Last updated on November 22nd, 2023 at 12:26
It is very well known amongst coffee lovers and coffee enthusiasts that cold brew has more caffeine than regular coffee, but how much more caffeine is in cold brew?
By far the easiest and best way of knowing exactly how much more caffeine is in cold-brewed coffee is by checking out the table below and seeing the comparison between cold brew and various popular coffee beverages.
Keep reading to find out how big or how little the difference in caffeine content is!
How Much More Caffeine Is In Cold Brew?
Table Of Contents
- 1 How Much More Caffeine Is In Cold Brew?
- 2 How Much Caffeine In Cold Brew Dunkin’ Donuts
- 3 Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than A Latte?
- 4 How Much More Caffeine In Cold Brew Vs Regular Coffee?
- 5 Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than Espresso Shots?
- 6 Why Is Cold Brew Stronger?
- 7 Frequently Asked Questions About How Much More Caffeine Is In Cold Brew?
- 8 Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than 4 Shots Of Espresso?
- 9 Final Thoughts – How Much More Caffeine Is In Cold Brew?
How much more caffeine is in cold brew coffee will vary on both the cold brew in question and the type of coffee drink in question.
It is for this very reason I have chosen to use well known coffee establishments as a good and accurate means of demonstrating just how much more caffeine is in cold brew when compared to other brewing methods and types of coffee.
Since popular establishments like Starbucks use the same beans for their respective coffee drinks and don’t mix and match beans using them randomly in random drinks, we can eliminate this variable and get more accurate results.
Note: Starbucks uses specific beans in specific drinks unless requested.
| Drink Size | Macchiato Coffee Caffeine Content | Latte Caffeine Content | Cappuccino Caffeine Content | Mocha Caffeine Content | Drip Coffee Caffeine Content | Flat White Caffeine Content | Iced Coffee Caffeine Content | Cold Brew Caffeine Content |
| Tall 12 Oz (360 ml) | 75 mg | 75 mg | 75 mg | 90 mg | 110 mg | 130 mg | 120 mg | 150 mg |
| Grande 16 Oz (480 ml) | 75 mg | 75 mg | 75 mg | 95 mg | 145 mg | 130 mg | 165 mg | 200 mg |
| Venti 24 Oz (720 ml) | 150 mg | 150 mg | 150 mg | 175 mg | 180 mg | 195 mg | 235 mg | 300 mg |
| Trenta 31 Oz (930 ml) | 150 mg | 150 mg* | 150 mg | 185 mg | 230 mg | 195 mg | 285 mg | 330 mg |
From the list of the popular drinks and the most commonly requested ones you can see how their caffeine content compares to cold brew and how much more caffeine is in cold brew coffee.The one missing drink in the list above is Espresso, which has a unique drink size of 1 Oz (30 ml) and 2 Oz (60 ml) and has 75 mg and 150 mg respectively.
Read: Cold brew Vs Hot coffee
How Much Caffeine In Cold Brew Dunkin’ Donuts
Dunkin’ Donuts has two different cold brew beverages with each one available in their 3 standard drink sizes, small, medium and large.
| Drink Size | Dunkin’ Cold Brew Coffee Caffeine Content | Dunkin’ Energy Cold Brew Caffeine Content |
| Small | 174 mg | 259 mg |
| Medium | 260 mg | 345 mg |
| Large | 347 mg | 432 mg |
Notably these drinks contain a lot of caffeine with the energy cold brew large size pushing you over the maximum recommended amount of caffeine per day by 32 mg of caffeine. If you are particularly sensitive to caffeine, avoid this drink!
Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than A Latte?
Yes, there is a greater concentration of caffeine in cold brew than a latte for all drink sizes. At a regular coffee shop it will range from 65 mg to 195 and 75 mg to 150 mg or 75 mg to 225 mg at Starbucks – depending on where you are in the world.
| Drink Size | Latte Caffeine Content
Regular Coffee Shop |
Starbucks Latte Caffeine Content (USA, Australia) | Starbucks Latte Caffeine Content (UK, Europe And Rest Of The World). | Cold Brew Caffeine Content At Starbucks |
| Tall 12 Oz (360 ml) | 65 mg | 75 mg | 75 mg | 150 mg |
| Grande 16 Oz (480 ml) | 65 mg | 75 mg | 75 mg | 200 mg |
| Venti 24 Oz (720 ml) | 130 mg | 150 mg | 150 mg | 300 mg |
| Trenta 31 Oz (930 ml) | 195 mg | 150 mg | 225 mg | 330 mg |
How Much More Caffeine In Cold Brew Vs Regular Coffee?
There is a lot more caffeine in a cold brew than regular drip coffee (brewed coffee). even though there is a notable amount of caffeine in drip coffee.
Let’s compare the two drinks at the world’s most popular coffee shop, Starbucks.
| Drink Size | Drip Coffee Caffeine Content | Cold Brew Caffeine Content |
| Tall 12 Oz (360 ml) | 110 mg | 150 mg |
| Grande 16 Oz (480 ml) | 145 mg | 200 mg |
| Venti 24 Oz (720 ml) | 180 mg | 300 mg |
| Trenta 31 Oz (930 ml) | 230 mg | 330 mg |
At the smaller amount, 12 Oz (360 ml) tall serving you can see that the two drinks are fairly similar in their caffeine concentration with the difference only being the equivalent of half a shot of espresso.
As you go up the drink sizes you start to notice the difference in the amounts of caffeine in each drink starts to get larger, much larger with a 100 mg difference between the two caffeinated beverages at the Trenta 31 Oz (930 ml) drink size.
Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than Espresso Shots?
Yes,
A single shot of espresso has 65 mg (regular coffee shop) and 75 mg at Starbucks. Whereas a tall cold brew coffee at Starbucks has 150 mg, double that of a single espresso shot. The 16 Oz (480 ml) has 200 mg.
The caffeine content of a venti 24 oz (720 ml) and trenta 31 Oz (930 ml) is 300 mg and 330 mg respectively.
Note: An espresso has more caffeine per fluid oz or per 30 ml but not in total caffeine.
Why Is Cold Brew Stronger?
Cold brew has a very strong and focused coffee to water ratio of 1:8 undiluted and 1:4 to 1:2 when brewed as a concentrate. It is very important to note that nobody drinks a concentrate directly. No matter which concentration ratio was used, it always gets diluted to a 1:8 ratio for a good quality cup of coffee.
The reason a concentration is made is to improve the shelf life from 3-5 days to up to 2 to 3 weeks.
It is the highly focused ratio that causes cold-brewed coffee to have a greater amount of caffeine.
However,
it is important to know that the temperature of the water plays an important role in extracting the caffeine from coffee beans and grounds. Higher temperatures will extract significantly more caffeine than cooler temperatures.
This means that a hot brew coffee of the same coffee to water ratio will have significantly more caffeine.
An example of the hot water effect and concentrated coffee is a shot of espresso which has 75 mg of caffeine per ounce (30 ml). An espresso uses a 1:2 coffee to water ratio.
Cold brew, on a caffeine per ounce basis, has 12.5 mg. At the same concentration, the same ratio of coffee to water as an espresso, it would have 50 mg.
The brewing process for most cold brewing methods involves the use of cold water. Only the Japanese flash cold brewing process involves hot brewing of the coffee, which is then flash cold-brewed by dripping over ice and thus, Japanese flash cold brew contains more caffeine than regular cold brew.
Still,
the biggest factor in caffeine levels is the coffee to water ratio.
If you want to increase or decrease your caffeine intake from your homemade cold brew simply increase or decrease the coffee to water ratio.
Frequently Asked Questions About How Much More Caffeine Is In Cold Brew?
Does Cold Brew Coffee Have More Caffeine?
Yes, when you compare cold brew to other brewing methods like drip coffee, pour over, siphon, moka pot and French press it is usually stronger due to the coffee to water ratio.
A cold brew coffee drink is brewed typically with a coffee to water ratio of 1:8 and can be brewed as a concentrate with a ratio of 1:4 or even 1:2, although the concentrates are diluted with water when made to drink to a 1:8 ratio.
Other brewing methods can have a 1:12 to 1:16 ratio which is what makes them weaker in terms of caffeine content when compared to cold-brewed coffee.
Why Cold Brew Have More Caffeine?
The reason that cold brew coffee has more caffeine than hot coffee or iced coffee for example, is due to the strong and concentrated coffee to water ratio. Hot coffee, of any type is less concentrated, iced coffee is hot coffee that has been brewed over ice and thus is less concentrated.
Why Is Cold Brew So Strong?
Cold brew coffee is stronger due to the higher coffee to water ratio being more focused. Also, when brewing it has a much longer brewing time which may have the effect of extracting a few milligrams of caffeine more.
Which Is Stronger Cold Brew Or Iced Coffee?
Cold brew is stronger than iced coffee and notably so. Comparing Starbucks cold brew Vs Starbucks Iced coffee, you will see that for each drink size, cold brew has more caffeine.
| Drink Size | Iced Coffee Caffeine Content | Cold Brew Caffeine Content |
| Tall 12 Oz (360 ml) | 120 mg | 150 mg |
| Grande 16 Oz (480 ml) | 165 mg | 200 mg |
| Venti 24 Oz (720 ml) | 235 mg | 300 mg |
| Trenta 31 Oz (930 ml) | 285 mg | 330 mg |
Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than 4 Shots Of Espresso?
A single shot of espresso has 75 mg of caffeine and thus 4 shots of espresso have 300 mg of caffeine which is more than both a Tall 12 Oz (360 ml) and Grande 16 Oz (480 ml) cold brew coffee.
300 mg is the same amount of caffeine that is in a Venti 24 Oz (720 ml) cold brew coffee. Only a Trenta 31 Oz (930 ml) has more caffeine than 4 shots of coffee since it has 330 mg of caffeine.
How Much More Caffeine Is In Cold Brew Vs Iced Coffee?
The difference in total caffeine content between cold brew coffee and iced coffee ranges from 35 mg to 65 mg of caffeine depending on the size of the beverage ordered.
Why Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than Regular Coffee?
Cold brew coffee has more caffeine as more coffee grounds are used to make it. It is as simple as that. The coffee to water ratio of 1:8 compared to 1:16 is an indication of twice as much coffee being used to make the drink.
Does Brewing Cold Brew Longer Increase Caffeine?
Yes, brewing your cold brew for longer increases the caffeine content. However, you must be aware of not brewing your coffee for too long as that leads to over brewing your coffee and getting one that is overtly bitter.
Final Thoughts – How Much More Caffeine Is In Cold Brew?
From this article and the tables it is very easy to see exactly how much more caffeine is in cold brew coffee.
Regardless of which coffee drink and size that you want to have, ensure that you stick to the 400 milligrams of caffeine per day limit as set out by the FDA.
Do you love cold brew? Did you expect the difference to be greater or less?
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Derek Marshall
Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location
