Coffee Lemonade
A tall glass of fresh lemonade with cold brew floated on top, dark over pale, then stirred into something that tastes like a bittersweet citrus soda. It sounds like a mistake and drinks like a summer afternoon.
At a glance
- Cold brew : lemonade
- 1:2
- Active time
- 5 min
- Total time
- 5 min
- Makes
- 1 tall glass
- Serve
- Over ice
- Kit
- Tall glass
Ingredients
Note: A fruity, lighter roast cold brew makes a brighter drink. A dark roast gives something closer to a cola.
Method
-
Make the lemonade in the glass
Stir the lemon juice, syrup and water together in a tall glass. Taste it. It should be sweeter than you would drink lemonade on its own.
-
Fill with ice
Fill the glass to the top with ice.
-
Float the cold brew
Pour the cold brew slowly over the back of a spoon onto the ice. It sits on top of the lemonade as a dark layer.
Lemonade with syrup in it is denser than cold brew, which is why it floats.
-
Garnish, stir, drink
Add the lemon wheel. Serve it layered, and stir before drinking.
Why this works
Coffee and lemon clash when there is nothing between them. Both are acidic, and adding citric acid to a coffee that already has its own acids usually makes it taste sour and thin. Sugar is what makes the combination work. Sweetness suppresses the perception of both sourness and bitterness, so with enough of it the three tastes balance instead of fighting, which is how a good sour cocktail is built. Coffee lemonade needs more syrup than plain lemonade for exactly this reason.
Cold brew suits it better than espresso. It is extracted cold, so it is lower in sharp acidity and heavier in body and chocolate notes, and that rounder profile meets the lemon instead of doubling up on acid. A fruity, lighter roast cold brew brings citrus and berry notes that echo the lemon. A dark roast gives a heavier drink that tastes more like a cola.
The layer is a density effect. Lemonade carries a lot of dissolved sugar and is noticeably denser than cold brew, which is mostly water and a small amount of dissolved coffee. Poured gently onto the ice, the coffee floats. It looks good and it means the drinker chooses when to mix it.
Coffee and lemon have a long history together. The Portuguese mazagran, cold coffee with lemon and sugar, goes back to at least the nineteenth century. Coffee lemonade in this form, with cold brew, became a specialty café summer drink in the 2010s, and it is now on menus everywhere from Stockholm to Seoul.
Variations
- Sparkling: sparkling water in place of still for a coffee soda.
- Espresso lemonade: a double espresso, chilled, instead of cold brew. Sharper and more aromatic.
- With mint: a few bruised leaves in the lemonade.
- With tonic: half tonic, half lemonade, close to an espresso tonic.
- Arnold Palmer style: half black tea, half lemonade, with the cold brew on top.
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Questions
Does coffee and lemonade taste good?
Yes, when it is sweet enough. Sugar balances the lemon's sourness and the coffee's bitterness. Unsweetened, the two acids clash.
What coffee is best for coffee lemonade?
Cold brew, which is smoother and less sharp. A fruity light roast gives a brighter drink, a dark roast something closer to cola.
Why does the coffee float on the lemonade?
Lemonade with sugar in it is denser than cold brew, so the coffee sits on top if you pour it gently.
Can I use bottled lemonade?
Yes, a cloudy one with real lemon. Taste it first, as many are already very sweet and need no extra syrup.