Like most humans with functioning ears, I spent the early days of summer 2024 encountering the masterful pop jam “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. While arguably being the Song of The Summer—perhaps tied with Post Malone & Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help” [Editor’s note: and Chappell Roan’s “Hot To Go!”]—the first time I heard “Espresso” I had no thoughts, having found myself in a fugue state imagining myself on the Pacific Coast highway on my way to Malibu in a convertible, wearing Ray-Bans and a silk scarf without a care in the world.
The second time hearing it I thought, “at last! Decades after Willie Nelson gave the world the perfect whiskey song and The Champs gave the world the perfect tequila song, the world finally has the perfect song for my preferred potent short beverage.” As the summer wore on, though, I realized with subsequent listening that the song captures a certain kind of vibe, but never actually lyrically captures anything about what I love about espresso. It wasn’t that it was a bad song, but maybe it was a bad coffee song?
This of course got me to wonder: what is the best coffee song? As with all things coffee, I realized it wasn’t that there was one best coffee song, there is only the appropriate coffee song. Just as a washed Colombian Pink Bourbon has its time and place and a red honey Costa Rican Catuai has another, so too are there different kinds of coffee songs for different kinds of coffee vibes.
So after extensive research and deep cultural study, we here at Sprudge are here to give you a by no means comprehensive list the greatest coffee jams and how best to deploy them.
Frank Sinatra – The Coffee Song
Old Blue Eyes likely wins the prize for having the oldest ubiquitous coffee song. Released in 1946 (and then re-recorded in 1960), one of Sinatra’s oldest songs as a solo artist combined Brazilian Samba and American Big Band Jazz to create a marvelous ear worm about how in the world’s biggest coffee producer it’s de facto illegal to consume beverages other than coffee, and in so doing is probably the only pop song in history to insinuate that someone might drink potato juice.
What does it say about coffee?
While ostensibly a novelty song, the song remains relevant as it references the massive surpluses in coffee production at the end of the Brazilian Coffee Cycle in the 1930s, which in turn led to one of the first big drops in the global price of coffee and thus the beginning of the economic precarity of coffee production. Anyone who has opinions about how much coffee producers deserve to get paid is thinking about things in the same way as the song’s lyricist Bob Hilliard.
What does it say about my cafe if I play it?
Your biggest seller is a batch brew that emphasizes how well balanced it is. Not too bright, not too sweet, not too bitter, with flavor calls like “roasted almonds” and “milk chocolate. It’s got a fun name like “the regular.” Dale Cooper would likely describe it as “a damn fine cup of coffee.”
Otis Redding – Cigarettes & Coffee
One of the greatest soul singers of all time gave the world a marvelously complicated song in the world of coffee-oriented jams. Reading the lyrics the song paints a portrait of romantic bliss, in which the narrator has finally found true love after searching for it his entire life. Hearing Otis’s plaintive and mournful delivery of those lyrics paints a very different kind of picture, and raises the question: “wait, why exactly are you up drinking coffee at 2:45 AM?”
What does it say about coffee?
The narrator of the song and his lover to whom he’s singing are clearly in the midst of something intense, whether it’s a love that’s so intense that they can’t get enough of each other’s company even though it’s a quarter to three in the morning, or whether it’s an intense discussion that’s kept them up, coffee is used to signify that the couple wishes to stay clear headed and make the right choices. Otis wants us to know that coffee is a serious drink for serious situations.
What does it say about my cafe if I play it?
Your espresso machine is a Faema E61 in perfect condition. While it’s not the default option, no one will flinch if you ask for a little cocoa powder on top of your cappuccino. The owner has fond feelings about Alfred Peet and wishes he hadn’t sold the company back in ‘79.
Squeeze – Black Coffee In Bed
English new wavers Squeeze pack 10 pounds of nostalgia into a five-pound bag in their 1982 contribution to the coffee jams canon. The song is musically a throwback to ’60s soul hits like “Chain of Fools” and “In the Midnight Hour,” and lyrically recalls better times with a former lover with whom the narrator only has “memories of late nights and coffee in bed.” Singer Glenn Tillbrook doesn’t sound like he mourns the relationship however; he’s bittersweetly recalling pleasant memories as he stares at the stain on his notebook where his former lover’s coffee cup was.
What does it say about coffee?
While “Black Coffee In Bed” recalls former good times, it doesn’t do so in a way that’s plaintive or regretful. It’s all about celebrating the small pleasures that make life worth living. As Tillbrook sings about “lips full of passion and coffee in bed” we can be reminded that coffee can bring us a simple and satisfying pop of joy in our lives without needing to break the bank to do it.
What does it say about my cafe if I play it?
You have a marvelous signature beverage program. While you have fun drinks with unconventional flavors most people opt for the vanilla latte, but that’s okay. You’ve got an excellent house made vanilla syrup and it pairs beautifully with your espresso. Who can blame the people for loving a classic?
