Hot vs. Iced Coffee: Is One Better For You Than The Other?

The benefits of coffee are pretty well known, but does hot brew produce different benefits than cold brew?

When it comes to iced versus hot coffee, conversations usually focus on personal taste. But what about health? Do the two versions of coffee affect the human body differently, and are the differences stark enough to warrant permanent changes in your caffeine consumption?

To find out, HuffPost spoke with Dr. Majid Basit, a cardiologist with Memorial Hermann in Sugar Land, Texas.

Basit said there isn’t much research on the subject, but he did note one difference: “Hot coffee has been shown to have higher amounts of antioxidants, which may offer health advantages. But more research needs to be done,” he added.

A 2018 study in Scientific Reports bears that out. Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University found that hot coffee has higher levels of antioxidants, which can prevent or slow damage to cells, compared to cold brew.

But what if you’re looking to get an extra boost of caffeine? That’s when things get tricky. Caffeine is extremely variable in brewed coffee and depends on a variety of factors, including the beans used. Though a 2020 study by the American Chemical Society found that hot brewing methods yield slightly higher caffeine levels than cold brew methods, it’s important to note that the differences were not big enough to overcome the variables mentioned above. So in general, you’ll get a solid dose of caffeine whether you drink your coffee hot or cold.

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