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
Measures below are multiplied for 12 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 360 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 360 ml line. Espresso - A fresh, hot double ristretto - it has to be hot to float
- 1800 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 1800 ml line. Tonic water - Very cold, and a dry one
- 120 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 120 ml line. Simple syrup - Only if your tonic is a bitter one
- 12 twists 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
Batch (12 drinks)Batch (12 drinks) - about 2.28 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- 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
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
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.