Recipe · 5 minutes · alcohol-free

Make your own Espresso Tonic

Four ingredients, one spoon, five minutes. Here’s how to mix the drink from the specialty-coffee scene at home – and how to nail the layering that most people get wrong.

Espresso Tonic in a tall glass: dark cold brew over sparkling tonic water, ice cubes and a dried orange wheel — This is how it should look: clean layers, a dried orange wheel in the glass.

The ingredients (for 1 glass)

50 ml cold brew – or 1 double espresso, cooled
150–200 ml tonic water, well chilled
Ice cubes – be generous
1 dried orange wheel

How it’s done

Fill the glass with ice. Don’t skimp: plenty of ice chills better and dilutes less.
Pour in the tonic – until the glass is about three-quarters full.
Layer the coffee. Pour the cold espresso or cold brew slowly over the back of a spoon onto the tonic. That’s how the coffee settles as a dark layer on top – the moment you make Espresso Tonic for.
Garnish. A dried orange wheel into the glass, between the ice cubes. Don’t stir – the layers mix on their own as you drink.

Make your own cold brew

Our method – the same one we use for the can: 100 g coarsely ground organic espresso to 1 litre of cold water (a 1:10 ratio). Leave it covered in the fridge to steep for 12–18 hours, then pour it through a paper or fine-mesh filter. Chilled, it keeps for about a week. Cold brew tastes rounder and less acidic than hot-brewed espresso – which is why it carries the drink so well.

Three tips that make the difference

Cold to cold. Hot espresso on the ice dilutes and clouds it. Let it cool first.
Dry tonic. The sweeter the tonic, the less you taste the coffee. Classic and bitter wins.
Dried orange, not fresh. It lends a fine, caramel-like citrus note without killing the fizz with acidity – and it looks good doing it.

Or: just crack one open

Don’t fancy steeping, cooling and layering? That’s exactly what our can is for: real cold brew from ground Mount Hagen organic espresso beans, topped up with a zingy tonic component made from herbal extracts. Alcohol-free, EU organic, 33 kcal per 100 ml. You can pre-order the 24-can tray online or see where to find the can in stores. How much caffeine is in it? Here’s the comparison.

Frequently asked

Good to know

Can I use hot espresso for Espresso Tonic?

Better not straight away: hot espresso melts the ice, dilutes the drink and turns it cloudy. Let the espresso cool for 10–15 minutes (or pop it in the fridge for a moment) – or just use cold brew.

Which tonic water goes with Espresso Tonic?

A classic, dry-bitter tonic. The sweeter the tonic, the more it masks the coffee notes. Floral or heavily flavoured tonics can work, but classic and bitter is the safe place to start.

How long does homemade cold brew keep?

Filtered and chilled, about a week. Best kept in a sealed bottle in the fridge.

Can you make Espresso Tonic without caffeine?

Yes – simply use decaffeinated espresso beans. For exactly this reason our can also comes as a decaf version made with decaffeinated Mount Hagen organic espresso beans.

Fancy one?

We’ll tell you where to find the can.

Sign up – as soon as a shop near you stocks Espresso Tonic, you’ll get an email. Or take a look at the Where-to-buy page.