Best tonic water for espresso tonic

Since we haven’t had much events back in Aug 2020, its been just me and the espresso machines in the office. I won the stare off.

Having declared my victory, I decided to put the machines to work – I pulled countless (okay, I lost count) espresso shots to find out the best tonic water to brew your own espresso tonic.

This is being published now because I finally managed to take the accompanying photos…#procratinationisreal.

What is Tonic Water?

Tonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved.

Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually now has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctive bitter flavor. Today, tonic water is also often sweetened as well.

What is quinine?

A naturally occurring alkaloid that’s been used in the therapy of malaria for centuries. Quinine is also used to treat muscle cramps occasionally.

“If you peel the bark of the cinchona tree and dry it, you get a white powder that you can scrape out, that’s called quinine.”

Bottled in China

Fun fact: quinine in tonic water appears fluorescent under direct sunlight, against a dark background. I can’t seem to capture this on camera though 🙁

Same same but different

There are several tonic water brands in the market.

I ran this test to find the most suitable tonic water for brewing a satisfying glass of espresso tonic.

Best Tonic Water for Espresso Tonic

tl;dr, I would go with Double Dutch’s Indian Tonic Water or F&N’s extra dry tonic water for a balanced cup of espresso tonic.

Here’s a summary:

*Cost per bottle is accurate at the point of the test.

How they stack up?

Here’s a quick comparison of the tonic waters, in terms of sweetness, amount of quinine (detectable by taste) and fizz:

Sweetness:

Quinine:

Fizz:

In my opinion, Double Dutch’s Indian Tonic Water delivered the most balanced espresso tonic. The runner up is F&N’s extra dry Tonic Water. But given the cost difference and availability, I’d go for the latter.

East Imperial and Schweppes are probably better options as mixers for cocktails or alcoholic drinks.

**Taste can be subjective, if you have a preferred tonic water brand, please share!

If you’re still reading, I go into more detail on each of the tonic water brand below:

The Candidates

Not all tonic water are made equally nor do they test the same. For this test, I used the following brands of tonic water:

• Double Dutch’s Indian Tonic Water
• East Imperial’s Burma Tonic Water
• Fever Tree’s Premium Indian Tonic Water
• F&N’s extra dry Tonic Water
• Schweppes’ Tonic Water
• Soda Press Co’s Classic Indian Tonic – this is a syrup and was excluded from the taste test.

p.s. some of these are affiliate links, we may get a commission on your purchase.

Double Dutch’s Indian Tonic Water

Ingredients : Carbonated water, Fructose, Natural Flavorings, Quinine, Citric Acid.

• Straight from the bottle

There’s a good amount of carbonation, and it smells like sprite.

DD’s tonic water has a good balance between sweetness and bitterness with a dry finish. Its citric acid content was not detectable and there is distinct bitterness from quinine.

• Espresso Tonic

Makes a balanced espresso tonic with a dry finish, at a 1:3 ratio. Pouring it directly into freshly brewed espresso seems to give it a good head which lasts quite a while which makes for an enjoyable drink on a hot afternoon.

Best enjoyed over ice.

• Cold Brew Tonic

At a 1:2 ratio (1 part concentrate, 2 parts tonic), it makes an enjoyable cold brew tonic. Best enjoyed over ice. I would increase the ratio to 1:1 for a cold brew tonic with a stronger kick.

Additional notes

I had a tough time procuring this brand for the test as it was sold out on all the major ecommerce websites. Managed to get my hands on some thanks to a friend.

Side note, the copy on the bottle seems pretty honest. No exaggeration in the ingredients, and they delivered on the promise on being ‘perfectly balanced’.

East Imperial’s Burma Tonic Water

Ingredients : New Zealand Artesian Spring water, Natural Cane Sugar, Acidity regulator (Citric Acid), Natural Flavors (Herbs, Extracts, Quinine – hand selected from Javanese Cinchona Bark)

• Straight from the bottle

The carbonation is real with this, you can feel it the moment you open the bottle. This gives it a great mouth feel.

Unfortunately, it is unbelievably sweet. It has a dry finish, and its quinine content is almost undetectable on the tongue, no thanks to its sweetness level. Cute bottle though.

• Espresso Tonic

Very sweet with my recipe. Would probably work better with a strong, bitter double shot espresso instead. May even work with bitter instant coffee!

• Cold Brew Tonic

Very sweet. At 1:2 ratio, it masks the flavors of cold brew, works better on a 1:1 ratio, topped with ice.

You can also get them at The Providore.

Fever-Tree’s Premium Indian Tonic Water

• Straight from the bottle

Has a sweet initial taste with a good detectable amount of quinine in the aftertaste, most detectable quinine taste of the lot.

Good amount of carbonation.

Here’s a rough idea of the carbonation:

• Espresso Tonic

As above, this highlights the chocolate notes in the espresso while leaving an interesting aftertaste, probably due to the flavors from the quanine.

