Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee: What's Actually Different?
Both arrive cold, over ice, but cold brew and iced coffee are made in completely different ways, and you can taste it.
How each one is made
Iced coffee is brewed hot, like normal drip coffee, then chilled and poured over ice. It's quick to make and tastes like the coffee you know, often a little brighter and sharper.
Cold brew never touches hot water. Coarse grounds steep in cold or room-temperature water for many hours, usually 12 to 24, before being strained. You can make it at home with our easy cold brew concentrate.
Why they taste different
Hot water extracts more of coffee's bright, acidic and bitter compounds. Cold water extracts them more slowly and less completely, so cold brew usually tastes rounder, smoother and more chocolatey. Many people find it easier to drink black. Lab studies suggest the difference in actual acidity is smaller than its reputation, so "smoother" is more accurate than "low acid".
Caffeine
Caffeine depends mostly on how much coffee is used per cup, not on temperature. Cold brew is often made as a strong concentrate, so a cold brew can be stronger than you'd expect. In our Starbucks data, a Grande Cold Brew has about 205 mg of caffeine, about half of the FDA's 400 mg daily guidance for healthy adults. Home batches vary widely with the recipe and steep time.
Calories
Black, both have almost no calories: a Grande Cold Brew is about 5 in our data. The difference is what gets added. Iced coffee is often sweetened by default in coffee shops, so ask for it unsweetened if you want it light. Cold brew's smoothness makes it easier to skip sugar altogether, and a splash of milk adds only 15 to 20 calories.
Which should you choose?
- Want it smooth and black? Cold brew.
- Want a classic coffee taste, fast? Iced coffee.
- Watching caffeine? Check the numbers either way. Strength varies more by recipe than by method.
Compare exact numbers in the Starbucks drink calorie calculator.
