The new Espresso Sunrise drink

June 08, 2022

We have recently introduced a new drink to our menu, one which will hopefully remind you of the colorful moments brought to you by an early morning sunrise called espresso sunrise. It is made with a single shot of dark roasted Ethiopian espresso beans and an orange juice freshly squeezed right here in Denmark. We always use coffee beans we have roasted in-house to pull the perfect espresso shot, and we are proud to use Depanneur Juice to keep the ingredients we use as local and as sustainable as possible.

Let us hear more about it

Espresso Sunrise goes by a few different names and is sometimes called an “OJ Express” or, as it has become more famously known from recent Tik Tok trends, simply “Orange Juice and Espresso.”

This drink has raised some eyebrows with its controversial but simple combination of two ingredients that often stay at the opposite ends of the breakfast table, with the caffeine jolt from a shot of espresso and the lingering sugar rush from a glass of orange juice traditionally kept as two separate experiences. As Robert Isenberg from the Phoenix New Times suggests, “In polite society, we keep our pulpy citrus in a glass and put our powerful coffee extract in a Tiny cup.” But, as you will find, the smooth, earthy bitterness of the espresso and the textured sweetness and acidity of orange juice come together harmoniously in a new espresso sunrise drink. 

When the drink is first poured you will notice a layering effect that occurs because the viscosity of the espresso is much lower than that of the orange juice, enabling the espresso to appear as if it is floating on top. Make sure your drink is well stirred before taking the first sip to get the full effect!

All that flavors 

The espresso we use in the café will always be from dark roasted beans, but the flavor of the espresso varies based on how the coffee was processed after it was harvested. The two types of processing we offer in our coffees are “washed” and “sundried.” A washed coffee is from a coffee bean that has been removed from the coffee cherry (the coffee fruit) very quickly after harvesting before being moved to fermentation, where the remanence of the coffee cherry is broken down before being washed away again with water.

A sundried coffee is processed without water, which means the coffee is dried in the cherry over the course of three to six weeks before the bean is separated from the dried fruit.

A washed coffee is the most common and usually has fruitier or nuttier flavor profiles and is likely higher in acidity. In contrast, a sundried coffee, usually tastes much more of sweet fruit and has a more full and sweet flavor body. If you are interested, you can read more about coffee processing methods in one of our previous blogposts. 

For the Espresso Sunrise, the crisp flavors of a washed coffee will balance the sweetness of the orange juice, and the berry sweetness of the sun-dried coffee will complement the smooth freshness of the orange juice.

When visiting our coffee shops and roasteries, ask our baristas what coffee is in the espresso grinder. If it is Nehi, Worke, Aynu, Lomi, Saba, or Zala, it was processed by washing. However, if it is Desta, Beza, Zenu, Kaffa, or Mazaa, it means the coffee was processed through the sun drying method. You can find all our coffees here.

Are you intrigued? Visit us at Flintholm St., Valby St., or Langgade St. to experience this cool new drink and let us know what you think of it. 

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