9+ Great Benefits of Cold Brew Coffee

As someone who drinks cold brew frequently, I want to know whether my habit is debilitating. That led me to write this guide.

I’ll talk about all the benefits of making and drinking this beverage.

Let’s dive in.

Key Takeaways

1. Cold brew has 70% less acid than regular coffee.
2. Doesn’t require as much effort to make.
3. May lower risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 30%.
4. May reduce the chance of getting a heart disease by 15%.
5. Can store it for up to 2 weeks.
6. May reduce the chance of getting Alzheimer’s & Dementia by up to 65%.
7. Less acid content makes it better for dental health.
8. Has antioxidants that help overall well-being.
9. Easy to make a lot of it.
10. Tastes smoother & sweeter than regular coffee.

Cold Brew Nutrition Facts

Here’s a nutrition facts chart that I pulled from Starbucks’ website [1]:

Starbucks doesn’t list any vitamins or minerals. However, another chart I found suggests that 8 fl oz of cold brew coffee has 116.1 mg of potassium and 4.7 mg of calcium [2]. It’s not much, but it’ll help nudge you toward your daily value goals

This beverage’s nutrition facts suggest it’s a great drink for anyone avoiding sugar and salt. However, it’s not ideal for caffeine-sensitive folks due to having half of the maximum amount of caffeine you should have daily (400 mg).

The benefits of cold brew don’t come from its nutrients. Keep reading to see where they come from.

Benefits of Cold Brew Coffee

I’ll cover the health and other benefits of drinking and making cold brew throughout the following sections.

Note that all folks aren’t the same. People who are in studies performed may have a higher caffeine tolerance than you, or their bodies can better support coffee. Because of this, don’t assume you can drink 5 cups of cold brew daily and live forever.

Let’s move forward.

1. Less Acid Than Regular Coffee

Cold brew coffee has nearly 70% less acid than hot-brewed coffee from drinks from the same beans [3]. That makes cold brew a more viable choice for someone who finds regular coffee too acidic.

And it’s a blessing for those who suffer from acid reflux when drinking coffee. Acid reflux is when stomach acid flows from your stomach and into your esophagus or heart. Leading to throat pain or heartburn.

Cold brew coffee may also be an excellent choice for those with stomach issues because it contains crude polysaccharides. These are carbohydrates that boost your digestive system’s immunity. Such a boost could protect your tummy from irritation.

In addition to being forgiving on your stomach, it’s forgiving to make.

2. Easier to Make

Cold brew coffee is one of the—if not the—easiest type of coffee to make. You don’t need to time shots and tamp coffee grounds, like with an espresso maker. There’s no need for a specific pouring style, like with pour-over.

And there’s no need to worry about temperature regulation, as with drip coffee makers.

Nespresso and Keurig machines are easier to use, but they’re not as accessible. When I speak of accessibility, I talk about price. Cold brew makers can cost as low as $20 and don’t require electricity to function.

Or you could pay less and make cold brew in a French press coffee maker.

Mix your water and coffee to make cold brew and let your drink sit for 12–24 hours. The most complex part of brewing this drink is getting your bean grind consistency right and finding a bean flavor preference.

The accessibility and easiness of making comes with an enormous health benefit.

3. May Lower Risk of Diabetes

A study suggests that folks who drank more than 4 cups of coffee a day had a lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes than those who drank a couple cups daily [4]. Another study suggests that regular coffee consumption also reduces one’s risk of type 2 diabetes by 30% [5].

I said coffee and not cold brew. However, since cold brew is coffee, the results of these studies should apply. As for the most part, they contain similar antioxidants.

Cold brew—and coffee in general—may reduce your chance of getting diabetes due to it containing chlorogenic acids (CGA). These are antioxidants that block insulin resistance, block weight gain, and come with a lot of other benefits that could mitigate or prevent diabetes.

These studies fail to mention what type of coffee beans they use. For instance, Robusta cold brews have more chlorogenic acids than arabica beans [6].

Let’s look into how other coffee’s compounds may help your health.

4. May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

Cold brew contains the following compounds that could lower blood pressure and stabilize blood sugar:

• Lignans: Reduces atherosclerotic plaque buildup
• Magnesium: Transports electrolytes.
• Trigonelline: May protect cardiac structure.
• Phenolic compounds: Improve function of heart’s inner lining.
• Chlorogenic acids: Anti-inflammatory.

Such a combination of compounds may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by 15% if you consume 3–5 cups of coffee daily [7].

