Cold brew is a sneaky beast. It’s made by steeping coarse coffee grounds in cold water for 12 to 24 hours. That’s a long, cold bath for your beans.
This slow extraction pulls out more caffeine than hot water. It’s like the coffee grounds are telling you secrets over a lazy weekend. More secrets = more caffeine.
A typical 8-ounce cold brew has about 200 milligrams. That’s double the kick of a standard hot drip coffee. Nice, right?
But Wait—Iced Coffee Says “Hold My Ice”
Iced coffee is just hot coffee poured over ice. It’s brewed fast and hot, then shocked cold. No patience required.
That means it gets diluted. As the ice melts, your caffeine is literally watering down. You can ask for extra shots, but the standard 8-ounce iced coffee has around 120 milligrams.
So cold brew wins on raw power. But there’s a funny twist coming.
