The best pre-workout cold brew gives you a caffeine dose you can read off the label, from clean ingredients — no artificial sweeteners, no proprietary blends, no neon powder. Bare Brew carries 320mg of caffeine from just two ingredients (cold brew coffee and filtered water) with zero sugar, 20 calories and 5g total carbohydrate per 12 fl oz can.
Your pre-workout has more ingredients than your post-workout meal. Time to fix that.
The supplement industry spent two decades convincing lifters they need neon-colored powder with 40-ingredient labels. Meanwhile, the one ingredient with the deepest research base behind it is the simplest one: caffeine. Everything else is either marketing or underdosed filler.
So I built Bare Brew around that idea. Two ingredients. Cold brew coffee and water. 320mg of caffeine. Zero sugar. Zero artificial sweeteners. Zero proprietary blends.
Here is how cold brew stacks up against the other pre-workout options on cost and label transparency, and how people actually use it.
What the Research Base Looks Like
Caffeine is the most studied ingredient in sports nutrition by a wide margin. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position stand on caffeine is the standard reference document, and it discusses doses in the range of 3–6 mg/kg of body weight taken 30–60 minutes before exercise. A 320mg can sits inside that band for most adults.
We are pointing you at that literature rather than summarizing what it promises, because individual response varies enormously and we are a coffee company, not your clinician. Read the position stand, and talk to a healthcare provider about what dose makes sense for you.
What we will say plainly: a 12 fl oz Bare Brew contains 320mg of caffeine from cold brew coffee and filtered water, and nothing else. What that does for you is between you and your doctor.
Why Cold Brew Instead of Powder
Pick up a tub of C4 Original: beta-alanine, creatine monohydrate, L-arginine, anti-caking agents, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. Now pick up Bare Brew: cold brew coffee and filtered water.
Three honest reasons people pick the can over the tub:
- Taste and texture. No chalky scoop, no shaker ball, no grit. It is a cold drink that tastes like coffee.
- Portability. A shelf-stable can lives in a gym bag for weeks. Powder needs the tub, the scoop, the shaker and a water source.
- A dose you can read. 320mg on the label, every can, no scoop-size variance.
The Ingredient Transparency Problem
"Proprietary blends" on pre-workout labels legally allow companies to hide individual ingredient dosages. You know the total weight of the blend — but not whether the beta-alanine is dosed at 3.2g or 0.5g. Cold brew has no proprietary blend because there is nothing to hide: coffee and water.
Pre-Workout Comparison: Label and Cost
| Product | Caffeine | Sugar | Total Ingredients | Artificial Sweeteners | Cost per mg Caffeine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bare Brew Cold Brew (12oz can) | 320mg | 0g | 2 | None | ~$0.014 |
| C4 Original (1 scoop) | ~150mg | 0g | 15+ | Sucralose, Ace-K | ~$0.020 |
| Bloom High Energy (1 scoop) | ~220mg | 0g | 12+ | Stevia | ~$0.018 |
| Celsius (12oz) | ~200mg | 0g | 10+ | Sucralose | ~$0.015 |
| Monster Energy (16oz) | ~160mg | 54g | 15+ | None (uses sugar) | ~$0.022 |
| Red Bull (12oz) | 114mg | ~37g | 10+ | None (uses sugar) | ~$0.030 |
| Ghost Legend V3 (1 scoop) | ~250mg | 0g | 15+ | Sucralose | ~$0.016 |
| Black coffee (drip, 16oz) | ~190mg | 0g | 1 | None | ~$0.010 |
Red Bull's caffeine figure is from Red Bull's official Q&A page (114mg per 12 fl oz). Other competitor caffeine and sugar figures are each brand's published label values. Cost per mg calculated from observed retail pricing; powders in particular go on sale constantly, so re-run this with the price in front of you. Ghost note: Ghost sells several current versions — Legend V3 at 250mg, V4 at 300mg, All Out at 400mg — so check your tub. Drip coffee assumes home-brewed.
Cold Brew vs. Energy Drinks
Energy drinks have become the default pre-workout for a lot of gym-goers. Three things to compare on the label:
Sugar loads: A standard 16oz Monster lists 54g of sugar. If you are tracking carbohydrate or calories, that is a large number to absorb without noticing.
Caffeine per can: Most mainstream energy drinks land at 160–200mg, though a few (Bang, Reign) reach 300mg. A 12oz Red Bull is 114mg per its official page. Bare Brew is 320mg per 12oz can.
Ingredient lists: Taurine, guarana, ginseng, mega-dose B-vitamins. Whether you want those is a personal call; our point is only that you should be able to see what you are buying.
Cold brew addresses all three: 320mg per can, zero sugar, two ingredients.
