Red Eye Coffee | What Is It? How To Make It? | Part I Eye Coffee Series

Can’t bare the idea of staying for one more hour or working? Tired and need a pick me up? Then get yourself a red-eye coffee! This potent coffee drink is a favorite amongst workers and college students who clock in long shifts studying and working. You’re probably wondering what is a red-eye coffee. Why would I want to drink a drink that gives me red eyes? Rest assured it shouldn’t give you red eye, as you probably already have it from eye fatigued and tired. What this strong coffee drink offers instead is a punch of caffeinated power that will help you on those long days!

This post is all about creating the perfect cup of red-eye coffee and understanding what the phenomenon around this coffee is!

Copyright Adam Smigielski via canva.com

Red Eye Coffee FAQ

How much caffeine is in a red-eye Coffee?

Red Eye Coffee caffeine contains roughly 150 mg of caffeine from the combined caffeine content from drip coffee and a standard shot of espresso.

Does Starbucks offer Red Eye Coffee?

Yes! Just ask for a red-eye coffee and they’ll know what youre talking about. If they are confused refer to the How to Order A Red Eye Coffee section for ordering tips.

Is a red-eye coffee good?

There isn’t anything in red-eye coffee that would make it taste horrible, although keep in mind that red-eye coffee is strong, and if you can’t handle even regular black coffee this may be off-putting for you. To help alleviate the bitterness, we suggest adding cream and sugar to make it more bearable while maintaining the same caffeine content.

How Do You Order A Red Eye Coffee?

Ordering a red eye coffee is relatively simple, it’s a fairly popular coffee drink so your typical coffee shop should know what you mean when you ask for one. However, if you run into a newbie who is unaware of the term “Red Eye Coffee” then just let them know you would like 8 ounces of drip coffee with 1 standard shot of espresso poured on top.

  • If you want room for cream and sugar you can ask them to leave room for cream and sugar and you can add as much as you would like.
  • You can also ask for hot water to be added, to dilute the coffee taste if you can’t handle too strong of coffee. The addition of water will make a larger drink, but keep the same caffeine content and it will now sorta resemble a wired americano.

Who Drinks Red Eye Coffees?

The red-eye coffee drink is perfect for people who can’t sit and chill at a coffee shop for hours on end. People who need a strong cup of caffeine and need it on the go, will love red-eye coffees because they require fewer trips to the coffee shops, are cheaper than multiple cups of coffee, and one drink has double the caffeine of a regular cup of coffee.

Students, health field workers, lawyers, long shifts at the warehouse, and other professions that require long hours or back-to-back shifts will enjoy this drink for its cheap pricing and potency.

What is a Red Eye Coffee?

Red-eye coffee is a potent shot of espresso over strong brewed dripped coffee. . To help counter the long days that often can make even the strongest of us tired beyond compare, the red eye was created. This strong drip coffee topped with an espresso shot is the perfect drink for on the go!

Why is it called a red eye coffee?

This easy coffee drink earned its name from being the go-to drink for long work hours, long flights, all-nighter study sessions that often lead to iconic red eye. The cause of red eye is usually done to sleep deprivation and eye fatigue

Is a red eye coffee similar to an americano?

Well yes and no, Red eye coffee and americano have the similarity of both being espresso drinks that are diluted with something less powerful. In the americanos case, the expresso is diluted with water, which creates a weaker drink. While a red eye coffee is diluted with drip coffee, resulting in a more caffeinated drink.

How many shots of espresso are in Red Eye Coffee?

  • Single Shot of Espresso: There is 1 shot of espresso in a red-eye coffee drink.
  • Double Shot of Espresso: If you increase the shot of espresso to 2 shots of espresso it becomes a black eye coffee.
  • Triple Shot of Espresso: If you increase the shots of espresso to three shots the drink becomes a dead eye coffee or also known as a green eye coffee.
Click Here If You Are Looking for a Black Eye Coffee. 
Click Here If You Prefer Caffiene Power Beyond This Galaxy With A DEAD EYE COFFEE!

What kind of coffee is in a Red Eye Coffee?

For The Brewed Coffee Portion

Red Eye Coffee is typically made with dark roast coffee beans or medium roast coffee beans. Since red-eye coffee is a drink that is supposed to be drunk black, it’s of paramount importance to use high-quality coffee beans for your drip coffee. If you cheap out and use cheap quality beans, the drink will be underwhelming and will fall flat.

Good quality coffee beans will have strong flavors, notes of fruit, chocolate, smokey aromas, etc. All of these increase the palatability of drinking black coffee drinks.

For The Espresso Coffee Portion

The espresso being used should be made from coffee beans specifically made for espresso. Although to be fair, espresso beans are technically regular coffee beans.

Espresso is a method used to brew coffee beans, not a kind of coffee bean, to further clarify. Although we swear there is a small difference in beans especially formulated for espresso making. 😆

We like using dark roast whole coffee beans that offer rich tastes such as sweet chocolate or fruit flavors.

Red Eye Coffee Recipe

Not much of a fan of black coffee? Try adding these delicious coffee syrups! Salted Caramel Syrup and Brown Sugar Syrup 

Equipment:

Drip Coffee Equipment

  • coffee drip machine
  • pour over
  • French press
  • Aeropress

Espresso Equipment

  • percolator
  • espresso machine

Other

  • measuring cups
  • coffee cup
  • spoon
  • coffee filter if needed for machine, Aeropress, pour over, etc
  • coffee grinder
  • measuring spoons

Ingredients

Dark Roast Coffee Beans- chocolate or another sweet version is ideal

Medium Roast Coffee Beans – Something fruity flavored is ideal

Filtered Water – For making espresso and drip coffee

Recipe Calls For

  • 8 ounces of brewed Drip Coffee – Medium Roast
  • 1 ounce of Espresso – Dark Roast

How To Make Red Eye Coffee

  1. Make drip coffee using your method of choice, we love using our pour-over or Aeropress
  2. Make espresso using your method of choice, we like to use our percolator for espresso shots, although we will use our espresso machine if making multiple drinks for others.
  3. Pour hot drip coffee into your choice of cup, then pour the espresso on top
  4. Wallah, You’re Done! If you can’t drink black coffee, feel free to add your choice of cream, sugar, or syrups to make it more palatable for your tastebuds ☺️.

Recipe Notes

  • SAFETY NOTE: We All Love some strong coffee, however, be careful consuming too much caffeine in a day. This drink will offer around 150-200 mg of caffeine depending on the brewing method, and coffee beans used. If you began to feel queazy, jittery, anxious, or nauseous stop drinking caffeinated drinks for the rest of the day and sub with water instead.

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