Did you ever imagine a cup of coffee combining espresso and drip coffee? It looks something unique but highly intense and bitter. This combination shows the caffeine content of this drink. But here the question is: Why is such a mix needed for coffee flavor? Well, It is designed to give highly caffeinated coffee with a pungent taste. It can keep you awake for long hours.
Here, I am going to discuss red, black, and dead-eye drinks that are made with espresso and coffee and no added flavors. They are highly robust drinks with high caffeine and almost no calories.
So, what is the difference between the three coffee drinks? All three come with brewed coffee and espresso. But red eye adds one espresso shot, black eye adds two espresso shots, whereas dead eye contains three espresso shots. And more espresso shots mean caffeine content will increase.
Also, check out this rich creamy Breve coffee.
What is red eye coffee?
When you crave a strong cup of coffee, what flavors pop into your mind? I think it should be espresso, Right? Or are you looking to get something more substantial? If you look to get something more intense, you should combine a cup of brewed coffee with one espresso.
Adding espresso to brewed coffee is called Red Eye coffee. It can beat any coffee flavor with its high intensity. Obviously, it contains more caffeine than any other coffee flavor.
You can get a high dosage of caffeine if you really need it. Also, if anyone wants to awaken all night, a cup of coffee will do the job for you.
Do you know that doppio is a double-shot espresso? Check the differences between espresso and doppio.
Related article.
Iced Doppio Espresso: What Is It, And How To Make It?
How to make red-eye coffee at home?
Don’t expect any smoothness for this coffee. It is ideal for those who want a robust, bitter coffee with high caffeine. It will take around 5 minutes to get a cup.
Ingredients
- One cup of brewed coffee
- One espresso shot (1 oz)
Instructions
- First, brew regular coffee; you can use any coffee maker. And pour the coffee into a large cup.
- Also, start making espresso shots. You can make it with any espresso machine or Moka pot.
- When the espresso shot is ready, gently pour it into the brewed coffee cup.
- You can optionally add sugar or flavors to red-eye coffee.
- Now stir it well to get the desired result.
A cup of red eye coffee is ready to enjoy.
Also, check how you can make bone-dry cappuccino.
How to change Red-eye to a smoother and more delicious drink?
Red Eye isn’t for the light-hearted; if you don’t want strong coffee, the better would be to go for some milder coffee flavors. Still, if you desperately need good caffeine content, customize Red Eye with your favorite add-ins.
Add milk
Prepare hot milk almost equal in size to regular coffee and blend them. In the next step, add one espresso shot to it. Make sure to add fresh milk to brewed coffee and then add espresso.
Add sugar or sweetener
These eyed coffees can added with sweetener or any flavorful to make it milder. Also, you can add sugar syrup.
Add steamed and foamed milk
People also prefer steamed and foamed milk to red-eye coffee. It will make a creamier and foamier texture coffee with a less bitter taste. Additionally, you can add chocolate or vanilla sauce at the top.
However, adding milk and sugar to eye coffee will increase the calories in these drinks, reducing the essence of this coffee.
What is a black eye Coffee?
Well! If you still think the Red Eye is high in caffeine, think again; here is another coffee on the list of eye coffees that is even stronger and tastier than the Red Eye. The black eye is made with a blend of coffee and espresso, making it a high-intensity drink.
When we compare it to red-eye coffee, black-eye coffee contains more caffeine. However, a black eye can be slightly less intense; it depends on how you brew it. But still, it is a more caffeinated drink than many other coffees.
Check the difference between cappuccino and espresso.
Also, if you are new to coffee consumption, don’t start with any eye coffee; you should pick brewed coffee instead of espresso.
How to make black eye coffee?
Right, it’s nothing different when brewing any eye coffee; it’s only adding one, two, or three cups of espresso into brewed coffee. So you can follow the same steps I mentioned above for red-eye coffee. Unlike the red eye, the black eye adds two espresso shots into a cup of brewed coffee.
What is dead eye coffee?
Are you looking for something highly caffeinated and intense coffee taste? You shouldn’t look any further; here is your desired dead-eye coffee. This will settle all your wishes for a bold coffee and high caffeine.
So, let’s see why and how the dead eye differs from red and black coffees. If you are surprised by one or two shots of espresso to brewed coffee, hold on; dead crosses all limits and adds three espresso shots to brewed coffee.