However:

It’s best to avoid cold brew if you have high blood pressure, take beta blockers, and if your doctor tells you to avoid it. That’s because high amounts of caffeine could cause a spike in blood pressure or interfere with certain medications.

Here’s a benefit that may not directly affect your health.

5. Can Store for up to 2 Weeks

When stored between 30 and 40 °F, cold brew coffee can stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. Nitrogen-infused cold brew could remain fresh for 2–8 months. Compare that to hot-brewed coffee, which could start tasting “not fresh” after hours of brewing.

The ability to store cold brew for so long makes it a perfect pick for anyone who wants to brew in mass. I’ll emphasize in a bit.

Let’s talk about another health benefit.

6. May Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s

A study suggests that drinking 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day (in midlife) was associated with a 65% reduction of Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia in late life [8]. They guess that coffee’s caffeine content and antioxidant capacity possibly prevented or postponed both diseases.

It appears as if decaffeinated coffee didn’t offer such protection against either disease [9]. Meaning, your coffee must contain a decent amount of caffeine to postpone or prevent both diseases. I couldn’t find any specific examples of caffeine amounts, though.

Here’s how cold brew could help your dental health.

7. Less Harmful for Teeth

Cold brew has less acid than its hot-brewed counterpart, which presents less of a threat for acid that could erode tooth enamel. It also stains teeth less than hot-brewed coffee. This is because the tannins in coffee are more soluble in hot water.

Tannins are compounds that can bind to tooth enamel and cause staining.

Then there’s less likelihood that folks will add sweeteners to cold brew. Since by itself, it tastes great. Such additives could expedite the rate at which teeth will decay. However, I’m stretching this benefit.

Moving on.

8. Contains Antioxidants

Cold brew has various compounds like:

• Chlorogenic acids
• Polyphenols
• Hydroxycinnamates

Such antioxidants could reduce one’s risk of respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, and infections due to reducing inflammation. They’ll also reduce oxidative stress (can damage DNA) and can neutralize free radicals that destroy the body’s cells [10].

Antioxidants are compounds that combat harmful free radicals, safeguarding cells from oxidative damage, supporting overall health.

However:

Hot-brewed coffee tends to have higher concentrations of most antioxidants because the higher temperature of extractions enhances their solubility. Though, cold brew does have more chlorogenic acids, which acts as an anti-inflammatory agent [11].

That’s all for the health benefits. Let’s move on to some other practical benefits.

9. Easy to Mass Produce

Cold brew is easy to mass produce for a few reasons:

• Simple process: All that’s required is to steep ground coffee in cold water for 12–24 hours, then strain the mixture.
  • It’s easy to scale this process to produce large batches of coffee.
• Doesn’t require specialized equipment: Can brew in a variety of containers, such as large vats or kegs.
  • This makes it easy to produce cold brew coffee on a large scale.
• Has a long shelf life: Cold brew will stay fresh when refrigerated for up to a couple of weeks.
  • This makes it easy to produce & store large batches of cold brew coffee.

The ability to mass produce cold brew makes it ideal for households with multiple coffee drinkers, or for someone feeling lazy and not wanting to make coffee daily.

Why would someone want to drink cold brew daily, though?

10. Appealing Taste

Because cold brew sits in the fridge for long periods, it’s less acidic than hot-brewed coffee. Giving it a smoother, more mellow taste. It also has a more complex flavor profile, such as chocolate, caramel, and nutty notes.

And cold brew naturally tastes sweet since the extraction process pulls more natural sugars from your coffee beans. Such a benefit may eliminate the need to add creamers or sweeteners, which could make your drink healthy overall.

Let’s see how the benefits of cold brew weigh against those of hot-brewed drinks.

Benefits of Cold Brew Coffee vs. Hot

Hot brewed coffee, for the most part, has more antioxidants than cold brew since the heat makes them more soluble. However, cold brew coffee is less harsh on your stomach, easier to make, and will stay fresh for a long time.

Those craving a quick caffeine fix would likely prefer regular coffee, since it takes less than 10 minutes to make and won’t take up refrigerator space.

Compare that to the 24 hours it takes to make cold brew. Moreover, you’d also need to monitor your cold brew when stored to ensure it doesn’t go bad.

But cold brew has more caffeine and doesn’t require cleaning or maintaining a coffee maker. A benefit that could save you at least 10 minutes daily. And potentially hundreds of dollars if a coffee maker quits working.

That’s all, folks.

Conclusion

Cold brew has lower acidity, easier preparation, extended shelf life, and the possibility of reducing Alzheimer’s risk. Making it a versatile choice for coffee lovers.

Want to learn more about other coffee drinks? Check out our guide.