All About Coffee

What is Red Eye Coffee?

Unlike most spirits, high-octane red-eye appears to have originated in the United States, with regional variations depending on where you are in the country. The infamous red eye has evolved into a work drink, most often consumed on the go when you need to stay awake and productive without the luxury of a few cups of coffee. First touted as a secret menu at local Starbucks, red-eye is now a popular choice in coffee shops across the United States. However, even with all of these monikers, most coffee baristas will know what you mean when requesting a drink for red eye removal, as that is the most commonly known name.

Red Eye Coffee

What is Red Eye Coffee?

A Red eye Coffee drink is a drip coffee with espresso poured on top.

It’s similar to an Americano, really. Except, instead of boiling water, you use brewed coffee instead. The result is a crazily caffeinated drink with a rich taste and a heavier body than a typical cuppa joe.

Some say it has the same energizing effect as cold brew.

red eye coffee

Unlike most espresso beverages of Italian provenance, this one appears to have begun in the U.S. It draws its name from the legendary red-eye nighttime trip from America’s west to the east coast. Need to remain up all night? This is your drink.

Depending on where you purchase it, you may see it listed under a variety of different names. There are many types of “Shot in the Dark,” the most frequent of which is the “Black Hole.” A Black Eye or a Depth Charge are two more possible names for this cocktail.

The high concentration of caffeine in the red eye coffee acts as a superb stimulant to keep you awake and alert.

Variations tend to arise in how many shots of espresso you add to the coffee. Red Eye is often a drip coffee with two espresso shots since most cafés provide double shots as usual.

Starbucks, of course, has a naming scheme of its own. Starbucks’ definitions have also been widely accepted as a result of their widespread usage. Red Eye coffee has a single shot of espresso in it, while a Black Eye has two and a Green Eye has an alarming three shots of espresso added to a drip brew at Starbucks

How To Make a Red Eye Coffee?

Compared with fancy Italian coffee drinks, making a Red Eye coffee is very simple because there’s no need to froth milk. The only tricky part is you need to both brewed coffee and pull a shot of espresso.

Buy off the shelf – This is easy, just head over to Amazon and buy this Red Eye 100% Arabica Coffee.

arabica coffee

Because frothed milk isn’t required, creating a Red Eye coffee is a breeze compared to more complex Italian coffee concoctions. The only tough aspect is you need to both make coffee and draw a shot of espresso.

The first thing to do is to choose nice beans. Because you are creating two distinct kinds of coffee, this is a good chance to try combining diverse tastes. Try matching a fruity and nutty drip brew with a full-bodied chocolaty espresso, for example.

coffee beans

The next step is to create a cup of ordinary drip coffee. If you don’t have a coffee machine, any of these devices will serve you well in our assessment of the best drippers.

The final step is to draw a single or double shot of espresso, depending on precisely how hyperactive you want to be. Here are our tips on what to consider before buying the best Espresso Machine.

To complete your Red Eye coffee, just pour your espresso over your drip coffee, and enjoy the journey.

Check-out this below video on how to make a red eye coffee.

What Other Variations of Red Eye Coffee Are There?

In addition to the red eye coffee, you can find the dead eye and black eye coffee. Let’s see how they differ from each other:

  • Red Eye Coffee – 1 Espresso shot on Drip Coffee
  • Black Eye Coffee – 2 Espresso shots on Regular Drip Coffee
  • Dead Eye Coffee – 3 Espresso shots on Drip Coffee

As you can see, the main difference between the 3 is the number of espresso shots in each. Dead eye coffee, as the name suggests is the strongest of them all and you might want to be very careful before opting to go for one of these!!

How Much Caffeine in this Coffee?

A standard serving of the red eye coffee includes roughly 159 mg of caffeine.

On the other hand, black eye coffee has around 223 mg of caffeine and the dead eye boasts around 287 mg of caffeine!

This implies that while extremely powerful, the red eye coffee caffeine concentration is less potent than it’s more severe relatives!

Consider that an espresso shot contains 64 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of drip coffee has 95 milligrams, and you can see why red coffees might make your heart skip a beat.

Read Also: Which Brand of Coffee has the most Caffeine?

However – notice that you as a general rule of thumb should take fewer than 400 mg of caffeine every day.

That implies you should consume no more than 2 cups of the red eye per day or 1 cup of the black/dead eye coffee beverages.

And if you are over this level, you can possibly encounter specific negative effects such as stomach ache, high heart rate or anxiousness.

Wrapping Up

The red eye coffee drink is a wonderful choice if you want a cup of coffee that will keep you up all night. All you need is a cup of dripping coffee and a shot of espresso.

To make a black eye or even a dead eye coffee, just add additional espresso shots to your coffee.

About the author

Praveen Rajarao

Praveen Rajarao is an Entrepreneur and in his spare time blogs on his website –http://www.dailymorningcoffee.com and http://www.pbgeeks.com. His topics range from blogging to technology to affiliate programs and making money online and how-to guides. Daily Morning Coffee is also accepting Guest Posts from Professional Bloggers at this time, take a look at “Write For DMC” page for more details on the same.

3 Comments

Click here to post a comment

CommentLuv badge

This blog uses premium CommentLuv which allows you to put your keywords with your name if you have had 3 approved comments. Use your real name and then @ your keywords (maximum of 2)

Like DMC on FB

Get your Keurig Starter Kit Today! 50% off coffee makers +25% off beverages + free shipping, Shop Now!