Does Cold Brew Coffee Have More Caffeine

June 23, 2020|Russell Volz|Brewing And Drinking

To my husband’s dismay, I like my coffee loaded. When I say loaded, I mean chocolate, caramel, milk and a splash of whole cream. Russell cringes when he makes my morning cold brew coffee and he, being the sport that he is, doesn’t complain. I often thought to myself, “does cold brew coffee have more caffeine”?

White Coffee in My Cold Brew

Generally speaking, cold brew coffee’s caffeine content isn’t any more than any other brewing methods, like French Press, AeroPress, or drip coffee (see our article “How To Brew Smooth Coffee” under our FAQ tab. How much caffeine is in cold brew depends on:

The roast – Contrary to popular belief; the darker the roast the less caffeine
The grind – The grind size makes a difference. The finer the grind the more caffeine, flavor, and bitterness. For cold brew, I prefer course ground.
How long the grounds steep in the water – The longer they steep, the more caffein.

I’ve recently started experimenting with white coffee in my cold brew. Keep in mind that white coffee has almost double the caffeine as say a Charbucks dark roast. I use 50/50 of our Majestic Medium Roast (¼ cup-ish) and our White Lightning Roast (¼ cup-ish); both with a medium grind. It’s so simple. Just remember, you’re going to end up with cold brew with a real kick of caffeine. Oh, but don’t worry, it’s still smooth as silk and goes down like a bit of heaven.

Just put the grounds in a quart size Mason jar
Add cold water (preferably filtered)
Shake well
And refrigerate (steep for a few hours to a few days)

Then in the morning, “Voila”. Cold Brew, and iced. I particularly like cold brew because it’s soooooooo smooth. Yes please!

Adding a Nutty Flavor Naturally

This blend of medium roast or dark roast with our White Lightning is the recipe that works for me; you may have to experiment on the portion sizes to come up with the measurements that work for you. My Mason quart jar of cold brew will usually last me for 4 or 5 days.

What I discovered with adding white coffee to my cold brew is that it added a slight nutty taste, almost like a smooth peanut butter flavor. Not only does it add delicious flavoring, but with the extra caffeine from the white coffee, it gives me an additional pick me up.

So, when answering my own question, does cold brew coffee have more caffeine, the short answer is, for me, by adding the White Lightning; “Yes”. The truth is, the darker the roast, the less the caffeine; the lighter the roast the more the caffeine. As I said earlier, white coffee has almost double the amount of caffeine than dark roast. This is because dark roasted beans have had a lot of the oils, caffeine, bioflavonoid, antioxidants and flavor roasted out of the beans.

Cold Brew from Home

That’s why bitter and burnt industrial dark roasted coffee tastes so bitter. Just about everyone has his or her favorite coffee shop or drive thru. But here’s a secret; no one brews a better cup of coffee than you can right at home.

Cold brew works for me, because usually I’m a bit foggy and need the immediate jolt of caffeine. Ice added to my cold brew allows me to take a couple of quick gulps to get the blood flowing. Hot coffee, on the other hand, is too hot for gulping, thus the ice.

If you’re still wondering does cold brew coffee have more caffeine, the best way to really kick-up your cold brew is to add white coffee.

Does Cold Brew Coffee Have More Caffeine

The trick is finding the best whole bean white coffee. What you’re looking for is:

Freshly roasted (within the last week)
Highest quality coffee (Arabica)
Whole Bean
Super Smooth Beans (Costa Rican)

If you search the internet for “whole bean white coffee”, you’ll find Lake City Coffee. That’d be us.

Don’t get cold brew coffee and iced coffee confused. Iced coffee is made hot (usually brewed around 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and then quickly cooled down using ice. If you like super smooth cold brew coffee, you’d be hard pressed to find anything better than Lake City Coffee.