If you think you can manage red and black-eye coffee, you can start thinking about dead eyes. Even the name suggests it’s dead, meaning nothing more intense than this.
How to make dead eye coffee?
Again same brewing process, but add three espresso shots in one brewed coffee.
Red-eye vs black eye vs dead eye at Starbucks
Starbucks always brews strong coffee for its customers. But this eye coffee list has something very special when it comes to Starbucks. You can get any of the three coffee flavors at Starbucks.
But somewhere, if you don’t find red-eye coffee, you can order a customized drink with one brewed coffee and any espresso shots you want. The barista at Starbucks follows the same brewing process for coffee and espresso.
What is the difference between Red eye vs black eye vs dead eye coffees?
I think by now you should be aware of the fundamental differences among these drinks. Red-eye has one espresso shot with a drip coffee.
Whereas black Eye comes with two espresso shots and a drip coffee, and Dead Eye has three espresso shots and one brewed coffee—the intensity of these drinks increases with the addition of every espresso shot.
Check all the differences between black coffee and espresso.
Red-eye vs black eye vs dead eye: Which flavor is the strongest?
We all know that no coffee can compete with the intensity of espresso. However, brewed coffee is always a highly caffeinated drink. But here, in these coffees, the case is different.
The eye coffees add both espresso and brewed coffee. The more volume you add, the coffee will get stronger. So the dead eye is the boldest of the three, followed by the black eye and then the red eye.
What is the caffeine content of red eye vs black eye vs dead eye?
If you are looking to get a high-caffeine drink, you can pick any of these drinks since all three are highly caffeinated drinks.
However, the highest caffeine content is the dead eye with three espresso shots. Now, let’s check how much caffeine each coffee contains.
First, for all three coffees, add one cup of drip coffee. And a drip coffee of 8 ounces or 240 ml contains 95 mg of caffeine. In comparison, one espresso shot of 30 ml has 64 mg of caffeine.
I have created this table to understand the differences in caffeine content.
| Coffees | Espresso caffeine | Drip coffee caffeine | Total caffeine milligram |
| Red eye | 64 one shot | 95 | 159mg |
| Black eye | 128 two shots | 95 | 223mg |
| Dead eye | 192 three shots | 95 | 287mg |
However, you should avoid consistent use of high caffeine.
Red eye vs black eye vs dead eye, difference in taste
All three coffees taste nutty, acidic, and bitter. However, you can add sugar milk and other flavors to make them sweeter and more flavorful.
The taste depends on which coffee beans are used and how they are roasted. When we use different roasts, the flavor will also be different.
Darkly roasted coffee beans taste smoky and bitter. On the other hand, lightly roasted coffee beans have comparatively more acidity and are less bitter.
All three-eye coffees are usually made with mediumly roasted coffee beans.
Although dead eye coffee with three espressos and one coffee is the most strong bitterest drink.
There are a few other drinks on the list of eye coffees.
- Green eye coffee
- Lazy eye coffee
- Dripped eye coffee
Why should add espresso to brewed coffee?
Well, it is the very pertinent question Why should we add highly caffeinated espresso to brewed coffee? Combining both drinks will only add to the strongness of the drink. Everyone doesn’t like this combination it’s only a few that dare this drink.
Even one or two cups of eye coffee can massively increase the caffeine content in a day. But do we really need this? Yes, only for those who want extra caffeine may be for any reason. Otherwise, high caffeine is not advisable for health reasons.
So red, green, dead, and black-eye coffees are introduced to get highly caffeinated drinks with a pungent taste.
Another interesting article
Cold Brew Vs Espresso: 8 Differences Explained
Final thoughts
A true coffee lovers will understand this taste and aroma, but an occasional drinker will call it an unpleasant taste. It will take time to develop the taste and aroma of eye coffee. Never mind, if you want this flavor, you should start with red-eye coffee and gradually shift to black and dead eyes in the end.
Are you preparing for exams at night, or do you have a job at night? If yes, you need some highly caffeinated drinks. Nothing can beat eye coffee; a cup of the dead eye may keep you awake all night.
I suggest you drink these drinks occasionally to consume caffeine, but regular consumption will not be a good idea.
