Red Eye

A red eye is simply a cup of brewed filter or drip coffee with a shot of espresso poured in. The espresso adds body, a little crema and an intense roasty kick on top of the cleaner, lighter taste of the drip coffee – and, of course, extra caffeine.

It’s an American coffee-shop order, rarely written on the menu but understood by most baristas, and it goes by many local names: “shot in the dark”, “depth charge”, “hammerhead” in parts of California, and “Canadiano” in Calgary. More shots give it a darker name: two shots make a Black Eye, three a Dead Eye (sometimes called a Green Eye).

Expect a bold, slightly bitter cup. It’s a working drink for long shifts, early starts and after overnight travel rather than a speciality sipping coffee.

The red eye’s origins aren’t documented. The most common explanation is that it is named after overnight “red-eye” flights – it’s said flight attendants mixed drip coffee and espresso for tired passengers – but this is hard to prove. Other suggestions are that the name refers to the drink’s effect on your eyes, or to red-eye gravy, the coffee-based pork gravy of Southern US diners.

The drink became familiar through American coffee-shop chains in the 1990s and 2000s, and many cafés gave it their own names. Caribou Coffee trademarked the name “Depth Charge” in the early 2000s, and the extra-shot versions picked up names of their own: Black Eye and Dead Eye.