How Much Caffeine Is in Cold Brew? Every Brand and Size

How Much Caffeine Is in Cold Brew? Every Brand and Size

A 16 fl oz Starbucks Cold Brew has 205 mg of caffeine, about 12.8 mg per fluid ounce. Bottled cold brews range from roughly 10 to 27 mg per fluid ounce depending on the brand and the coffee-to-water ratio. That means a single cold brew can deliver one to three cups' worth of caffeine in a cup of coffee by brew and cup size in one glass. The table below has every number, pulled from each brand's own page, with a date.

Cold Brew Caffeine by Brand and Size

Every figure comes from the brand's product or FAQ page, checked September 19, 2026. Where a brand does not publish, the cell says so.

Wandering Bear runs the highest per ounce at 25 to 27 mg, nearly double Starbucks' regular cold brew. STōK publishes a range rather than a fixed number. And Chameleon, one of the more popular concentrates on grocery shelves, publishes no caffeine figure on its product page at all.

How Much Caffeine Is in Starbucks Cold Brew?

Starbucks Cold Brew starts at 155 mg for a Tall and tops out at 360 mg for a Trenta. That Trenta is 90% of the 400 mg daily limit the FDA cites for healthy adults.

The flavored cream versions (Vanilla Sweet Cream, Pumpkin Cream, Pistachio Cream) run slightly lower: 145/185/275/315 mg from Tall to Trenta (Starbucks Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew). Adding cream displaces some cold brew in the cup, dropping caffeine by about 10 to 35 mg per size.

For comparison from the same menu: a Grande Iced Coffee is 185 mg (Starbucks menu) and a Grande Pike Place (hot) is 315 mg (Starbucks menu). The hot coffee wins per cup because 16 fl oz of hot coffee has no ice taking up volume.

If a precise, repeatable dose matters more than a coffee ritual, Roon delivers exactly 80 mg of caffeine in a sublingual pouch, printed on the label every time. See the formula.

How Much Caffeine Is in Nitro Cold Brew?

A Tall Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew has 215 mg. A Grande has 280 mg. Those are the only two sizes; Venti and Trenta are not offered.

Several third-party caffeine trackers list nitro at 195 and 260 mg. Those numbers do not match Starbucks' own menu page as of September 2026. The correct figures are 215 and 280.

Why the higher per-ounce number (17.5 to 17.9 vs. 12.0 to 12.9)? The brew itself is the same, infused with nitrogen gas. The difference is serving: nitro is poured without ice, so more of the cup is actual coffee. Nitrogen has zero calories and zero caffeine.

Bottled and Canned Cold Brew: STōK, La Colombe, Wandering Bear, Chameleon

STōK states "approximately 120 to 170 mg of caffeine per serving" at 12 fl oz (STōK FAQ). The range depends on the product line. STōK's own explainer page claims 92 mg per 12 oz as a generic cold brew figure, well below every chain number in this article.

La Colombe publishes tighter numbers: 180 mg per 9 fl oz can and 230 mg per 12 fl oz for its fridge pack (La Colombe). At 20 mg per ounce, the cans sit closer to nitro territory.

Wandering Bear runs strongest: 150 to 160 mg per 6 fl oz, or 25 to 27 mg per fluid ounce (Wandering Bear FAQ). Their decaf still contains 7.5 mg per serving.

Chameleon lists serving directions on its product page but publishes no caffeine number. If the dose matters to you, Chameleon does not give you one.

Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than Iced Coffee or Hot Coffee?

Per ounce, cold brew is often stronger than iced coffee. Per cup, it depends on the ice.

At Starbucks, a Grande Cold Brew has 205 mg and a Grande Iced Coffee has 185 mg (Starbucks menu). A Grande Pike Place (hot) has 315 mg (Starbucks menu). The hot coffee wins per cup because there is no ice displacing liquid.

A 2017 study by Fuller and Rao in Scientific Reports brewed four coffee samples cold and hot. They found that caffeine in cold-brew coarse-grind samples was higher than in the hot-brew counterparts, medium roast extracted more caffeine than dark, and caffeine reached equilibrium between 6 and 7 hours of steeping. So cold brew can run higher or lower than hot coffee. The ratio, roast, and ice in your glass decide.

Cold Brew Concentrate: Why the Ratio Decides the Dose

A concentrate brewed at 1:4 coffee-to-water has roughly double the caffeine per ounce of a 1:8 ready-to-drink brew. Dilution is the variable. Cut a 25 mg/oz concentrate 1:1 with water and you are at 12.5 mg/oz. Skip the dilution, pour 12 ounces straight, and you could top 300 mg, which is worth reading is 300 mg of caffeine a lot, for the Venti.

