Know Your Coffee Drinks

Did you ever walk into a specialty coffee shop and look at all those menu options, and have no idea what you were gonna get? Well, we’re gonna clear up some of that stuff for you.

A Red Eye is a really simple drink. It’s brewed drip coffee. You can either take it from a pour over, or a batch brew system, top it off with a shot of espresso. Let’s be perfectly honest. If you’re drinking a Red Eye, there’s only one reason to do that, and that’s more caffeine.

The RedEye has been known by many creative names including the Depth Charge, the sludge cup, hammerhead, shot in the dark, oil spill and many more very creative but not very nice sounding names.

If you haven’t tried an shakerato yet, you’re missing out. This wildly popular summertime drink is all over Italy and we’re starting to see variants in specialty cafes in the US. We’re a little bit past the summertime drink season here in the US, but it’s worth checking this one out anyway.

Shakerato Recipe

• Ice
• 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
• Double shot of espresso or 3 oz Black Ice Brew cold brew concentrate

Put the ice in a cocktail shaker. Add the simple syrup (two pumps if it’s in a pump bottle). Pour the espresso or Black Ice Brew over the ice. Shake violently for 20 seconds. Strain into a small gibraltar cup and serve.

Some variants that we’ve seen:

• Add between 1/2 and 1 oz of grapefruit San Pelligrino sparkling water to bring out the citrus notes of your espresso.
• Instead of straining, serve the whole drink – ice and all – in a cold to-go cup.
• Use flavored syrups instead of simple syrup – hazelnut seems to be a popular choice.
• Serve it in a martini class for a touch of ultimate class.

Give it a shot (pun intended) and let us know how it works for you.