From salted coconut cold brew to tiramisu-tini, coffee cocktails are ditching the dessert tray and stepping into the spotlight — one bold flavor mashup at a time.
“People love coffee — it’s delicious, social, energising,” says Tom Baker, co-founder of Mr. Black. Baker says coffee cocktails are booming, but what’s behind the rising demand? I chatted with Baker to get the scoop on where the future of coffee cocktails may be headed beyond the classic espresso martini and what’s driving the demand in the industry.
Demand for coffee cocktails
Coffee cocktails have exploded in popularity over the last few years, especially among Millennials and Gen Z. A 2024 Mintel report suggests Millennials and Gen Z are key drivers in the rising demand for coffee cocktails, as these individuals see cocktails as a form of self-expression and indulgence.
Additionally, coffee cocktails deliver a visual appeal for social media and provide lots of opportunities for extensive customization of beverages. The rising interest in coffee cocktails also goes hand-in-hand with a general increase in interest in specialty coffees across the board, per the National Coffee Association’s (NCA) 2025 specialty coffee trend report.
“Millennials and Gen Z grew up in coffee shops, so of course, they want that in their cocktails. Add better coffee, better spirits, and better bartenders, and you’ve got drinks that hit tastebuds and Instagram feeds in equal measure,” he shares.
Third-wave coffee taught drinkers to care about origin, roast, and brew — which isn’t something that switches off after dark. As such, many coffee drinkers have “leveled up” their morning brew, seeking the same quality when ordering drinks at a bar. Just as you’d commonly find an old-fashioned or a margarita in a bar, Baker predicts coffee cocktails will soon be on every menu and in every home bar by 2030.
Beyond the espresso martini, layered coffee cocktails with creams, foams, and emulsions are also on the rise. Some trending coffee cocktails include variations of:
- Irish coffee
- White Russian and black Russian
- Carajillo
- Speciality dessert martinis such as tiramisu and banana bread espresso martinis
Since coffee is already served that way in many cases, such as in the nitro cold brew, it only makes sense that these ways of enjoying coffee will migrate into coffee cocktails. Baker says establishments like Milk Money at ECC NYC and Midnight Haze at Death & Co. LA are great examples of bars already serving innovative coffee cocktails like these.
The future of coffee cocktails
As the demand for coffee cocktails rises, Mr. Black is making waves in bars serving coffee cocktails. The brand started in Australia, yet now has a global presence. In the next five to ten years, Baker predicts that coffee cocktails will continue to grow and we’ll begin to see more diversity in drinks, more global influences, and more coffee drinkers experimenting with home recipes.
Currently, Baker says the espresso martini is one of the most Googled cocktail recipes. Yet new flavor combinations are starting to pop up everywhere. Unlike other coffee liqueurs, which often do not contain coffee or contain too much sugar, the Mr. Black brand offers a cold brew that can be enjoyed neat, mixed, or used to make proper coffee cocktails.
“Balance and intensity over cloying sweetness, every time,” says Baker.
The brand has also experimented with flavor combinations that go beyond your typical coffee cocktail, pairing liquor like tequila and cognac with cold brew.
“For a softer serve, coconut, oat, or condensed milk keeps the texture lush without the heavy-cream hangover. And almost every coffee cocktail improves with a pinch of salt and a hint of lemon oils from an expressed peel — the Italians nailed that a century ago.”
