I tried an ‘espresso lemonade’ — can it match the beloved iced latte?

Whatever happened to a classic G&T?

In the past year or so, it seems people are becoming increasingly bored by standard drink options, and are on the search for something more thrilling. 

It started with Dua Lipa mixing Diet Coke, pickle juice, and jalapeño brine. People declared the drink ‘evil’ on social media, but the trend spiralled into something much more sinister. 

Since Dua braved to share her guilty pleasure, influencers have revealed their own recipes: thinkk beer and Sprite, chocolate milk and vodka, and cucumber-infused gin. 

Others have dabbled with more extreme recipes. Arguably, the worst are the blue cheese and kimchi filthy martinis cropping up on TikTok (we have to draw the line somewhere). 

The latest concoction? An espresso lemonade.

The Washington Post has declared it ‘summer’s most unexpected refresher’. And so, full of scepticism, I decided to find out for myself.

Is an espresso lemonade as gross as it sounds?

With the London weather being unusually hot this year, I’ve had to swap my usual lattes for iced ones, but I might be the only person who just can’t get on board.

I just can’t get past the bitter cold taste and have to mask it completely by ordering iced coffees with unreasonably expensive syrupy add-ons. 

But espresso lemonades might have just opened an entirely new world for me.

The recipe is really as simple as it sounds. Order an espresso, and mix it together in a glass with ice and lemonade. 

I sourced my espresso from Pret and diet lemonade from M&S. Once I poured the lemonade in, it immediately fizzed up and looked quite similar to a Coke float, minus the ice cream.

My first sip was interesting and bitter. A second later, I realised I stupidly hadn’t mixed the two together. With a quick stir, the sharp coffee flavour blended into the refreshing lemonade.

The taste wasn’t much different from a regular lemonade, but with a familiar coffee aftertaste. I would definitely opt for a sugary lemonade over a diet next time, to sweeten it up a bit more.

It’s still much more refreshing than an iced coffee, and after trying it, I’m not sure I can ever go back to the cold milky nightmare mixture. This was lighter, and much more drinkable.

Taking a sip of the unique concoction certainly raised a few eyebrows at Metro HQ, but after forcing one of my colleagues to try it, she agreed it wasn’t half as strange as she expected. 

‘I expected to hate this arguably ungodly concoction, but surprisingly, I didn’t,’ Metro Lifestyle’s Eleanor Noyce said. 

‘It needs near-constant mixing to make sure the lemonade and espresso shot aren’t separated, but I thought it was the perfect blend of sweet and tangy. 

‘I wouldn’t necessarily drink it unless I really needed an afternoon pick-me-up, though. For now, I’ll probably stick to a classic iced latte.’

And Metro’s Lifestyle Editor, Kristina Beanland, an iced americano lover during the summer months, was equally surprised.

‘I really thought this would be disgusting, but it’s actually pretty decent. Like a fizzy coffee, if you will.

‘It’s honestly like nothing I’ve ever tasted before, a citrus addition to my beloved iced coffees. I’m not sure I’ll be rushing to have another one though.’

Where did the espresso lemonade come from?

The drink may seem like a recent invention, hopping on the back of bizarre drink trends on TikTok, but coffee shops have been serving it for years, and the original lemon, sugar and coffee recipe actually dates back to the 19th century. 

An ancestor of the modern-day iced coffee, Mazagran Coffee is thought to have been created in the 1840s by French colonial troops in Algeria.

The soldiers were stationed at the Mazagran fortress near Mostaganem, and mixed shot coffee with cold water and syrup to combat the heat. 

The drink later became popular in Portugal, parts of France and Austria, and now it’s often served with lemon, sugar water and sometimes rum. 

The UK high street hasn’t caught on to it yet, so don’t expect to find any on Pret’s menu. 

However, there’s nothing stopping you from ordering a coffee and lemonade an independent coffee shop and mixing it yourself. 

I can’t promise you won’t get any strange looks for it, though. 

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