Concentrates with no published caffeine figure (Chameleon, many store brands) leave you guessing. For brewing ratios, see cold brew ratio, concentrate vs ready to drink.

Comparison: Cold Brew vs Common Caffeine Sources

Espresso looks extreme at 63 mg per ounce, but you drink one ounce of it. Serving size, not concentration, determines how much caffeine enters your system. A single shot of espresso delivers less total caffeine than almost any cold brew on this page.

How Much Cold Brew Is Too Much?

The FDA states that 400 mg per day is not generally associated with dangerous effects for most healthy adults. A Venti at 310 mg leaves 90 mg of headroom. A Trenta at 360 mg leaves 40. Two Grandes hit 410, over the line.

For pregnant women, the ACOG recommends less than 200 mg per day. A Grande cold brew at 205 mg already exceeds that. Talk to your clinician about your specific limit.

Timing matters, too. Caffeine's mean half-life is about 5 hours in healthy adults (range: 1.5 to 9.5 hours). A Venti at 2 PM means roughly 155 mg still circulating at 7 PM. For the half-life math for an afternoon cold brew or the latest time for coffee without losing sleep, those guides walk through the numbers.

The Numbers That Matter

Cold brew caffeine is not a single number. It is 155 or 360 depending on your Starbucks cup size, 120 or 170 depending on which STōK you grabbed, and unknown if you are drinking Chameleon concentrate undiluted. Per-ounce concentration runs from about 10 mg (STōK low end) to 27 mg (Wandering Bear), a nearly 3x spread. Know the size, know the brand, check the serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cold brew stronger than espresso?

Per ounce, no. Espresso runs about 63 mg per fluid ounce versus cold brew's 10 to 27. Per drink, cold brew almost always wins on total caffeine because you consume 12 to 30 ounces of it versus one ounce of espresso.

How much caffeine is in a Dunkin cold brew?

Dunkin does not publish caffeine for its cold brew on its menu page. Caffeine Informer estimates 174 mg (small), 260 mg (medium), and 347 mg (large). Without a first-party source, treat these as estimates.

Does steeping longer add more caffeine?

Only to a point. Fuller and Rao (2017) found caffeine extraction reached equilibrium between 6 and 7 hours. Steeping for 12 or 24 hours changes flavor but adds little additional caffeine.

Does nitro cold brew have more caffeine than regular cold brew?

Per ounce, yes, because nitro is served without ice. At Starbucks, a Grande Nitro has 280 mg versus 205 mg for a Grande regular cold brew. Same brew, different serving.

How much caffeine is in homemade cold brew?

It depends on ratio and roast. A 1:4 concentrate has roughly double the caffeine per ounce of a 1:8 ready-to-drink brew. Fuller and Rao found that grind size had little effect, but medium roast extracted more caffeine than dark roast at the same ratio.

Is decaf cold brew caffeine free?

No. STōK removes about 97% of caffeine (STōK FAQ), and Wandering Bear's decaf still contains 7.5 mg per 6 fl oz. "Decaf" means reduced, not zero. See how much caffeine decaf really has.

When the Number on the Cup Is a Guess

This article exists because "a cold brew" is not a dose. The same menu name means 155 mg or 360 mg at Starbucks. A STōK bottle says somewhere between 120 and 170 mg. Chameleon prints nothing at all.

Roon takes a different approach. Each pouch contains exactly 80 mg of caffeine, 60 mg L-theanine, 25 mg methylliberine (Dynamine), and 5 mg theacrine (TeaCrine). Zero sugar, zero nicotine, zero guessing. The dose is smaller than a Grande cold brew on purpose. Methylliberine slows caffeine's clearance: a randomized, double-blind crossover PK study (n=12) found that co-administering methylliberine with caffeine cut oral clearance from 41.9 to 17.1 L/hr and extended caffeine's half-life from 7.2 to 15 hours, with no increase in peak concentration (study). That study used 100 mg methylliberine and 150 mg caffeine, roughly 4x and 1.9x Roon's doses, so the effect in a pouch is directionally the same but not identical. The felt window is 6 to 8 hours. The trade-off: stop at least 8 hours before bed, because extended clearance works both ways.

Pricing starts at $9.16 per tin (12-tin subscription) or $15.00 per tin one-time for 4 tins. Keep the cold brew you like. Try Roon when you want to know exactly what you took.

Related from Roon

• How Much Caffeine Is in a Cup of Coffee?
• How Much Caffeine Is in a Shot of Espresso?
• Cold Brew Ratio: Coffee to Water
• Is 200 mg of Caffeine a Lot?

Written by Roon Team