Guilty Eats
Fansided

Cold Brew vs. Lattes: Which caffeine fix is the best?

By Domenic Marinelli

MANAGUA, NICARAGUA - FEBRUARY 04: A barista makes a cup of espresso at La Tostaduria coffee house on February 04, 2021 in Managua, Nicaragua. Hurricanes Eta and Iota, which hit Nicaragua in last November, ruined much of the crops, especially green coffee beans. According to International Coffee Organization, 15% of the Nicaraguan soil used for coffee plantations was affected by landslides and floods produced by the tropical storms. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was lower demand of workers for irrigation and fertilization processes and many specialized staff remained unemployed. Imports were also affected, increasing the price of fertilizers and other products needed to grow coffee. The coffee sector generates some 300,000 jobs at harvest time, so production is key for the country. Coffee is the third largest export good in Nicaragua, only surpassed by gold and beef. (Photo by Inti Ocon/Getty Images)
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA - FEBRUARY 04: A barista makes a cup of espresso at La Tostaduria coffee house on February 04, 2021 in Managua, Nicaragua. Hurricanes Eta and Iota, which hit Nicaragua in last November, ruined much of the crops, especially green coffee beans. According to International Coffee Organization, 15% of the Nicaraguan soil used for coffee plantations was affected by landslides and floods produced by the tropical storms. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was lower demand of workers for irrigation and fertilization processes and many specialized staff remained unemployed. Imports were also affected, increasing the price of fertilizers and other products needed to grow coffee. The coffee sector generates some 300,000 jobs at harvest time, so production is key for the country. Coffee is the third largest export good in Nicaragua, only surpassed by gold and beef. (Photo by Inti Ocon/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Ah yes…the age-old question among coffee drinkers. Which has more caffeine, or rather, which one lands better in the end; when energy is lagging, you’ve passed the midnight hour and are still somehow managing to burn that midnight oil…which do you go to? Cold Brew? Lattes? Or maybe  perhaps something else entirely?

If you’re anything like me when it comes to your coffee, then you would have tried absolutely anything. My love affair with everything Juan Valdez started in high school. Before then my energy was amassed from the natural gift of youth. But once I had my first taste of espresso, trust me, I was hooked, friends and readers.

And it didn’t just stop at espresso; I tried all coffees, and anything from cappuccino to lattes, to the Arabica blend over at the cafeteria in college. By this point I was having four extra-large cups a day. My jitters had jitters, folks.

And above all, the taste certainly plays a big part when it comes to coffee as well, doesn’t it?

Which is of course what brings us to our main point here today: Cold Brew or Lattes?

As far as taste goes, I’ll say up front that they all taste okay. If I’m being honest, I like the taste of black coffee straight, but that’s just me.

These days, you can’t get me to drink a latte, per se. I love black coffee and with no sugar at all, and I definitely tried cold brew when in a fix and at the end of the day, straight black coffee is beaten by no coffee in the world…especially espresso. It just gets the job done. And when I’m battling a looming deadline in the distance, there is no other beverage in my espresso cup (except for maybe a little of the old Sambuca at day’s end for the perfect Espresso Corretto. Try it if you haven’t, friends; it’s a perfect treat.

The facts

As a journalist, I deal in facts every day. As a writer, though, I always leave room for thought, perception, and wonder and of course doubt and you’ll find all of that here, folks.

Cold brew coffee is made by combining coarse coffee grounds with water and left to steep for 8 to 24 hours, according to kaldiscoffee.com. Also according to the site, this guarantees that cold brew coffee is stronger when it comes to caffeine content.

And…you can make it yourself…

So why then, do I always get caffeine withdrawal headaches whenever I try a bottle of cold brew coffee? (Oh yes, because my caffeine addiction is definitely that bad, friends).

This never happens with a latte or even a macchiato…or yes, even a cappuccino, when I’m forced to drink one.

A little anecdote from my days covering crime and politics for a local paper to prove my theory

“What do you mean the power’s out?” I asked my photographer.

We had stayed overnight at the offices of the local paper I was writing for in those days. We’d been putting an issue to bed and in the morning, we had a demonstration to cover, so I took the comfy chair in my editor’s office (sorry George), and Hal got the couch.

“Power’s out all across the grid,” he told me.

I looked to the percolator in hopes of at least some stale coffee but no dice. “Okay, let’s get some cold brew at the corner store on the way to the demo,” I offered.

Well…I did get that cold brew, and I found myself practically lethargic in my movements. I wasn’t awake, and not by a long shot. This cold brew I had purchased in a bottle from the fridge in the corner store was worthless. I needed a fix and I needed it bad.

So what did I do?

Well…let’s just say, as the demonstration got under way (a pretty violent one), my photographer and I were nestled in an Italian café watching it all unfold on the TV in the corner of the bar.

Thank goodness for espresso.

I must admit: I’ve never tried to make cold brew myself, but after that negative experience, why would I bother?

The lowdown

Maybe at the end of it all, it comes down to simple perception and personal taste, which is of course fine by me. After all, facts can often be argued; people do it anyways.

For me, lattes at least come close to waking me up, as my story above perhaps proves, but straight black coffee is definitely the best caffeine fix for sure…leaving cold brew in the dust, so to speak.

Next. Some Great After-School Snack Ideas. dark

What about you, dear readers? Does cold brew cut it for you, and if not, what other coffees do it for you?

Home/Drinks