Alright everybody, it’s working. We’ve launched an entirely new approach to ice coffee. Expect to wait 60-90 seconds. Expect a better cup. That’s right. We think this is tasting straight-up better than the cold brew method. And we’re very happy to announce that caffeine levels are closer to where they should be.
I did some quick estimates and I think I was right about the cold-brew method being over caffeinated. Health associations give guidelines of 200-400 mg caffeine/ day max dose. My estimates (rough):
Assume:
- 2% by weight
- Cold brew takes 100% of caffeine from coffee beans (I still think this is likely close to the fact, but don’t really have any proof)
- I did my math right : )
2 oz espresso: 100 mg caffeine (50 mg/ oz)
10 oz hot coffee: 100 mg caffeine (10 mg/ oz)
10 oz cold brew (OLD Clover method): 283 mg caffeine (28 mg/ oz)
10 oz single cup iced (NEW Clover method): 100 mg caffeine (10 mg/ oz)
When did you guys officially make the change-over. I greatly enjoyed my DWY Iced Coffee yesterday. Thought it tasted great — and I felt the price was very fair.
When I stopped by yesterday to sample your ice coffee I grabbed a video on my iPhone:
http://vimeo.com/13745955
Wish I could more of this ice coffee but I’m back in San Francisco now!
I’m so excited you’re brewing Stumptown! YAY!
Is there nutritional information for the breakfast sandwich and the yogurt?
This brewing technique is better! The coffee tastes fresh and bright-strong enough but not bitter. And at $2, served with pleasant morning chit-chat and a smile? I refuse to drink day old refrigerated coffee again.
Also, I used to live in Portland, and I’d missed Stumptown coffee. Thanks for featuring them!
Good work! See you tomorrow morning!
Thanks Aimee –
Glad you’re loving it. We’re pretty happy with the new method.
Bought a round of this coffee for my office this morning, and it was a huge hit. So much better than what we’ve been getting.
I was just reading Cooks Illustrated (May/June ’10) and in a review of a cold brewing product (Hourglass) they mentioned that it has less caffeine than drip coffee (60%), according to “lab tests.” After seeing your blog entry about the new method and seeing the caffeine content discrepancy I was compelled to do some research (Google).
At first there appeared to be no consensus as pages were split between those saying cold brew coffee has more caffeine vs those saying it had less. But I did finally find a site/article to corroborate the CI result:
“Toddy claims to brew up two-thirds less caffeine than regular coffee; in a side-by side test using Starbucks’ regular blend, the Toddy version had a pH of 6.31 and 40 mg of caffeine per 100 grams of coffee, while Starbucks store-brewed clocked in at a pH of 5.48 and 61 mg of caffeine.” Note. They later corrected it to say 1/3 less caffeine, meaning it has 66% as much as drip.
Scientific explanation from user on Yahoo Answers: “…Caffeine is typical, in that it extracts better at a higher temperature, because it is more soluble at a higher temperature. … Other exceptions … include substances that decompose or react at higher temperatures. Caffeine is stable all the way up to its sublimation point, which is higher than the boiling point of water. It will neither sublimate nor decompose so long as there is still any water left.”
Haven’t tried the iced coffee yet– I drink coffee hot even in the heat, as I think Lawrence of Arabia did– but I’m itching to try some now.
Alex –
Thanks for the note. It’s an interesting topic, hunh? So many people drinking and so little information.
I’m skeptical of Toddy’s claims. And I’m skeptical about the Cooks Illustrated claim. I’m guessing they are just passing on manufacturer claims. I might be wrong, but it’s expensive and a hassle to get things measured in a lab and I’d be surprised if they did that here.
If you taste a cold brew you can feel the caffeine effect. This is what originally got me thinking.
Regarding the Yahoo answers, I don’t buy that either. First: at room temperature saturation levels are something like: 2.1g/ 100mL. So none of these are anywhere close to that level. Meaning the cold vs. hot argument isn’t really convincing. It is true that even below saturation level you do have differences in time of transport related to concentration differentials and saturation levels, but given the very long steeping time of cold I don’t see this as relevant.
We’ll only know if we get it tested I guess. Anybody have $2,500 lying around?
I had the hot brew this morning from your downtown location – made the same way your picture shows for iced coffee – and the coffee was way too weak. Is there any way you guys can make a stronger cup? If you’re focusing on caffeine content over taste I’d say that’s a bad trade. Thanks for the new food option downtown, though.