I really wanted to be wrong about this one.
Testing viral food trends has taught me one important lesson: Never assume an unusual food combination won’t work until you’ve actually tasted it. After all, somebody had to be the first person to put peanut butter and jelly together, and I can’t imagine prosciutto and melon inspired much confidence the first time, either. I’ve tried enough internet-famous recipes to know that some of the strangest pairings end up making perfect sense. Pasta brined in pickle juice has been one of the best food hacks I’ve ever tested. And that chocolate and canned peaches recipe is now a regular dessert in my house.
So when espresso lemonade started popping up all over TikTok, I did my best to keep an open mind. Coffee? Love it. Lemonade? Also love it. Together? I had my doubts. Still, I’ve been wrong before.
What is espresso lemonade?
The drink currently making the rounds online is simple: a glass of lemonade topped with a freshly pulled shot of espresso. Fans describe the mixture as bright, refreshing and surprisingly balanced.
If that sounds a little familiar, you might be thinking of the espresso tonic that’s become a staple at many specialty coffee shops. Espresso lemonade takes a similar approach by pairing espresso with a bright, refreshing mixer instead of milk. Our Espresso Cream Soda offers the same warm-weather coffee vibe with a bubbly mixer.
Where did espresso lemonade come from?
While espresso lemonade has recently exploded on TikTok, the idea of combining coffee and lemon isn’t new.
Many people have compared the trend to mazagran, a cold coffee drink that’s widely believed to have originated in Algeria around 1840. French soldiers stationed near the town of Mazagran began drinking coffee mixed with cold water to make it more refreshing in the North African heat. As the drink spread through Europe, different countries adapted the recipe. Portugal’s version, in particular, combines coffee, lemon and sugar, making it one of the closest historical relatives to today’s viral concoction.
The two drinks aren’t exactly the same, though. Traditional mazagran is typically made with coffee, fresh lemon juice and sweetened water, while the viral version skips straight to prepared lemonade and espresso. It’s probably best to think of TikTok’s espresso lemonade as a modern take on a much older idea rather than a recreation of the original.
How to Make Espresso Lemonade
I wanted to try the version everyone online was actually making, so I kept things simple. I filled a glass with ice, poured in bottled lemonade and topped it with a freshly pulled shot of espresso.
How does it taste?
The first sip confirmed exactly what I’d been worried about.
Neither ingredient was the problem on its own. The espresso was rich and pleasantly bitter. The lemonade was sweet, tart and refreshing. Together, though, they never found common ground.
Instead of balancing each other, the lemon seemed to sharpen the espresso’s bitterness, while the coffee dulled the bright citrus flavor. Rather than creating something layered and refreshing, the two flavors seemed to wrestle for attention, leaving behind an aftertaste that seemed determined to spend the rest of the afternoon with me.
I kept taking sips, convinced the next one might finally be the one where everything clicked. It never did.
That’s not to say I’d never try a true mazagran. A drink that has survived nearly two centuries has surely won over plenty of devoted fans, and perhaps one day I’ll make a version the traditional way. But after trying the simplified TikTok interpretation, I’m comfortable saying this one isn’t for me.
Every viral food trend asks the same question: Did the internet just discover something groundbreaking? Sometimes the answer is yes. This time, though, my first instinct had it right.
Related:
- I Tried the Crispy Doughnut Trend, and It’s the Best Food Hack I’ve Ever Tried
- I Tried the Viral Egg Coffee, and It’s Surprisingly Elegant
- I Tried the Viral 2-Ingredient Cheesecake, and I Was Blown Away
