Espresso Tonic

An espresso tonic is exactly what it sounds like: a glass packed with ice, filled most of the way with tonic water, and finished with a shot (often a double) of espresso poured gently on top. Poured slowly, the espresso sits in a dark band over the clear, fizzy tonic, so the drink looks almost like a cocktail. It contains no alcohol.

The flavour is a surprise to many people: bitter, sweet and sparkling at once, with the coffee tasting brighter and fruitier than usual. That is why baristas prefer light-to-medium roasted, naturally acidic coffees – Ethiopian and Kenyan beans are favourites – and fresher, citrusy tonics. A slice of lemon or lime is a common garnish.

The drink came out of Scandinavia’s speciality coffee scene and spread through barista competitions to North America, Japan and beyond. Today it’s a summer fixture on many speciality café menus and some chains.

Tonic water and espresso both date from the 19th and early 20th centuries, but nobody seems to have put them together until the 2000s. The earliest known record comes from Oslo in 2007: a barista working with Anne (also spelled Anna) Lunell and Charles Nystrand reportedly mixed leftover tonic, a little syrup and espresso the day after a staff party.

Lunell and Nystrand refined the idea and later that year put it on the menu of their new café and roastery, Koppi, in Helsingborg, Sweden, as “Kaffe & Tonic”. It became the café’s best-selling iced drink and spread across Scandinavia.

In the 2010s the drink reached North America through barista competitions, where it was popular as a signature drink, and by around 2015 it had reached Japan. In 2019 the British chain Caffè Nero launched versions with Fever-Tree tonic, taking it to the high street.