WHAT IS THE LAZY EYE COFFEE? THE MOST CONFLICTED COFFEE DRINK
What is this paradoxical coffee drink, and why does it exist?
I always considered the Lazy Eye coffee something of an enigma. Combining a cup of decaf coffee with a shot of regular espresso, it seemed like a coffee drink having an existential crisis. Does it want to be caffeinated or not?
Then I started exploring the drink further for this article, including brewing my own at home. Now I get it. It has the rich body and full flavor of a Red Eye coffee without caffeine overload. It has quickly become one of my favorite ways to enjoy coffee, and I’m excited to tell you more about it!
What Is The Lazy Eye Coffee?
The Lazy Eye coffee consists of a shot of espresso (1 ounce) poured into a cup of decaf coffee (usually 5 or 7 ounces). It has a bold flavor, a full body, and (if you’re delicate) a lovely layer of crema. The caffeine content is a moderate 65 to 85 mg per serving – less than the average 8-ounce brewed coffee (1).
The Lazy Eye is usually made with drip coffee, but if you want a really rich brew, you can use an immersion method like French press or Aeropress.
Where does Lazy Eye coffee come from?
Lazy Eye coffee is one of the many different coffee drinks known as “eye” drinks. The original is the highly-caffeinated Red Eye coffee, a cup of filter coffee topped with a shot of espresso, which takes its name from the amount of caffeine required to survive a red-eye flight (2).
The Lazy Eye is a variation that uses decaf for the coffee portion of the drink. There’s no consensus on the number of espresso shots – the key feature is the decaf coffee – but it is usually one or two.
How To Make A Lazy Eye Coffee
Preparing a Lazy Eye at home isn’t difficult, but it does require some planning. You need two brewers (a coffee maker and an espresso machine) as well as two types of coffee beans (decaf and regular).
Lazy Eye Ingredients And Supplies
- 13 grams decaf coffee beans
- Coffee maker
- 9 grams espresso beans
- Espresso machine
- Burr grinder
AT A GLANCE
BREW TIME
7-10 minutes
YIELD:
One 8-ounce drink
The Step-By-Step Recipe
1. Grind the decaf beans to a medium grind suitable for your choice of coffee maker. I like to use a pour over dripper for a single serving, but you can use an automatic drip machine if you’re making more than one drink.
2. Brew the drip coffee using whatever recipe you prefer. I’ve been using a Hario W60 dripper with a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio. While the decaf finishes brewing, you can start on the espresso.
3. Grind the regular coffee beans to a fine grind for your home espresso maker. Pack them into the portafilter and tamp firmly.
4. Pull a shot of espresso either into a separate demitasse or (if you’re making a single serving) directly onto your cup of decaf. A Nespresso or similar pod machine is also a viable choice for this step.
5. Combine the drip coffee and espresso if you didn’t do it in the last step. Make sure you add the espresso to the coffee, not the other way around, to preserve the layer of crema.
What Does The Lazy Eye Coffee Taste Like?
The exact flavor of the Lazy Eye depends on your choices for the two coffees, which is part of the appeal. You can experiment to find a combination of flavor profiles that perfectly suits your palate. The most important thing is to use freshly roasted, good-quality beans.
I like to pair a medium roast decaf with notes of nuts and ripe fruit with a slightly darker espresso roast that leans more heavily on caramel and chocolate.
Regardless, you can expect a drink with a richer flavor, heavier body, and creamier mouthfeel than typical brewed coffee. The addition of espresso also tends to amp up both sweetness and bitterness in the drink.
Final Thoughts
The Lazy Eye might seem like a strange contradiction at first glance. Decaf plus espresso – who would have thought? But I promise that as soon as you try it, you’ll understand the appeal. I certainly did.
Imagine taking an Americano and making it even more rich and flavorful without increasing the caffeine to jitter-inducing levels. Delicious!
What are the differences between Lazy Eye and Dead Eye (Dripped Eye)?
The differences between Lazy Eye and Dead Eye coffee are in the taste and the level of caffeine alike. A Dripped Eye coffee uses three espresso shots, making the coffee flavor much more concentrated. A single-shot Lazy Eye coffee contains around 80-90 mg of caffeine, whereas a Dead Eye coffee can contain 373 mg of caffeine.
FAQs
A Black Eye coffee is a cup of drip coffee with two espresso shots, giving it a stronger coffee taste and much higher caffeine content than either the Lazy Eye or Red Eye coffee. The Black Eye has around 280 mg of caffeine.
A Dripped Eye coffee, also known as a Dead Eye coffee, uses three espresso shots in a cup of drip coffee. It has a much stronger flavor and noticeably fuller body than the Lazy Eye. And, of course, it has a boatload of caffeine – nearly 400 mg per serving!
Yes, you can make a Lazy Eye without a coffee or espresso machine, though it won’t have quite the same richness as the real thing. I’d recommend using a Moka pot to prepare the shot and a pour-over brewer, French press, or Aeropress to brew the decaf coffee. The advantage of the Moka pot is it allows you to brew many servings of “espresso” at once.
References
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2024, August 28). Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much
- Clayton, L. (2024, March 6). What Is A Red Eye Coffee? Retrieved from https://sprudge.com/what-is-a-red-eye-coffee-233161.html
