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Starbucks Introduces First Boozy Coffee Drink: The Espresso Cloud IPA

The Espresso Cloud IPA
The Espresso Cloud IPA.

Move aside, Pumpkin Spice Latte. Starbucks has announced its first official boozy coffee drink, called the Espresso Cloud IPA, and the combination of coffee and beer sounds like a dream. The drink is now available on Starbucks’ Evenings menu in limited locations across the country.

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The concoction is created when a shot glass of orange-and-vanilla-flavored espresso is dropped into a glass of craft IPA beer that’s topped with foamy coffee froth. The idea is based on the mixing process for the popular Italian shakerato espresso drink — but in this drink, beer is added into the equation.

The Espresso Cloud IPA
The Espresso Cloud IPA

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The coffee powerhouse already serves wine and beer on its Evenings menu, but this is its first original creation that mixes alcohol and java. The drink is the result of a year’s worth of testing.

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Justin Burns-Beach, a member of the research and development team that created the Espresso Cloud IPA, explained how the beverage came to be in a video. “After I shook the espresso, mainly what I wanted was foam to put on top to get that head of the beer, and I didn’t want to waste the espresso. That’s why I decided to just pour it into the shot glass and then have them both side by side,” he said. “Then it was like, oh, what happens if you just pour it in a little bit, and seeing the effect of that was just mind-blowing. The visual of it, watching another cloud develop, was really exciting.” 

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