How Much Caffeine is in Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee?
Crack a Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew when you need energy pronto!
If Red Bull gives you wings, then Stumptown’s cold brew coffees give you a jetpack. These canned and bottled ready-to-drink coffees pack some of the heaviest caffeine contents on the market. In this quick article, I’ll sum up the Stumptown cold brew menu, how much of a punch it delivers, and how it compares to other brands.
Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee: A Primer
Portland’s Stumptown Coffee, now in business for over 25 years, is one of the better large-scale roasters, in my opinion. They’ve scaled up considerably while staying true to their artisanal roots, prioritizing quality coffee and positive relationships with growers (1).
“Drinking coffee is a pleasure. Coffee drinking is fun, and it feels good. Underlying all our hard work is pride in cultivating pleasure.”
When I need to recommend a coffee widely available online or in stores, Stumptown is always on the list. That is as true of their ready-to-drink offerings as their exceptional coffee beans.
Stumptown has seven bottled or canned cold brew products on the menu: the original cold brew, a cold brew concentrate, two different canned nitro cold brews, and three cold brews with different flavors of Oatly oat milk.
Stumptown Coffee Cold Brew Caffeine Content
The Stumptown Original Cold Brew – affectionately known as the “stubby” due to its unique bottle shape – has 257 mg of caffeine in a 10.5-ounce bottle, which equates to about 24.5 mg per ounce.
Where does that stack up against other caffeinated cold drinks? Starbucks Cold Brew has 12.5 mg of caffeine per ounce, Wandering Bear Cold Brew has 25 mg per ounce, and Stok Cold Brew has about 14 mg per ounce. An 8-ounce can of Red Bull has 80 mg – just 10 mg per ounce.
Stumptown also sells a cold brew concentrate, which has roughly 49 mg of caffeine per ounce. But of course, it is designed to be diluted 1:1 or 1:2 with milk or water.
How much caffeine is in Stumptown Cold Brew Oatly?
Stumptown offers three flavors of cold brew enriched with oat milk. Original Cold Brew With Oatly, Chocolate Cold Brew With Oatly, and Horchata Cold Brew With Oatly. All three have 130 mg of caffeine in an 11-ounce carton – around 12 mg/ounce.
How much caffeine is in Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew?
Stumptown has two canned nitro cold brews, both heavily caffeinated. I’d avoid drinking more than one per day, given that the FDA’s recommended safe limit is 400 mg of caffeine daily (2).
The Original Nitro Cold Brew has 252 mg of caffeine in 10.3 ounces – essentially the same as the stubby. The Hairbender Nitro Cold Brew has 289 mg of caffeine, which is a whopping 28 mg per ounce.
Final Thoughts
Stumptown Original Cold Brew has 257 mg of caffeine in a 10.5-oz stubby bottle, making it one of the most caffeinated cold brew options on the market. It’s perfect if you’re looking for a quick and refreshing energy boost without compromising on flavor. And if you prefer something a little tamer, try one of their delightful cold brews with oat milk.
FAQs
Cold brew has a lot of caffeine because it is generally made with more coffee beans to ensure a full-flavored drink without relying on hot water for extraction. However, the caffeine content of cold brew varies considerably depending on the coffee-to-water ratio and choice of beans. It need not be more caffeinated than hot coffee.
To make cold brew at home, just combine water and coarsely ground coffee in a jar, French press, or cold brew maker. Let it steep for 12 to 24 hours before straining out the coffee grounds. It’s easy!
Robusta coffee beans have the most caffeine, with more than double the amount of Arabica coffee. However, Robusta also tends to have a more bitter or earthy flavor, so consider a Robusta-Arabica blend if you want to make a caffeine-heavy cold brew.
References
- Sprudge Press Releases. (2022. April 13). Stumptown Coffee Roasters Launches Sustainability & Impact Campaign—including B Corp Recertification, 2021 Impact Report, And Limited-Time Organic Coffee. Retrieved from https://sprudge.com/stumptown-coffee-roasters-launches-sustainability-impact-campaign-including-b-corp-recertification-2021-impact-report-and-limited-time-organic-coffee-185656.html
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2024, August 28). Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much
