This isn’t news to (coffee)friends of mine, I love Coffee Cocktails or Mocktails, i.e. without the booze. Whenever heading to a new coffee place, my first look is on the specials menu. Oftentimes cafés offer those signature beverages made with espresso, cold brew or even filter coffee.
Since I haven’t been to that many cafés in the past year or so, y’all know why, I was craving some fancy coffee beverages so much, that I came up with three summery recipes. All made with Espresso.
What is an Espresso Mocktail?
Basically it’s a mostly cold beverage using one or two shots of Espresso, sometimes also a Ristretto or a Lungo depending on the recipe and the desired taste.
Other ingredients start from fresh juices or syrups, all kinds of fruits, soda water or other sparkling beverages such as lemonade, tonic water or ginger beer. There really is no limit to your creativity here!
How to find recipes for Espresso Mocktails?
Well, Pinterest is an awesome tool to search for recipes, same goes for YouTube or just Google certain keywords, such as ‘espresso mocktail’.
The other option would be to just stick around here and find three recipes that are perfect for this summer and admittedly easy to make, too.
How to make Espresso Mocktails at home
Well, for an Espresso Mocktail it’s great to have a portafilter machine or a manual way of making Espresso, such as the ROK espresso maker. The Moka pot might work, too.
For the three Espresso Mocktail recipes that you’ll find below, I was pulling espresso shots from my Lelit Mara X.
I’m not much of a Techie when it comes to making espresso. Dialing in, weighing every shot, taste, repeat. Reading the manual, playing around with the machine… Not for me!
I do appreciate a decent espresso, though, especially if I’ll be using it for my Espresso Mocktail creations. The Mara X allowed me to pull some proper espresso without doing all of the above.
There’s no real need of fancy Bar equipment such as a shaker and stuff. If you have a mason jar with a lid, some measuring tools and spoons, that’s perfectly fine for shaking – if your Espresso Mocktail needs to be shaken.
If it only is stirred or layered, the making of your Espresso Mocktail is even easier. For this article I’ve prepared three recipes that use all of the mentioned techniques: shaking, stirring and layering.
One quick note before we dive into the recipes, bare with me in terms of measurements. When creating recipes I’m often winging it. That means, there’s no exact amount of tea or table spoons, etc. I’m trying my best to give you the instructions as precise as I can, though. ;-)
Espresso Mocktail recipes
As mentioned, all recipes are made with Espresso. I used a double shot in each of them. While creating the recipes I was thinking of all the other ingredients and tried to find Espressos that either match those or are a great counterpart, i.e., if the ingredients are really tangy or sour I tried to find an Espresso that balances that or even highlights it. In a good way, of course.
1. Espresso Mocktail: Shakerato with elderflower syrup
What is a Shakerato? It’s basically an Espresso shaken on ice, not much else. For this recipe I used a sweetener with a twist: Elderflower syrup that I made this spring*.
To highlight the floral taste of the elderflower syrup I used a fruity Omni roast with beans from Ethiopia that had notes of lavender, raspberry, strawberry, lime and Assam tea.
In my eyes this was the perfect combination of sweetness and floral fruitiness.
You need:
- A glass such as a Martini glass or champagne glass or Coupette (like this one).
- Two shots of espresso
- Ice cubes
- Elderflower syrup to taste (I used about 15ml). Store bought or homemade*.
Shake well on ice and serve immediately.
*To make homemade elderflower syrup: Put a minimum of 15 elderflower buds together with sliced lemons (of about 1-2 organic lemons) in about 0,75 Liter of water in the fridge overnight. Use a plate to put on top to make sure all the buds and lemons are under water. Drain the water through a nut milk bag or something similar and boil your flower juice with about 750 grams of sugar until it thickens.
2. Espresso Mocktail: Iced Flat White with strawberry mylk
I love me some Iced Flat White during summer! It’s so easy to make! Just put your desired amount of dairy or plant based alternative in a glass and pour one or two shots of Espresso on top of it. That’s it! And it looks so pretty, too!
For this recipe right here, I made homemade strawberry sauce* and spiced up my Iced Flattie with one of my favorite summer fruits – strawberries!
As for the Espresso I thought about what flavor combination would work well with strawberries and came up with almonds, hazelnut or milk chocolate. I decided to go for beans from Brazil with notes of hazelnuts and milk chocolate.
You need:
- One Longdrink glass (about 250 ml)
- One or two shots of Espresso (I used two because of the taller glass)
- 200 ml dairy or your favorite plant based alternative (I used oat milk)
- About 2 table spoons (or more, if you want it fruitier) of the strawberry sauce*
- Ice Cubes (optional).
First put the strawberry sauce into your glass. This can be a bit messy, if you want the sauce also covering the sides of your glass. Pour in the milk – don’t stir just, yet – and top with the Espresso. Stir and enjoy!
*For the strawberry sauce cut your strawberries (250 grams) and put into a small sauce pan together with 30 ml of maple syrup and 1-2 tea spoons of vanilla extract and bring to medium heat. Let simmer until the strawberries are soft and stewed. Stir frequently. Once the mixture has the desired softness, let cool. Put into a blender and blend until a smooth sauce consistency is reached.
3. Espresso Mocktail: Espresso Tonic with Yuzu
This is one of the classics: Espresso Tonic. Almost every specialty coffee shop or café, even Bars have it on their menus. It’s easy to make and soooo good!
For this recipe right here, I used juice from a Japanese citrus fruit – Yuzu – which tastes like a combo of grapefruit and mandarine. To make it even more interesting I didn’t use regular Tonic Water, but some that also has a Yuzu flavor. I found this to be super exciting to try.
The Espresso in my eyes needed to be a little bit more classic instead. In terms of the roast as well as the taste. I went for a medium-dark roasted El Salvadorian Espresso with notes of Dark Chocolate.
This recipe really is best when made according to your preferred taste. If you want the Yuzu be more highlighted add more of the Yuzu juice. If you want the Espresso to cut trough, add less of the juice.
Also, let the Espresso either cool before pouring over your Tonic water or use a (bar) spoon to slow down the pour. If you add your Espresso right after pulling out of the machine and/or all at once, you end up with tons of bubbles and a lot of foam in your glass instead of a pretty layering of your ingredients. I apparently didn’t do a great job with this in my photos… But, oh well. It’s tasty nevertheless.
You need:
- A Whisky tumbler or a specific Gin Tonic glass
- Two shots of Espresso
- About 1-2 table spoons of the Yuzu juice (I used this one)
- 200 ml Yuzu Tonic (I used this one)
- Several small or one big ice cube(s).
To make this Yuzu Espresso Tonic put the ice cube(s) into your glass, add the Yuzu juice, then pour in the Tonic. Then finally add your Espresso according to my instructions above. Serve immediately and enjoy!
And now I’m curious, if you’re gonna try one (or all) of these recipes! Let me know! And share them with me by tagging me on Instagram.
Looking for more inspiration on recipes for Coffee Cocktails or Mocktails? Head to the Drinks section here on my Blog.