Health Outcomes

All Coffee Is Not Created Equal: Hot Coffee vs Cold Brew for Health Benefits

Coffee has withstood the tests of time as one of the world’s most popular beverages. People around the globe enjoy Colombian, Mexican, Ethiopian, and a variety of other brews—both piping hot and, more recently, ice cold.

Although cold brew coffee has become increasingly popular in America, new research published in Scientific Reports suggests that hot coffee may actually be more beneficial to one’s health than cold brews.1

This finding arose from a study conducted by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They performed pH testing and an analysis of acidity and antioxidant activity in light roast cold brew coffee from Brazil, parts of Ethiopia, Colombia, Myanmar, and Mexico.

Ultimately, they found that hot coffee is likely more antioxidant-rich and has higher concentrations of titratable acids than cold brews.

The data suggest that hot brew methods likely extract more non-deprotonated acids than the cold brew method, which in turn may lead to the higher levels of antioxidant activity observed in hot coffee.

Commonly found in fruit and vegetables, antioxidants are known to help prevent or delay certain types of cell damage.

They have also been shown in previous studies to help combat oxidative stress caused by free radicals, which are thought to contribute to chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and Alzheimer disease, among others.2

Numerous studies have indicated that individuals who consume greater amounts of antioxidant-rich foods may have a lower risk of developing these diseases.2

—Christina Vogt

References:

  1. Rao NZ, Fuller M. Acidity and antioxidant activity of cold brew coffee [Published online October 30, 3018]. Sci Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34392-w.
  2. Antioxidants: in depth. National Institutes of Health: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Updated May 2016. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/antioxidants/introduction.htm. Accessed November 1, 2018.