Espresso Tonic
Hot espresso, cold tonic, one orange twist - the mocktail of the last ten years.
Photo: Espresso and tonic, COFFEE CITEN, Akiha, Niigata, Niigata, Japan, May 2023 by Tail furry · CC BY-SA 4.0 · All credits
Ingredients
- 30 ml Jigger One small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a teaspoon. Espresso - A fresh, hot double ristretto - it has to be hot to float
- 150 ml Jigger Three large sides (3 x 50 ml) of a standard jigger. Tonic water - Very cold, and a dry one
- 10 ml Spoons Two teaspoons. Simple syrup - Only if your tonic is a bitter one
- 1 twist Orange twist (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Pour the hot espresso over cold tonic and ice, and finish with orange peel.
Method
- Fill a highball glass to the top with ice and add the tonic water, keeping it as cold as you can.
- Pull a double espresso and let it stand for twenty seconds.
- Pour the espresso over the back of a spoon onto the surface of the tonic - it should spread across the top and sit there.
- Express a piece of orange peel over the glass and drop it in, and drink it with a straw from the bottom.
Serve it
Espresso Tonic
Coffee and tonic is an odd combination on paper - bitter and bitter, one hot and one cold - and it became the drink of every coffee bar of the last decade because it works: the tonic's quinine lifts the coffee's fruit, and the carbonation keeps the whole thing light rather than syrupy. It is the one drink here that has no history to lean on and does not need any.
Getting it right
The temperature is the whole trick. The tonic must be cold and the coffee must be hot, and the coffee should be poured gently over the back of a spoon so it sits on top rather than mixing in
- the drink then changes from bitter and bright at the top to sweet and coffee-ish at the bottom. A ristretto rather than a long shot keeps it from being watery. Add the syrup only if your tonic is a very bitter one.
Tasting notes
Sharp, citrusy coffee over a dry, quinine base, with a long bitter finish. It is the most modern-tasting drink in the catalogue, and the best answer to anybody who says a drink without alcohol has to be sweet.