The TikTok teens are at it again with another viral coffee trend. They’re calling it “cloud coffee” (though it isn’t entirely clear why) and it’s a “tropical” twist on the iced americano. What’s the tropical twist, you ask, well it comes from subbing out regular water for coconut water and adding a float of non-dairy milk.
There are claims of additional health benefits from the additional electrolyte and other nutrients in the coconut water, but the real question is: is it any good? So as an elder Millennial, who better than I to be the arbiter of what is good and right (or bad and wrong) with Gen Z. And let me just say, cloud coffee? Not bad.
I’ve field tested of a few of these TikTok coffee drinks in the past—espresso and orange juice and watermelon iced coffee in particular—to surprisingly tasty ends, but I had my reservations about cloud coffee. For instance, would the addition of coconut water add an unpleasant viscosity to the drink? And what’s the deal with the alt milk? Americanos are already mostly water so adding milk to it seems soupy and odd.
There wasn’t really much in the way of a recipe to follow for how to make cloud coffee. Or maybe there is and I’m bad a TikTok, who can say. But this did free me up to make some, what I would call, significant improvements to the beverage.
@vitacoco Coconut water coffee hack 🥥☕️ @ispillice #vitacoco #coconutwater #icedcoffee #icedcoffeerecipe #whippedcoffee #coconutwatercoffee #coffeerecipe #foryoupage #fyp
First up, I tried my hand at making a hot version of cloud coffee. My reasoning here is that hot Americanos, which we just call Americanos, are vastly superior to iced Americanos, so if we’re going to riff on a drink we may as well start at its acme. But that was a disaster. Hot coconut water is weird and so is the tepid mixture of espresso and cold coconut water. Just a lot of unpleasantness all around and frankly a terrible start for cloud coffee. You can check my work on it if you want, but you’d be advised to keep it moving.
So it was up to the cold Americano to save the day. And wouldn’t you know it, it was pretty damn good. The trick here, like with all good Americanos, is to keep them small. Too much coconut water and that’s about all you really taste. A six-ounce beverage is sweet spot. And lots of ice, the small ice if you’ve got it.
Now, let’s talk milk. Get rid of it. Some of the videos had folks whipping alt milk with the espresso before pouring over the coconut water, but honestly, it doesn’t bring a lot of the beverage. Sure, it adds creaminess but at the expense of weight. The coconut water already imparts a surprisingly nice touch of mouthfeel, and if the vibe here is supposed to be tropical, well, milk was a bad choice. Instead, try a squeeze of lime. It’s light, it’s zippy, and it frankly just makes sense.
Unlike everyone on TikTok, I won’t leave you high and dry without a recipe. If you want to make cloud coffee for yourself at home, here’s what you’ll need:
- A standard doubleshot of espresso (20g in to 40g out)
- A bottle of coconut water, preferably young coconut water (the one that’s pink). The other stuff is too sweet and artificial tasting. The Harmless Harvest brand is a good option and is fairly easy to find.
- A lime wedge
- A highball glass
- Ice, the smaller the better
The recipe is as follows:
- Fill the highball to the top with ice
- Add the coconut water, leaving just enough room for the espresso
- Float the espresso on top of the coconut water
- Garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy the cascading effect as the espresso mixes with the coconut water.
- Put it on the Gram (optional)
- Squeeze the lime wedge and stir
- Enjoy!
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
