Mixing an unsweetened cold-brew concentrate with plain sparkling water is a practical choice when fizz, a black coffee and control over the amount poured matter most. A chilled latte suits someone who values a ready-to-drink option over carbonation, but before having either drink before training, check the caffeine in your serving, your other caffeine sources, the ingredients and whether the product contains alcohol.
If a black, carbonated drink appeals more than a creamy latte, concentrate and sparkling water let you measure how much coffee goes into the glass. Check the caffeine amount separately rather than treating the volume of concentrate as a caffeine measure.
Unsweetened concentrate, sweetened concentrate and chilled lattes have different ingredient and nutrition profiles. Compare the label for the amount you intend to use, particularly if milk or other ingredients affect your choice.
A coffee soda and a chilled cold-brew latte are different products. If a sparkling drink catches your eye, use its current product label to check carbonation, ingredients and caffeine rather than relying on the words “cold brew”.
Decide whether carbonation is essential, then compare the caffeine and ingredients for the serving you would actually drink.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Carbonation | Look for sparkling water or an explicit soda description. Cold brew and iced coffee do not, by themselves, mean the drink has fizz. | I want a fizzy black coffee, not a still latte. Starbucks’ sparkling cold-brew recipe combines concentrate and sparkling water over ice. |
| Caffeine | Find the amount per bottle, pouch or 100 ml and work out what is in your chosen serving. Count caffeine from other drinks and products consumed that day. | Before training, I want to know how much caffeine I am having. The European Food Safety Authority’s adult safety assessment discusses single doses up to 200 mg, including before intense exercise in normal environmental conditions, and habitual daily intake up to 400 mg for non-pregnant adults; neither figure is a target to aim for. |
| Sugar and ingredients | Compare the ingredient list and sugars on the nutrition label, using the same stated quantity where possible. Check for milk or other ingredients relevant to your requirements. | I may prefer an unsweetened black coffee, or accept a sweetened concentrate for its flavour. Tesco lists its concentrate as unsweetened and suitable for vegans; Bennett Opie lists 7.0 g sugars per 100 ml for MONIN Cold Brew Concentrate. |
| Alcohol | Check the product category and ingredients: a cold-brew coffee liqueur is not a non-alcoholic coffee concentrate. | If I am choosing a coffee before exercise, I do not want to mistake a liqueur for a soft drink. Waitrose describes Mr Black as made with vodka and its Tia Maria listing refers to rum. |
Concentrates, chilled lattes and coffee liqueurs can all appear under cold-brew descriptions, but those names do not establish carbonation.
Check for an explicit sparkling or soda description. For a drink mixed at home, use cold-brew concentrate and plain sparkling water rather than expecting a latte to have fizz.
Caffeine is labelled on different bases: Sainsbury’s lists 41 mg in a 250 ml bottle of Rodd’s Original Latte, while Bennett Opie lists 94.1 mg per 100 ml for MONIN Cold Brew Concentrate.
Use the caffeine figure for the exact product and serving, and include other caffeine consumed that day. The European Food Safety Authority’s adult safety figures are not suggested pre-workout doses.
Tesco’s unsweetened concentrate, MONIN’s concentrate with listed sugars and M&S’s latte containing semi-skimmed milk have different ingredient profiles.
Read the ingredient list alongside the nutrition panel. Check the particular drink for milk, oat or coconut ingredients if those distinctions matter to you.
A 2018 report by Comunicaffe International described the launch of Sandows sparkling cold-brew soda. That launch description does not establish the ingredients or caffeine amount of a product offered for sale now.
For a ready-made coffee soda, check the seller’s current label for carbonation, ingredients and caffeine before choosing it.
Tesco lists an unsweetened cold-brew concentrate for diluting at home.
Bennett Opie describes MONIN Cold Brew Concentrate as an ingredient for coffee-and-tonic-style sparkling drinks.
Sainsbury’s lists Rodd’s Original Latte as a ready-to-drink oat cold-brew latte.
M&S lists Classic Latte Cold Brew as a milk-based chilled coffee.
Sandows identifies itself as a London cold-brew producer; a 2018 Comunicaffe International report described its launch of sparkling cold-brew soda.
This cold-brew concentrate is an option for mixing a black coffee with plain sparkling water; check the caffeine for your serving if you plan to drink it before training.
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The 25 ml pouches provide a measured amount of coffee liquid to mix with plain sparkling water for a fizzy black drink. The product name states zero sugar; check the caffeine amount for a pouch and include other caffeine sources when considering a pre-training serving.
Check the caffeine in the serving you intend to drink and add caffeine from other sources that day. The European Food Safety Authority states that single doses up to 200 mg do not raise safety concerns for healthy adults, including less than two hours before intense exercise in normal environmental conditions; its assessment also discusses habitual intake up to 400 mg per day for non-pregnant adults. These are safety assessments, not amounts to aim for, and this adult guidance should not be applied to children or adolescents.
Yes: Starbucks’ at-home recipe pours cold-brew concentrate over ice and tops it with sparkling water. Measure the concentrate you use and check its ingredients and caffeine information for your intended serving.
Not necessarily. The Rodd’s and M&S cold-brew lattes listed by Sainsbury’s and M&S are described as chilled lattes, not sparkling drinks. Look for carbonation on the particular product’s label if fizz matters.
No: a coffee liqueur is an alcoholic product, not a substitute for a non-alcoholic sparkling coffee. Waitrose describes Mr Black as made with vodka and its Tia Maria listing refers to rum, so check the product category rather than relying on “cold brew” in the name.