Trending · 2025–2026 #22 most trending
Coffee Soda
coffee · The Zero-Proof Edit
The recipe
Ingredients
Glass Tall glass
Method
- Fill a tall glass with ice.
- Add the cold brew concentrate.
- Add syrup or citrus now, if using, and give one gentle stir.
- Top slowly with sparkling water , pouring down the side to keep the bubbles.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel. Serve with a straw; stir once, gently.
Coffee Soda
Coffee Soda
"Coffee, but make it sparkling."
At a Glance
| Trend Rank | #22 · The Sparkling Cold Brew |
| Vibe | Light · Dry · Effervescent |
| Strength | 0.0% ABV · ~90 mg caffeine |
| Best For | Hot afternoons · Post-lunch lift · Soda-swappers |
| Skill Level | Easy |
Flavor Profile
Bubbles and a clean coffee snap up front, drying out to a crisp, refreshing finish. Lighter than any iced coffee, closer to a coffee-flavoured spritz than a latte.
Why it’s trending
As drinkers trade heavy sodas for lighter fizz and cold coffee keeps climbing, the two met in the middle. Coffee Soda — cold brew lengthened with sparkling water over ice — became a café innovation of 2026, with some shops serving it over premium mineral water for maximum bubbles.
It sits at the intersection of two of the year's biggest currents: the sparkling-refresher trend (light, carbonated, natural caffeine) and the "make my coffee lighter" shift away from milky iced drinks. The result drinks like a coffee spritz — dry, effervescent, low-calorie, and genuinely thirst-quenching where an iced latte sits heavy. It's the everyday, all-day sibling to the Espresso Tonic.
By the numbers
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Origin | 2026 café innovation — sparkling cold brew |
| Format | Built, sparkling, 0.0% ABV |
| Caffeine | ~90 mg |
| Register | Light, dry, low-calorie |
Variations
| Variation | Twist |
|---|---|
| Citrus Coffee Soda | A wedge of orange or grapefruit squeezed in |
| Vanilla Coffee Soda | 5 ml vanilla syrup for a cola-like roundness |
| Tonic Version | Swap sparkling water for tonic → an Espresso Tonic |
| Coconut Coffee Soda | Half coconut water, half sparkling — tropical, softly sweet |
| Bitter Coffee Soda | A dash of aromatic bitters — the grown-up register |
What to serve with it
- Food: Light lunches, citrus desserts, salted snacks, anything you'd pair with a spritz
- Occasion: Hot afternoons, the post-lunch lift, poolside, soda-swapping
- Music vibe: Bright, breezy, up-tempo — a daytime drink
Quick-reference card
Coffee Soda · Built · Tall glass 30 ml cold-brew concentrate · 150 ml sparkling water · lemon wheel Effervescent · dry · coffee that drinks like a spritz
Glassware & presentation
Glass: Tall glass, to show the bubbles Serve: Over plenty of ice Temperature: Ice cold throughout Garnish: Lemon wheel or orange twist
- #coffeesoda
- #sparklingcoffee
- #coldbrew
- #nadrinks
- #refreshing
- #coffeetok
- #summercoffee
- #lightanddry
- #cafedrinks
- #therapeuticcocktails
Frequently Asked Questions
-
It's cold brew stretched long over sparkling water — a carbonated coffee that keeps the flavour but loses the heaviness. Think of it as the coffee answer to a spritz: light, dry, effervescent, and endlessly refreshing. Some cafés serve it with a premium mineral water like Topo Chico for extra fizz.
-
Same family, different register. An espresso tonic uses tonic water, so it carries quinine bitterness and a touch of sweetness. A coffee soda uses plain sparkling water, so it's cleaner and drier — the coffee flavour stands more on its own. If espresso tonic is the sophisticated one, coffee soda is the thirst-quencher.
-
Not necessarily — a good cold brew has natural sweetness, and the point of the drink is how light and dry it is. If you want a little roundness, add 5 ml of simple or vanilla syrup, or a splash of citrus. Taste first; many people prefer it bone dry.
What next?
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From the Lab
Master the craft behind this drink
The fundamentals that make this drink work — explained in The Lab.