If there’s one thing pretty much all runners have in common, it’s a love of coffee. Whether it’s downing a cup first thing in the morning or waiting until after you’ve logged your miles, chances are good that this caffeinated beverage makes an appearance (or two) during your day.
And while cold brew has become trendy in recent years—it’s been especially touted for its lack of acidity and bitterness—there might be a reason to reach for the hot stuff instead, new research published in the journal Scientific Reports suggests.
In the study, researchers compared the chemistry makeup of cold brew and hot brew blends from Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Myanmar. They found that hot brew coffee contains between 11 and 35 percent more antioxidant activity than cold brew does.
That might be because of how they are made. “The different contact times of water and coffee and different water temperatures control the amount and type of compounds that are extracted during brewing,” study author Niny Rao, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and mathematics at Thomas Jefferson University told Runner’s World.
The near-boiling water used to make hot brew coffee comes in contact with the ground beans for a significantly shorter amount of time than the cold water used for cold brew does—eight minutes versus eight to 24 hours, according to Rao.
“Hot water used in traditional coffee brewing may increase the solubility of compounds that act as antioxidants in coffee,” she said.
And boosting the activity of these antioxidants in coffee is important, since they may be responsible for a whole host of benefits. According to Rao, they may help lower your risk of certain types of cancer, diabetes, and even depression.
Another surprising finding? Turns out, hot brew’s acidity levels actually were similar to cold brew’s, with pH levels for both types ranging between 4.85 and 5.13. That means the hot stuff isn’t quite as acidic as people think. So your chances of experiencing acidity-related issues—think GI issues like heartburn—may not be any greater if you drink the hot brew instead of the cold brew.
So the next time you need your caffeine fix, you don’t need to go cold: Reaching for a steaming cup of hot brew might be your best bet.
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