TIL cold brew vs hot brew is a totally different ballgame for caffeine kick

I spent 3 months drinking cold brew from a shop in Portland, thought I was getting a good buzz. Switched to hot pour-over from the same beans, and the energy hit way harder and faster. Something about the hot extraction pulls more caffeine out, I guess? Has anyone else noticed a big difference between the two methods for getting your morning going?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly38512d ago

Hot take but I think youre giving hot brew too much credit. The buzz from hot coffee hits fast because youre drinking it hot, the heat makes your body absorb it quicker through your stomach lining. Cold brew actually has a higher caffeine concentration per ounce if you do it right, its just a slower release. I did a side by side test with a local roasters single origin beans, weighed out the same amount of grounds, and the cold brew actually tested higher in caffeine content on a refractometer at home. The slower release is what threw me off.

betty_kelly911d ago

Tbh that slow release thing got me too when I first switched to cold brew. I was drinking the same amount every morning and felt like I was dragging for a week until my body caught up.

mark_carr712d ago

Picked up a refractometer last year for the same reason lol. My cold brew always tested around 6-7% TDS which is higher than my hot brews at like 4-5%. Used the same Ethiopian Guji beans from a local shop, did 24 hour steep at room temp. The slower release thing is real though, I noticed it when I switched from hot to cold for my morning cup. Felt like I was going through caffeine withdrawal for a few days until my body adjusted.