Espresso Martini - a strong, sweet and delicious coffee cocktail made with espresso, Kahlua and vodka. The perfect after-dinner drink with a creamy, foamy top and garnished with coffee beans, delicious!
If you love coffee an Espresso Martini is sure to be your dream cocktail! It's strong and sweet and served ice cold making it the perfect way to end a meal, it's like your after-dinner espresso and dessert in one but hey...you can totally have dessert too!
This is Kahula's official recipe for an espresso martini which I love. Another popular version found online uses a lot more vodka but I find it way too strong and overpowering.
This version has the perfect combination of strong coffee and sweet flavours. If your not a fan of coffee but love an indulgent cocktail I totally recommend trying our Chocolate Martini recipe...it's out of this world delicious!
Ingredients - what you need
See the photo below that shows you all the ingredients you need to make an Espresso Martini. You'll also need a cocktail shaker!
- Vodka - use a good quality vodka if possible, I used Absolute Vodka.
- Kahlua - this is the classic coffee liqueur used in a classic Espresso Martini but you can use other coffee liqueurs such as Tia Maria.
- Espresso - make sure you have a single shot of strong brewed espresso per cocktail. We always use 100% arabica coffee.
- Coffee beans - Three coffee beans are an old traditional garnish of Sambuca in Italy called La Mosca or the fly. It's meant to signify health, wealth and happiness and is almost always seen on an espresso martini now too. Don't worry they don't affect the flavour so you can skip them if you don't have them.
Make a strong 1 shot espresso using a coffee machine or Moka pot, see photos 1 & 2 for what the creamy foam should look like.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and pour in the vodka, Kahula and espresso (you don't need to cool it first) (photos 3-6).
Shake the cocktail vigorously to create the foam then pour into a cocktail glass. Top with 3 coffee beans as garnish (photos 7 & 8).
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Make it sweeter - if you'd like the cocktail to be sweeter you can add ¼ teaspoon of sugar to your coffee, stir to dissolve then add to the cocktail.
- Use vanilla vodka - vanilla vodka will add a delicious vanilla flavour and sweetness.
- Add baileys - to make it creamy and more dessert-like you can swap the Kahlua for Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur.
If you'd like to serve your espresso martini alongside a dessert then Tiramisu, Panna cotta or Stracciatella Gelato (No Churn) would be perfect options!
If you can't find Kahlua you can use another coffee-based liqueur such as Tia Maria which should be easy to find. You can also use Bailey's but it'll change the flavour (creamy, less coffee).
Make sure you make an espresso with plenty of Crema on top (foam) using a coffee machine. Then when you add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker make sure to shake it very hard about 10 times to create extra froth.
If you don't have a coffee machine you probably won't get the crema (foam) on top of your coffee. You can add an egg white to your cocktail shaker which will give you plenty of foam without changing the flavour or you can buy cocktail foam drops online. Add 1-2 drops to your shaker for that creamy top.
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📖 Full Recipe
Espresso Martini
Ingredients
- 1 part strong espresso (40ml)
- 1 part Kahlua (40ml)
- 1 part vodka (40ml)
- ice
- coffee beans for garnish (optional)
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker
Instructions
- Make a strong 1 shot of espresso using a coffee machine or Moka pot.
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then add the vodka, Kahula and espresso (no need to cool first). Shake the cocktail vigorously to create the foam then pour into a cocktail glass.
- Top the cocktail with 3 coffee beans then serve.
Notes
- Make it sweeter - if you'd like the cocktail to be sweeter you can add ¼ teaspoon of sugar to your coffee, stir to dissolve then add to the cocktail.
- Use vanilla vodka - vanilla vodka will add a delicious vanilla flavour and sweetness.
- Add baileys - to make it creamy and more dessert-like you can swap the Kahlua for Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur.
- No coffee machine? You can use a Moka pot to make a coffee with great foam OR you can add 1 egg white to your cocktail to create a thick foamy top. Another option is to buy cocktail foam drops online.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
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