Gwynedd Stuart
Ariana Losch
Grabbing a bottle of the best cold brew coffee is like giving a gift to your future self. One day you’re going to wake up hungover (from alcohol or just being alive) and be so grateful to your past self for that refreshing bottled caffeine right there in the fridge, saving you a walk to the coffee shop (not to mention a little money). You’ll love yourself even more if you bought one of the best bottled cold brew brands—which is where we come in.
How we conducted our taste test of the best cold brew coffee
This is not our first time ranking store bought cold brew brands. Or second. We’re on taste test number three now, and we had a few goals going into it. Obviously, we wanted to try any new products that have come out over the past year and retry our top contenders to make sure they’re still as good as we remembered. But we also wanted to expand our search to include the best flavored cold brew and the best decaf cold brew coffee. For the most part, we were pretty successful. We tried each cold brew black and with a little oat milk, since that’s what our office keeps on hand. (Very L.A. of us, we know.)
What we looked for in the best bottled cold brew:
Since it’s not brewed with scalding water, which brings out the bitterness in coffee beans, the best cold brew coffee should be smooth and mellow with a touch of tangy acidity. Flavored cold brew needs to still taste like coffee, not be too cloying, and lean into natural over artificial sweetness. Here are the nine best cold brew coffees that perked up our taste buds.
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- Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew
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If you saw “Starbucks” and started to check out from this ranking, hear me out: Do you know how hard it is to find nitro cold brew at a normal grocery store? Near impossible, I’d say. And my complaints about this single-serve beverage are pretty minimal. First, it tastes a little bit like the metal can it comes in, but that’s not the coffee’s fault. Second, I don’t think this is amazing enough to drink black, but it’s still pretty darn good. The nitro of it all makes it so smooth and creamy, like there’s milk in it even when there’s not. I personally adore the texture of nitro cold brew, and I think Starbucks gets it pretty right here—but I don’t think it’s the best at home cold brew to stock up on by a long shot. More of a novelty once-in-a-while purchase. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Jot Ultra Coffee Vanilla
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Okay, real talk: I taste-tested a bunch of flavored bottled cold brews, and I honestly didn’t think any were worth recommending to you all. See! I care! That said, we found a great vanilla cold brew concentrate a little while back that you can purchase online, so it’s not all bad news. Jot’s coffee tastes a little acidic at first, but overall the roast is very rich and pleasant, the vanilla coming through in a warm, creamy-cozy way. Jot actually has a pretty big lineup of flavored cold brews you can purchase online, if you want to take a gander. (Unfortunately, you won’t find this brand at a regular grocery store, though. That’s the major downside.) —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- SToK Decaf Cold Brew Coffee, Bold & Smooth
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I didn’t expect to find a decaf cold brew option yummy enough to include on this list, but here we are. Stok’s Bold & Smooth Decaf had me fooled for a minute. That sour note that you typically get from decaf is barely noticeable. Like most of Stok’s cold brew, it’s smooth and rich, only this doesn’t carry much of an acidic tang to it. This is a great option for anyone limiting caffeine—I took this home for myself to mix with regular cold brew for a nice half & half situation. (Everyone please wish me well on my journey to consume less caffeine. It’s hell, but I’m doing it. Thank you.) —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Califia Farms Cold Brew Black Coffee Medium Roast
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When I think of perceived sweetness or the suggestion of sweetness, I usually think of flavored sparkling waters. They have zero sugar, no alternative sweeteners, but still communicate to your brain that you’re drinking something that could or should have a natural fruitiness or sugaryness. That’s what we got from the unsweetened cold brew from Califia Farms. “There’s a little bit of tannic fruitiness up front, but it settles down, it doesn’t taste old,” Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling said, comparing the brew’s fruity flavor to cacao nibs. I was pleasantly surprised by the nice, complex flavor of this coffee. One taster even thought it tasted “a little woody.” —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Bizzy Cold Brew Breakfast Blend
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This cold brew by Bizzy is a calm, refreshing blend with subtle fruity notes that goes down super easy. Since a breakfast blend typically means a lighter, less caffeinated roast, I really think Bizzy is a great option for anyone a little more sensitive to caffeine and acidity. It’s not playing the same bold and bitter game as Stok and Stumptown, but the quality is nice, with zero harshness or lingering aftertaste. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Coffee
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Arabica coffee beans tend to have a sweet, chocolatey flavor, and that comes through in this convenient, 32-ounce bottle of cold brew from Trader Joe’s. Justine liked how gentle this one was compared to some of the more acidic brews we tried. “If you like iced coffee rather than cold brew, this is for you,” she said, praising its “nice, mild” scent. This isn’t a latte, but it straight-up tasted like chocolate milk to me. Delicious, refreshing, and nostalgic, but with a grown-up kick of caffeine. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett
- Stok Espresso Blend
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At home, I’m an espresso drinker. My morning coffee is an Americano spiked with a little Chobani Sweet Cream (I told you, it’s good). If you also enjoy the bold flavor but relatively low acidity of espresso, this is the best cold brew coffee you can buy. I personally think it eclipses Stok Unsweet Black, but I think it’s enough of a departure from what most coffee drinkers expect from cold brew that this is the right placement for it on this list. If you love espresso or are espresso curious, pick up a bottle of this stuff. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Stok Unsweet Black
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Cold brew coffee isn’t supposed to be bitter. That’s the point of brewing with cold water instead of brewing regular coffee and sticking it in the fridge to cool, or shocking it by immediately pouring it over ice. Does that mean that all cold brew isn’t bitter? No. A lot of it is bitter as hell, if you ask me. But not this brew from Stok. Despite being unsweetened, it has a nice, sweet coffee smell and a mellow flavor that reminded me of a good chocolate stout. Even with the low-key taste, you get the feeling it packs a punch. (Seriously, my hands were shaky by the time we wrapped up this taste test.) —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Stumptown Original Cold Brew Coffee
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During our second cold brew taste test, I really warmed up to Stumptown (pun intended). If you like expensive, third wave coffee, this is the stuff. It’s bottled and you can buy it at the grocery store, but it’s every bit as good as a $6 cold brew from your local coffee shop. I think that makes it the best cold brew coffee on the market. God only knows when pre-bottled coffee is actually brewed, but if you poured me a cup of this Stumptown and told me it was brewed the day before, I’d totally believe you. Maybe it’s the glass bottle (which is cool and makes you feel like you’re drinking a beer). Maybe it’s the high-quality beans. Either way, we really loved the way this one managed to preserve its fresh flavor and intensity. “It’s a real sipper,” Justine said of its nice, bold flavor. She also liked its fruitiness. Buy this. Try this. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
Best Canned
Best Vanilla
Best Decaf Cold Brew
Best Fruity
Best Breakfast Blend
Best Chocolatey
Best for Espresso Lovers
Best Smooth
Best of the Best
Other products we tried
Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew, Starbucks Black Unsweet Cold Brew, Simple Truth Organic Cold Brew Coffee, La Colombe Medium / Dark Roast Cold Brew Coffee, Trident Coffee Nitro Cold Brew, Kirkland Signature Cold Brew, Chameleon Cold Brew Concentrate, Starbucks Madagascar Vanilla Flavored Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate, Pop & Bottle Caramel Cold Brew Oat Milk Latte, Happy Cold Brew Coffee, Good & Gather Black Unsweetened Cold Brew, Stok Extra Bold, Stok Bright & Mellow
Griffin Parker
Justine Sterling
