Coffee spritzers are the latest thing in coffee hosting!
While it seems weird to mix coffee and soda, the bubbly soda elevates coffee for an out-of-this-world drink experience. Coffee lovers everywhere will be celebrating with coffee for every holiday brunch this year.
If there is an "it" drink that can contend with cold brew, the coffee spritzer is "it".
Want to impress friends and family at your next holiday party or brunch?
In this article, I explain the coffee soda or coffee spritzer, and share the best, easiest way to make vanilla coffee soda. You'll love it!
What is a Coffee Spritzer?
A coffee spritzer or coffee soda, is just what it sounds like, a fizzy, typically cold, coffee.
While that might sound gross, it's actually super delicious and refreshing with the right recipe.
With just a few key ingredients, a favorite espresso can turn into a heart-warming mocktail. That cool cold brew we all love can be lifted to a flavored, brunchy punch.
Trust me when I say coffee spritzers hit all the right notes that coffee lovers love about coffee. Think of coffee soda as a perfect coffee pairing...
Interested in other amazing coffee pairing? Click here to check out coffee and cheese!
Do Coffee and Soda Go Together?
Yes! Coffee and soda is the pairing you never knew you needed. From standard tonic to colas, depending on the type of coffee, drink enthusiasts can bring out subtle notes in coffee like chocolate or licorice, citrus or berry.
Some of the best coffee spritzers focus on these coffee notes when pairing coffee and soda. They're familiar pairings in foods and desserts:
Coffee Notes That Pair With Soda:
- Vanilla or Nutty Coffees: paired with Mexican colas
- Chocolate: paired with cherry colas
- Citrus: paired with tonics or club soda
- Berry: paired with lemon-lime sodas or ginger ales
Learn more about coffee notes and aromas here so you can better pair your coffee.
Is There Alcohol in Coffee Spritzers?
Typically, no. While you can make your coffee spritzers boozy, and there is an art to coffee cocktails (also booming right now), coffee sodas are typically non-alcoholic.
When ordering a restaurant coffee spritzer, you should probably ask so you're not surprised with a mid-meal buzz!
Learn more about the iced coffee process that's best for coffee sodas, "flash chilling" from Matchless Coffee Soda™, a really awesome pre-bottled coffee soda that I love!:
How to Make An Easy Vanilla Coffee Soda
Here's an easy, favorite coffee soda recipe to try at home with just a few simple ingredients.
I'm assuming that you'll start with a coffee you love.
But as you learned above, coffee soda is best made with flash-chilled iced coffee. The flash-chilling creates a great base that's really receptive to carbonation.
Watch the video above to learn how to make an easy flash-chilled iced coffee to start you on your way to coffee soda!
Need coffee recommendations for your coffee soda?
Click to get one of these awesome grocery store coffee blends
Simple Coffee Soda
Once you've gotten your iced-coffee base, coffee soda is made by first adding a sweetener and any flavorings.
Then the coffee blend is carbonated, with flavored soda, seltzer, or sparkling water.
Here's what you need:
- Iced coffee base, or flash-cooled espresso
- Simple Syrup (homemade or store purchased)
- I like Monin pure cane syrup or this one by Pratt & Standard if you want to be fancy
- Quality Vanilla
- Club Soda or sparkling water
- Crushed Ice
- A tall latte glass or chilled beer mug
- These Stone & Mill latte mugs are beautiful or these simple Irish coffee mugs work great too.
Step-By-Step Vanilla Coffee Soda:
- Fill half of a tall glass of chilled beer mug with crushed ice (12-14 oz glass is great).
- Pour chilled, prepared coffee into the glass over the ice until it is 2/3 full.
- Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1-2 tablespoons of simple syrup (you can play with the sweetness to your taste).
- Pour club soda or plain seltzer over the coffee mix until glass is full. You may get a little soda froth on top if you're lucky so pour slowly :).
Want to make your coffee spritzer into an easy, amazing holiday coffee dessert?
Add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top! You'll be a host hero.
Want more holiday coffee goodness?
Check back soon for more holiday coffee spritzer recipes to try at home.
Get brewing!
