Extra Espresso, Extra Pour-Over: What is Red Eye Coffee? How to Make Black Eye Coffee? How Does It Differ from Americano?

Red Eye Coffee: The Ultimate Caffeine Boost

Recently, while browsing online, FrontStreet Coffee discovered a special espresso-based beverage popular in North America: Red Eye Coffee. Like most espresso drinks, it's made by adding something to espresso! The difference is that what's mixed with the espresso is still coffee - and not just any coffee, but a substantial amount of drip coffee! Therefore, we can imagine just how high the caffeine concentration is in this Red Eye Coffee.

The Origin of Red Eye Coffee

The origin of Red Eye Coffee is quite interesting. According to research conducted by FrontStreet Coffee online, the birth of Red Eye Coffee is closely related to red-eye flights, which we can guess from its name. Red-eye flights refer to passenger flights that operate overnight for extended periods! Typically, these flights depart late at night or in the early morning and arrive at their destination the next morning, with flight times longer than regular flights. Because they fly at night for extended periods, passengers on these flights can sleep better. However, since some flights last less than normal sleep time, passengers who are forcibly awakened upon arrival often have bloodshot eyes due to sleep deprivation when they disembark. Thus, these overnight flights became known as "red-eye flights."

The successful arrival of flights at their destinations is thanks to the flight crew who stay awake throughout the night. Long nighttime flights naturally induce drowsiness, so crew members continuously consume coffee to resist sleep. However, as caffeine intake increases, small amounts of caffeine are no longer sufficient to combat sleepiness. Therefore, the crew thought of combining both to consume higher levels of caffeine. This is currently the most widely circulated origin story about Red Eye Coffee!

How to Make Red Eye Coffee?

Traditionally, Red Eye Coffee was made with one part espresso added to four parts drip coffee. However, with evolving times, espresso extraction and measurement methods have changed. Therefore, we need to adjust the ratio for making Red Eye Coffee. Today's espresso concentration is equivalent to two traditional espresso shots, so FrontStreet Coffee will increase the proportion of drip coffee to 1:5 - that is, one part espresso to five parts drip coffee.

We then need to select appropriate coffee beans for making the drip coffee. After all, we're "blending" two different coffees, and if their flavors differ too much, it can create a discordant taste, so the selection of coffee beans is particularly important.

This brings us to the blending principles previously shared by FrontStreet Coffee. To ensure that blended coffees taste harmonious, having similar roast levels is crucial. This isn't about extraction, but about flavor. Light roast coffees are primarily acidic, while dark roast coffees are predominantly bitter. If you're using dark roast beans for your espresso, it's best to use similarly dark roasted beans for the drip coffee. Otherwise, the resulting Red Eye Coffee will have an extremely peculiar taste that's hard to swallow.

FrontStreet Coffee uses "Warm Sun Blend" for its espresso - a medium-dark roast bean. Therefore, the beans used for drip coffee extraction are also medium-dark roasted Brazil Queen Estate. Among various drip extraction methods, we need to select a representative brewing method to extract this Queen Estate coffee - needless to say, it's naturally pour-over coffee!

FrontStreet Coffee's pour-over parameters for medium-dark roast beans are: 15g of coffee, ground to 75% pass-through rate on a #20 sieve, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 88°C water temperature, three-stage pouring, using a Kono dripper. The espresso extraction parameters are: 20g of coffee, 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, 30-second extraction time.

First, we brew the pour-over coffee because espresso extraction takes much less time, so we can make the pour-over first and then the espresso to reduce waiting time.

Then, when we pour the third stage of water for the pour-over, we can start making the espresso! Grinding, dosing, distributing, and extracting - all in one smooth flow.

Once the espresso extraction is complete, pour it directly into the prepared cup.

Then pour in the pour-over coffee! Since we poured 40ml of espresso, we need to add 200ml of pour-over coffee.

Stir well, and it's ready to drink!

The Warm Sun Blend used by FrontStreet Coffee exhibits flavors of whiskey aroma, butter cookies, and subtle berry acidity. The pour-over flavors of Queen Estate are chocolate, cream, and nuts. When these two are mixed together, due to the extremely high coffee concentration, the flavors cannot fully express themselves! Only a few relatively distinct flavors emerge: chocolate, nutty cream, and whiskey aroma, while the overall texture of the coffee is much thicker than regular coffee.

To be honest, even for FrontStreet Coffee, which consumes large amounts of coffee daily, finishing this cup is extremely challenging. Therefore, if you have a sensitive stomach or can't handle too much coffee, please don't try this lightly! The caffeine concentration is genuinely very high, and drinking it is definitely not as easy as one might imagine.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473