The Best Summer Coffee Drinks

Cold brew, iced lattes, shaken espresso — and yes, two cocktails. Here's everything worth drinking this summer.

☕ By Koffee Kult  ·  📍 Hollywood, FL  ·  🕐 7 min read

Summer in South Florida isn't subtle. It's hot, it's humid, and it arrives whether you're ready or not. The good news: cold coffee is one of the few things that actually gets better when the temperature climbs. Whether you're starting your morning, powering through the afternoon, or winding down with something a little stronger — these six recipes will keep your summer cooler, more caffeinated, and a lot more interesting.

1. Cold Brew with Vanilla Cold Foam

☕ Non-alcoholic  ·  5 min

This is what we're pouring at the café right now, and it's exactly what summer should taste like. Cold brew on ice, topped with a thick layer of vanilla cold foam that slowly folds into the coffee as you drink it. Simple to make at home, looks great, and hits differently than a regular iced latte.

Method: Fill a tall glass with ice and pour in your cold brew. For the foam: combine heavy cream, milk, and vanilla syrup in a tall container and froth with a handheld milk frother for 20–30 seconds until thick and airy — it should hold its shape but still be pourable. Spoon or slowly pour it over the back of a spoon onto the cold brew so it sits on top. Don't stir — drink through the foam.

2. Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso

☕ Non-alcoholic  ·  5 min

This one became a coffee shop staple for a reason. Shaking espresso with brown sugar and ice creates something you can't replicate just by pouring — a slightly frothy, chilled, perfectly emulsified shot that tastes like it took more effort than it did.

Method: Pull your espresso shots directly into a cocktail shaker or mason jar. Add brown sugar and cinnamon while the espresso is still hot — stir until dissolved. Add a big handful of ice and shake hard for 15–20 seconds. Strain over fresh ice in a glass, top with oat milk.

3. Espresso Tonic

☕ Non-alcoholic  ·  5 min

This one looks like a science experiment and tastes like nothing else in the coffee world. Tonic water's quinine bitterness and gentle carbonation do something unexpected with espresso — it's bright, effervescent, and refreshing in a way no iced latte can touch. It took off in Scandinavian specialty coffee shops a few years back and has been making its way south ever since. About time.

Method: Fill a glass with ice and pour in the tonic water first — this preserves the carbonation. Pull your espresso shots and let them cool for 2–3 minutes (or chill briefly over a small amount of ice in a separate cup). Slowly pour the espresso over the tonic — it'll layer on top before gradually mixing. Garnish with a citrus peel if you have one. Serve immediately.

4. Dirty Lemonade

☕ Non-alcoholic  ·  5 min

Yes, espresso and lemonade. If you haven't tried this yet, suspend your skepticism for five minutes. The acidity of lemonade actually complements espresso — it's the same reason a squeeze of lemon over a shot is a thing in Italian coffee culture. Served over ice, it's sharp, bright, and completely refreshing.

Method: Pull your espresso and let it cool for a few minutes, or chill it quickly by pouring over a small amount of ice. Fill a glass with ice and lemonade. Pour the chilled espresso slowly over the top — it'll layer briefly before mixing. Stir and serve immediately.

After Hours

Two cocktails that start with great coffee. Make them count.

5. Espresso Martini

🍸 Cocktail  ·  5 min

The espresso martini never went anywhere — it just spent a decade waiting for people to catch up. The secret to the three-dot foam on top isn't technique, it's temperature: your espresso needs to be hot when it hits the shaker. Let it cool too much and you lose the foam entirely.

Method: Add vodka, coffee liqueur, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Pull your espresso directly into the shaker — it should still be hot. Fill with ice immediately and shake hard for a full 20–25 seconds. Double-strain into a chilled martini glass. The foam will rise to the top on its own. Garnish with three espresso beans.

6. Cold Brew Mule

🍸 Cocktail  ·  5 min

A Moscow Mule made with cold brew instead of just vodka and ginger beer. The cold brew adds depth and cuts through the sweetness of the ginger — it's a better cocktail than the original in every way, and it's almost embarrassingly easy to make.

Method: Fill a copper mug (or any glass) with ice. Add vodka and cold brew, then squeeze in fresh lime juice. Top with ginger beer — pour slowly to preserve the fizz. Give one gentle stir. Garnish with a lime wheel and a sprig of mint.

The Beans Behind the Recipes

Every recipe above is only as good as what you brew it with. Cold brew and iced drinks are forgiving in preparation but unforgiving about quality — there's nowhere to hide a mediocre bean when you're serving it cold and undiluted. Our Dark Roast Blend, Eye Cracker Espresso, and Thunder Bolt are the three we reach for most for summer drinks, each for different reasons. If you want to experiment across all of them, the Coffee of the Month Club is the easiest way to keep fresh roasts rotating through your kitchen all summer.

Make something good. It's hot out there.