Black Flag – Black Coffee
DIY Punk godfathers Black Flag defined themselves in the 1980s as the anti-rock stars of the era, and frontman Henry Rollins was no exception. He fashioned himself in direct opposition to his fellow Angelino rock singers of the era like Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe and Bret Michaels of Poison by eschewing hairspray, makeup, and Jack Daniels for weightlifting, tattoos, and copious amounts of coffee. This song from 84’s Slip It In is among the better of Rollins’s anti-rock-star manifestos.
What does it say about coffee?
“Drink black coffee and stare at the wall” is a phrase that positions itself as the opposite of recreation. We’re not here to have a good time, we’re here to have a bad time. Rollins sings about shutting everything out around him but also drinking coffee to stay awake and keep sharp while doing so. It’s meditative, but it’s an unpleasant kind of meditative. Kinda like how Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote about how the goal of the samurai is to constantly meditate on his own death. Coffee in “Black Coffee” is about focus and intensity.
What does it say about my cafe if I play it?
You have a Food Not Bombs schedule posted somewhere in the cafe. Your machine is a Linea Classic that was saved from a dumpster when Starbucks abandoned them to go super-auto. The kitchen puts out a killer tofu scramble. There’s at least one barista named something like “Mouse” who will help a regular fix their bike for free because they just like helping people out.
Sylvan Esso – Coffee
Hailing from the home of Counter Culture Coffee, Black & White Roasters, and G&H Grinding and Brewing Solutions it makes sense that Durham’s Sylvan Esso would want to title their first single from their self-titled debut after what’s clearly the city’s favorite drink.
What does it say about coffee?
The lyrics of Sylvan Esso’s “Coffee” are about as sparse as the twinkly synths that accent singer Amelia Meath’s voice, and they barely mention coffee at all beyond mentioning the fact that coffee is consumed at different temperatures at different times of year. That being said as someone who has volunteered as a US Barista Championship Judge this song gives me a pavlovian response as roughly 30% of all competitors use this song in their routines. As soon as I hear that four-note-bells-riff I feel like I need to start writing notes on the altitude and cultivar of the coffee being used in the routine.
What does it say about my cafe if I play it?
Your menu board lists “Pour-Over – Market Price” as an item. You’re really stoked about this co-ferment microlot that’s coming in from a roaster on another continent. You’ve done blind taste tests to see if the espresso tastes better out of a Loveramics demitasse or a NotNeutral one. There might be a framed photo of Andrea Allen on the premises.
Chappell Roan – Coffee
The fourth track on Chapell Roan’s breakthrough The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the first downshift from the album’s frenetic, messy dance-pop into a soft piano ballad about a messy on/off relationship. “I’ll meet you for coffee, only for coffee / Nowhere else is safe, every place leads back to your place” is Roan’s repeated phrase sung to her sometimes lover with whom she shares a complicated and painful history. “Coffee” and its follow up track “Casual” seem to exist to give the listener a break from the dance floor so that they can have a good cry.
What does it say about coffee?
Chappell Roan is playing with coffee’s reputation as being the drink of morning and midday sobriety meaning that it is also the drink that’s antithetical to romance and sex. “I’ll meet you for coffee, cause if we have wine / you’ll say that you love me, I know that’s a lie.” We have coffee with colleagues and platonic friends. We have wine with people we want to hug and kiss. A little unfair to those of us who love coffee and are great romantics, but not inaccurate either.
What does it say about my cafe if I play it?
If you just play “Coffee” by itself on the playlist, it tells me that your shop is a lovely and cozy place to linger. Chappell Roan’s “Coffee” is a perfect song to listen to as you stare out a window with a hot mug in your hands. If you play the entirety of The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess it tells me that public displays of affection and breakups have both happened in your establishment. Not because of the coffee, but because this is clearly the kind of place where difficult emotions are allowed to be expressed.
Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
This May, Bart Simpson’s niece Sabrina Carpenter came out with the most effortlessly amazing beach jam since Katy Perry refused to spell “Girls” correctly. Full of nü-disco beats and chillwave synths the song simply begs to be played while sipping a cold drink on a hot day while wearing something breezy and fabulous. It also happens to be named “Espresso”, which, why?
What does it say about coffee?
Carpenter’s lyrics say exactly one thing about coffee. “Say you can’t sleep, baby I know / that’s that me espresso.” Coffee keeps you awake, a take that’s about as hot as a freshly pulled espresso isn’t. To say nothing of the very weird syntax (since I typed it, my word processor has been begging me to correct the phrase “that’s that me”), espresso is itself not the most ideal caffeine delivery system. Gram for gram it’s been demonstrated that espresso as a brew method extracts far less caffeine than filter coffee. I guess I get it though. While it scans better and doesn’t involve using the phase “that’s that me”, you can’t really put “say you can’t sleep, baby I know / I’m a batch brew from FETCO™” in a pop song.
What does it say about my cafe if I play it?
The lighting in your cafe is immaculate. Everywhere is a perfect place to take a selfie. You have a few secret menu items that only your Instagram followers know about. Your latte art and matcha games are both on point, and doubtless before the year is out you will have an airbrushed panel on the back of your Black Eagle that says “that’s that me espresso.”
Jackson O’Brien is a coffee professional and freelance journalist based in Minneapolis. Read more Jackson O’Brien for Sprudge.
