What is a dead eye coffee?
A dead eye coffee (or just a dead eye) is a cup of drip coffee topped with three shots of espresso. It's a stronger variant of red eye coffee which is made with one shot of espresso, and stronger still than black eye coffee made with two shots.
A dead eye coffee is very strong tasting and contains a lot of caffeine. Like red eye and black eye, dead eye coffee is drank mostly as a stimulant for people working the night shift — rather than for its taste.
On the Starbucks secret menu, which apprently exists, dead eye coffee is referred to as green eye coffee. Presumably because green is the Starbucks color, and the word dead isn't on brand.
Origins of dead eye coffee
Dead eye coffee shares its origins with the red eye coffee. Dead eye and black eye are both simple variations of the more well known red eye — their names often get mixed up.
Nobody exactly knows the origin of the drink or the name.
Our guess is the name comes from a semi-logical progression from red eye.
- Red eye makes your eyes red.
- Black eye is darker than red.
- What's darker than black? Being dead. It makes your eyes look dead. Something like that.
There is a theory that the drink's name is an offensive reference the assassination of JFK. We'll leave it to the reader to work out why.
Dead eye coffee ingredients
The ingredients of a dead eye coffee are dead simple…
- A cup of drip coffee (160ml)
- Three shots of espresso (90ml)
How to make a dead eye coffee
Dead eye coffee is made the same way you make an americano – but instead of hot water, you use drip coffee.
- Brew a cup of drip coffee. Make sure there's room for three shots of espresso on top.
- Make three shots of espresso poured directly into the cup of drip coffee.
- Deftly, slide the cup across the counter of your diner so it stops perfectly infront of the trucker who ordered it.