Who 320mg Is and Isn't For
320mg is a lot of caffeine. The FDA cites up to 400mg per day as not generally associated with negative effects for healthy adults — a 320mg can is most of that in one sitting. If you are caffeine-sensitive, new to caffeine, under 18, pregnant or nursing, or you manage a heart or blood-pressure condition, this is not the product to experiment with, and your doctor is the right person to ask.
If you are already drinking two energy drinks or two scoops of powder before training, a single can is a simpler way to get a dose you can actually read off a label. Plenty of our customers drink half a can (160mg) and keep the rest for later.
Where a fixed, readable dose helps: lifters who want to know exactly what they took; anyone in a tracked deficit counting the 20 calories and zero sugar; Hyrox and endurance athletes who would rather not manage added sugar mid-effort; and morning lifters who would rather crack a can than measure a scoop.
The Money Math: Cold Brew vs. Pre-Workout Powder
C4 Original runs roughly $1.00 per scoop for ~150mg of caffeine. Ghost Legend V3 is around $1.50 per scoop for ~250mg. Bare Brew is $4.50 per can for 320mg from the 12-pack ($53.99).
The honest read: powders win on cost per milligram, and it is not close. If the cheapest milligram of caffeine is the whole goal, buy the tub. What you get for the difference is no measuring, no shaker, no cleanup, and a two-ingredient label. At 20 training days a month, one can per session is about $90; half a can per session is about $45, against roughly $18–$30 for the powders.
Subscribe & Save brings the per-can cost down further with automatic delivery on your schedule. Shipping is $8.99 flat on every order — no minimums.
How People Use It
Timing: most people drink it 30–60 minutes before training, which is the window the ISSN position stand discusses.
Starting dose: start low. Half a can is 160mg. You can always drink the other half.
Evening training: caffeine stays in your system for hours after you drink it. If you train at night and value your sleep, plan accordingly or use less.
Fasted training: Bare Brew is 20 calories, 5g total carbohydrate, zero sugar. Whether that fits your fasting protocol is up to you — see our guide: Does Cold Brew Break a Fast?
For anything beyond "how much caffeine is in this can," ask a healthcare provider. We make coffee.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should you look for in a pre-workout cold brew?
A caffeine dose you can verify on the label, zero sugar, and no artificial sweeteners or proprietary blends. Check the milligrams against your own tolerance rather than trusting a "strong" label. Bare Brew is 320mg from coffee and filtered water.
How much caffeine is in a can of Bare Brew?
320mg per 12 fl oz can — about 26.7mg per fluid ounce. How much is right for you is a question for your doctor, not for us. The ISSN position stand on caffeine discusses 3–6 mg/kg of body weight as the studied range.
Is cold brew better than pre-workout powder?
On cost per milligram of caffeine, no — powder wins clearly. On label simplicity and convenience, we would argue yes: cold brew gives you caffeine without artificial sweeteners, synthetic dyes, or proprietary blends, in a can that needs no preparation. Which matters more is your call.
Does Bare Brew have sugar or artificial sweeteners?
No. Two ingredients: cold brew coffee and filtered water. Zero sugar, zero artificial sweeteners, 20 calories and 5g total carbohydrate per 12oz can.
When do people drink cold brew before working out?
Typically 30–60 minutes before training, which is the window the ISSN position stand discusses for pre-exercise caffeine.
Is 320mg of caffeine a lot?
Yes. The FDA cites up to 400mg per day as not generally associated with negative effects for healthy adults, so a 320mg can is most of a day's worth in one drink. Start with half a can if you are unsure. Consult a healthcare provider if you are caffeine-sensitive, pregnant or nursing, or manage a heart condition. Not recommended for anyone under 18.
How does cold brew compare to energy drinks?
Most mainstream energy drinks list 80–200mg of caffeine plus 25–55g of sugar on their labels. Bare Brew is 320mg per 12oz can with zero sugar and two ingredients. Energy drinks generally cost more per milligram of caffeine at typical retail prices.
What is the cost per mg of caffeine in Bare Brew?
At the 12-pack price ($53.99, or $4.50/can), about $0.014 per mg of caffeine. Compare: C4 Original ~$0.020/mg, Monster ~$0.022/mg, Red Bull ~$0.030/mg at observed retail. Pre-workout powders bought on sale beat all of these.
Related reading:
- Zero Sugar Cold Brew: The Complete Guide
- How Much Caffeine Is in Cold Brew?
- Cold Brew vs Energy Drinks: The Real Comparison
- Best Red Bull Alternatives 2026: Labels and Cost Compared
- Why Powerlifters Are Switching to Cold Brew
- Does Cold Brew Break a Fast?
- Hyrox Athletes: Your Pre-Race Caffeine Strategy
Shop Bare Brew — 320mg per can, zero sugar, two ingredients.
