The drink Sweden gave the world. No, not that one. This one. Three layers, no ego, the most refreshing thing you'll pour all summer.
Some drinks announce themselves. The espresso tonic arrives, sets itself down, and waits for you to notice. A short glass. Ice. A bottom layer of clear, sparkling tonic. A muscular middle band of espresso, suspended like weather. And, this summer, a quiet white crown of cold foam on top. It looks like an experiment. It tastes like a holiday.
The first sip is fizz and bitter and creamy all at once. The quinine in the tonic finds the citrus oils in the espresso. The cold foam softens the whole thing into something silkier than either part alone. Done right, it is one of the great drinks of summer.
The drink Sweden gave the world
The espresso tonic was invented in 2007 at Koppi Roasters in Helsingborg, on the southwest coast of Sweden. (Yes, that country. The good drink.) The story, as told by the founders Anne Lunell and Charles Nystrand, was almost accidental: they were experimenting with cold espresso preparations on a hot Skåne afternoon, reached for a bottle of Fever-Tree tonic that was in the fridge, and poured the shot over the top. It worked. They put it on the menu. By 2010, Scandinavian speciality cafés had picked it up. By 2015, it was on the menu at Blue Bottle in California and Workshop in London.
Sweden, it turns out, is good at coffee. It is also home to a famous oat drink, the one that arrives in cartons, in supermarkets, in the fridge aisle. That oat drink recently launched a second product, specifically because its first one didn’t cold-foam well enough. Two cartons, two formulations, two slots in the fridge. We took a different route. MYOM Barista is a single pouch that foams hot under a steam wand and foams cold in a frother, because the protein structure does the work at either temperature. One pouch. Both foams. No second carton. Which, on a hot afternoon when you’re about to pour a layered espresso tonic, is the difference between making the drink and going out to buy it.
Why now in the UK? Because cold foam. Until 2024, the espresso tonic was a two-layer drink, a clear-and-dark stack admired more for novelty than refreshment. The addition of a creamy cold foam crown, popularised by speciality cafés in Australia and the US, gives the drink a third layer and a third texture. The result is more complete, more drinkable, and a great deal more photogenic. It's the version that has been quietly taking over independent UK cafés since last summer.
“Fever-Tree, espresso, oat foam. Sweden, Devon, Scotland. The cocktail equivalent of a hands-across-Europe.”
MYOM Espresso Tonic Cold Foam Recipe
A three-layer build that takes patience to pour and seconds to drink. The most refreshing iced coffee there is.
Serves: 1. Time: 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 short tumbler or rocks glass, full of ice (the colder the better)
- 150ml of chilled Indian tonic water (Fever-Tree, Schweppes, or your favourite)
- 1 double shot of espresso (freshly pulled, room temperature or cooler)
- 50ml of chilled MYOM Barista Oat (icy-cold, below 6°C)
Method
- Fill the glass to the top with ice. Use plenty. The drink relies on it staying cold and undiluted.
- Pour 150ml of chilled tonic water over the ice. Let the fizz settle. This is the base.
- Pour the double espresso slowly over the back of a teaspoon held just above the surface, so the shot floats and forms a distinct, dark middle band. Take your time. The slower you pour, the cleaner the layer.
- Froth 50ml of chilled MYOM Barista with a handheld frother for 20 seconds until thick and pourable.
- Crown the drink with the cold foam, building a clean white layer on top of the espresso. Three colours: clear, dark, white. Photograph it before you drink it.
- Stir gently with a long spoon and drink, or sip through the layers for a more dramatic ride.
Why you'll love it
- Three textures, one glass. Fizz, espresso, cream. Each one is doing something different on your tongue.
- Properly refreshing. Tonic water gives the drink a quinine bite that turns a coffee into a long, summer cocktail. No alcohol required.
- The Instagram one. Three distinct horizontal layers, frozen for a moment in the glass. The drink most likely to be photographed before it's tasted.
Make it your own
Swap tonic for elderflower tonic for a floral lift. Swap espresso for cold brew for a softer profile that works better with the tonic's bite. Add a sprig of rosemary or a wide strip of orange peel to the ice for an aromatic version that drinks closer to a coffee Negroni.
For a stronger drink, use a triple shot and a larger glass. For a longer, gentler version, use 200ml of tonic and a single shot. The proportions are forgiving. The only rule that matters is that everything starts cold.
The offer. £8 off the MYOM Barista bundle this summer.
Loved this drink? The MYOM Barista Everyday Bundle is £8 off all summer. One bundle makes more than 30 cold foam drinks at home, less than the cost of three café iced lattes.
- Was £18.99. Now £10.99 with code MYOMCOLDFOAM.
- Free 1L glass bottle (worth £7.99).
- Free delivery.
- Valid until 31 July 2026.
Shop the Barista Bundle: https://myom.shop/products/myom-1l-barista-oat-milk-everyday-bundle
Keep reading
- Cold Foams. Beautifully. The Complete Guide to Cold Foam at Home. https://myom.shop/blogs/our-blog/best-oat-milk-for-cold-foam
- Cold Foam Iced Long Black. https://myom.shop/blogs/our-blog/cold-foam-iced-long-black
- Vanilla Cold Foam Iced Latte. https://myom.shop/blogs/our-blog/vanilla-cold-foam-iced-latte
- Strawberry Matcha with Cold Foam. https://myom.shop/blogs/our-blog/strawberry-matcha-cold-foam
- Pistachio Cold Brew with Cold Foam. https://myom.shop/blogs/our-blog/pistachio-cold-brew-cold-foam
- Create the Perfect Foam Every Time with MYOM Barista Oat. https://myom.shop/blogs/our-blog/create-the-perfect-foam-myom-barista-oat
-
Oat Milk Without Dipotassium Phosphate. https://myom.shop/blogs/our-blog/myom-oat-milk-without-dipotassium-phosphate
Ready to froth?
Pick up a MYOM Barista Everyday Bundle with code MYOMCOLDFOAM for £8 off all summer. Free glass bottle, free delivery, valid until 31 July 2026. With MYOM in the cupboard, cold foam at home tastes like the café down the road, only better.
“One pouch. Made fresh. Foams either way.”
