Alcohol-free · No alcohol
Espresso Tonic
Bitter-bright tonic under a dark cap of fresh espresso
Chilled tonic water over ice with a shot of fresh espresso floated on top, so it settles in dark and light layers. Bittersweet, fizzy and bracing, with the coffee's fruitiness meeting quinine's bite. It carries a full espresso's worth of caffeine, so treat it as an afternoon pick-me-up rather than a nightcap.
- Glass
- Highball
- Ice
- Ice cubes
- Technique
- Built in the glass
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Time
- 3 min
- Strength
- Alcohol-free
Ingredients
- 120 mlTonic water4 oz
- 30 mlFresh espressofloat1 oz
- GarnishOrange peel
≈ 162 ml served
Method
- 1
Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
- 2
Pour in the chilled tonic water.
- 3
Pull a fresh espresso and pour it slowly over the back of a bar spoon so it floats on the tonic.
- 4
Express an orange peel over the top and serve unstirred.
History
A specialty-coffee creation rather than a bar classic, it is usually credited to the Koppi roastery café in Helsingborg, Sweden, around 2007, and spread from there through third-wave coffee shops around the world.
- Origin
- Helsingborg, Sweden
- First recorded
- 2007
Bartender's notes
- Pour slowly – hot espresso foams up hard when it meets cold tonic.
- A fruity, light-roast espresso pairs better with tonic than a dark, bitter roast.
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