Why Is Cold Brew Coffee Better?

5 Reasons WHY Cold brew coffee is better

Why would cold brewed coffee be any better than hot brewed coffee? You can ask this question regarding two different aspects of the coffee.

• Does cold brew coffee taste better than hot brewed coffee?
• Is cold brew coffee healthier?

Let’s answer both of these questions. But first, 5 quick bullet points on other aspects of why cold brew is better:

The 5 reasons

1. Less Acidic 

Cold brew coffee contains less acid, which makes it less harmful to your stomach. Studies have shown that coffee brewed with cold water contains 67% less acid than hot brewed coffee.

2. Naturally Sweeter

Cold brew coffee has a sweeter and smoother taste naturally. This makes it perfect for you who don’t want to add a lot of sugar or dairy to your coffee. You can drink just as it is, and it will still be tasting fantastic!

3. No Waste

You often brew big batches of cold brew, but you can also keep it in your fridge for up to 2 weeks before it gets old. Therefore, little or none goes to waste. Unlike hot brewed, where you usually throw away what you don’t drink up.

4. Easy To Make

Why cold brew is better is not a question easy to answer, but a nice benefit is that it is so easy to make. You don’t have to worry too much about if you brew it too strong, because you can always add more water afterward.

The process is also very hands-off, and if you have a cold brew maker, you almost can’t do wrong.

5. Easy To Adjust

 What’s great about cold brew is that you can brew a concentrate and then add water to serving. This is both great because you can’t really brew it too strong (just adjust), and if you want to serve friends or family, you can change strength after each person’s personal taste.

Now to the more text-intensive part. The two big questions. Is cold brew better tasting and, is it healthier?

Is COLD BREW BETTER TASTING THAN HOT BREW?

The short answer is no. It all depends on your personal taste. Cold brew and hot brewed coffee are different, but there is no clear answer to what is best tasting.

Cold brew is smoother and less acidic. Hot brewed has a stronger and more acidic taste. 

That was the easier question, now to the more challenging one.

Is Cold Brew Coffee Better For Your Health?

This is, as I wrote above, the more challenging question. But the short answer to “Is cold brew coffee better for your health?” is yes. Why is it better? I will try to explain.

No Extra Calories Needed

If you don’t want to drink any extra calories by adding a sweetener or dairy to your coffee, cold brew is a great choice. Cold brew is sweet and smooth in itself, so no complementary ingredients are needed. 

Great if you want to lose weight or just not eat/drink too much sugar. Of course, you can add other ingredients as well, and there are some excellent cold brew recipes. What about this salted caramel recipe? 

*If you drink your hot brewed coffee black as well, there is no real calorie benefit from choosing cold brew.

The Acidity Aspect

As the name suggests, cold brew coffee is brewed using cold water. Coldwater does not extract near as much acid from the coffee beans as hot water would do. Actually, about 67% less, which is a huge difference.

The human digestive system can be sensitive to too much acid. Consuming food or drinks with too much acid can cause an enormous problem. 1-2 cup of hot coffee is often not any problem. However, if you are drinking 5 cups or more each day, you might have or get future issues. 

Typical issues related to high acid intake are digestive problems, an increase of cholesterol, heartburn, bone and muscle deterioration, and even increase the risk of cancer.

Because of this, if you are an enthusiastic coffee drinker, cold brew might be a healthier choice.

The Caffeine Aspect

 Both hot brewed coffee and cold brew coffee contains a lot of caffeine, which can cause gastric problems. 

Some people think cold brew contains more caffeine, but it all comes down to how strong you brew your coffee (you can read more here: Why is cold brew stronger?).

The caffeine has a lot of positive effects, and I think you enjoy them, right? Who doesn’t enjoy the superpowers we get from some coffee in the early morning or during a long workday?

However, the caffeine will also affect our digestive system. It actually causes our body to produce more gastric acid.

So, if you drink hot brewed coffee, you get a lot of acid from the coffee, but your own system is also producing more acid thanks to the coffee. 

Often, the caffeine can be the bigger problem… so it would not help you to only drink cold brew coffee. Trust us on this. DripBeans is a cold brew company, so we would have all to win, saying that cold brew would solve all your problems.

But it would not…

So, cold brew is better. Why? Because it’s less acidic. However, if you have a lot of problems, you might want to try this as well:

• Drink decaf cold brew. Less acid from the coffee and no caffeine. 
• Eat more alkaline-rich or neutral foods. For example, milk, banana, and vegetables. 
• Drink less coffee. You might not like it, but this is the most direct way of avoiding too much acid.

Are There Only Negative Effects of Hot Brewed Coffee?

Often, we think of coffee as something we like, but as something causing problems. And if you have a lot of issues related to coffee, cold brew is better. That said, if you only drink 1 cup of coffee a day, the hot brewed coffee might actually be more beneficial.

Coffee contains a lot of acids, and these are not only bad. Some of these might even have positive effects. If you only drink 1 cup a day, hot brewed coffee will give you more of these acids, and as you only drink a small amount, you probably won’t get the harmful effects from it.

Summary On Why Cold Brew Is Better

Cold brew is healthier for must people. If you are an average coffee drinker and drink 3 cups or more a day, cold brew would probably be the better choice. But of course, no one says you can’t drink both hot brewed, and cold brewed.

The biggest benefits of cold brew, listed in the beginning as well, are : 

• Less acid
• Naturally sweeter
• No or very little waste
• Easy to make
• Easy to adjust 

However, even if cold brew contains 67% less acid, it still contains a lot of caffeine, and this will make your body produce more acid itself.

Therefore, if you are looking to drink cold brew because of acid-related issues, I advise you try to drink decaf cold brew or eat some less-acidic food to your cold brew.

Thank you for reading and if you think any of your friends would need to read this, please share. It would help them, but it would also help us a lot! You can use the share buttons to the left (or at the bottom if you are on your phone).

Ps. Don’t forget to join our Facebook group if you are a true cold brew lover!