With a well pulled espresso, this would provide an enjoyable drink on a warm afternoon with a good amount of fizz too.

• Cold Brew Tonic

Fever-tree’s tonic water seems to bring out the chocolate notes in a cold brew.

F&N’s extra dry Tonic Water

Ingredients : Carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, flavorings, quinine hydrochloride (added quine 68mg/l), sodium chloride

• Straight from the bottle

The F&N extra dry tonic water is sweet, with a bitter finish. It has a detectable tinge of lemon taste, probably due to its the citric acid content. Its carbonation doesn’t last long after can is opened, so brew fast!

• Espresso Tonic

I was pleasantly surprised. F&N’s tonic water delivered an balanced espresso tonic very similar to the Double Dutch experience, except for a noticeable lack of fizz.

• Cold Brew Tonic

Balanced cold brew tonic with little fizz.

If you’re looking for a cheap tonic water option. this could be a great alternative.

Schweppes’ Tonic Water

Ingredients : Carbonated water, sucrose, citric acid, flavoring, preservative(sodium benzoate) and Quinine (quinine added 67mg/l)

• Straight from the bottle

Schweppes’ tonic water is sweet with a detectable bitter, tangy finish.

Carbonation doesn’t last once can is opened. The bigger carbonation bubbles disperse quickly but micro carbonation is still detectable when drinking up to 3 mins later.

• Espresso Tonic

Taste wise, this is slightly sweeter than the F&N extra dry tonic and it lacks the characteristic quinine taste that is very evident in the Double Dutch version. However, it can remain fizzy for a longer period, compared to F&N.

If espresso shots are not consistent, this is the best option for an enjoyable espresso tonic because its sweetness can help to mask some of the unpleasant flavors, ha.

• Cold Brew Tonic

Cold brew tonic experience slightly better than F&N’s mainly because of the micro carbonation. Leans towards the sweeter end of the spectrum.

How this ‘test’ was done

I tasted every tonic brand, three ways – straight from the bottle, as a cold brew tonic and as an espresso tonic.

Tasting on all the variants was carried out on three separate occasions, so as to make sure my taste notes remained consistent. (told you it was just me and the espresso machines)

Here’s how the espresso tonic and cold brew tonic were brewed:

Recipes

For this test, a specialty coffee blend of Colombia and Guatemala beans were used.

Espresso Tonic

• 40g espresso (1 part)
• 80g tonic water (2 parts)
• served with ice

The espresso is brewed at a 1:2 ratio, using 22g of coffee per dose.

Freshly brewed espresso was added into cold tonic water which lead to a fizzy reaction and in general a good head in all the variations. Ice was added to the mix thereafter.

What makes a good espresso tonic?

Espresso tonics are best enjoyed on a hot day.

In my opinion, an enjoyable espresso tonic would taste like a fizzy weak ice long black that’s slightly sweetened. It should deliver balanced sweetness and bitterness notes and a notable fizz that ideally lasts the entire cup.

Sweeter tonic water may overpower espresso if a 1:3 ratio was used. You may want to dilute your espresso tonic with chilled water if it is too strong.

Cold Brew Tonic

• 40g cold brew concentrate (1 part)
• 80g tonic water (2 parts)
• served with ice

Cold brew coffee concentrate was brewed using the mason jar technique shared here, at a ratio of 1 : 5 for 18 hours.

This recipe was chosen after ‘researching’ on forums and reddit. However in general, I would increase the ratio to 1:1 for a stronger cold brew tonic, especially if served over ice.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the best tonic water for espresso tonic would be Double Dutch’s Indian Tonic Water (DD) which delivered a balanced espresso tonic. On its own, it has the most balanced taste profile of all the tonic water I’ve tried making it the most versatile option. If you do cocktails as well, DD could be a nice addition to your bar.

This test was done in Aug 2020, at that time, the Double Dutch Indian Tonic Water was listed on various ecommerce websites, but I couldn’t place a purchase on any of them. I could only get my hands on some from a friend. At the point of publication, it is available on Lazada. Comparatively, F&N’s extra dry Tonic Water is stocked at most major supermarkets.

Coming in close is Fever Tree’s Premium Indian Tonic Water which seems to be the most popular option in various espresso tonic recipes published online. In my opinion, it somehow amplifies chocolate notes in the coffee.

These ‘branded’ tonic water may cost a premium, but hey you can get a very close experience with the most affordable tonic water: F&N’s extra dry Tonic Water!

For a fraction of the Double Dutch’s price, you’ll enjoy a similarly tasty espresso tonic, albeit with a distinct lack of fizz.

East Imperial is probably a better option as a mixers for cocktails or alcoholic drinks.

Key lesson learnt? Don’t drink too much espresso tonic in a day, gives you wind.