exotic of coffee's and unique flavors, brewing methods and techniques of making the perfect coffee from Thai hill tribe coffee to Indonesian volcanic coffee, Malaysian coffee that comes in a tea bag and the array of flavors in Vietnam, from Vanilla to Orange to Coconut to Avocado to even salt coffee and the famous egg coffee. The best part of my coffee adventures is getting to mix with the locals over a nice brew and learning how they make it! I'm cited and referenced on Google Scholar for the topic of coffee.