This Espresso And Orange Juice Drink Is Going Mega-Viral, So I Had To Try It Myself

"You think that you won't like it — you will."

There is litchrally nothing better than a freshly pulled shot of espresso. I have one every morning.

Royal Cup Coffee & Tea / Via giphy.com

And while I love being a coffee purist, I am always looking for ways to spice up my morning cup of joe. So when I saw that people on TikTok were putting espresso in their orange juice, I was immediately intrigued.

You may have seen this trend going around — in this TikTok with over 1.6 million views, user @bundaddy swears that espresso and orange juice is a surprisingly good combo. "I have not seen one person who likes espresso and orange juice not like them together," she says in the clip. "You think that you won’t [like it] — you will."

@bundaddy

stitch this and tag me. please. it is my FAVORITE THING. #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #CorollaCrossStep #coffee

♬ original sound - bundaddy

If you look up espresso and orange juice in the TikTok search bar, you'll see that hundreds of people have hopped on the trend. And although the drink has become super popular in the last few weeks, I had a hunch that this drink existed before TikTok, and I was right. Bon Appetit posted a recipe for a variation of this drink a few years ago, called the "Spritzy Americano." It's espresso and orange juice topped with seltzer water. User @eli_bang re-created the recipe in her TikTok below:

@eli_bang

orange espresso tonic 🍊 #espresso #coffeee #orangejuice #findyourcore #coffeetiktok

♬ paravi das cover of cloud 9 by beach bunny - paravi 💖🌻🦋✨

I was now dying to know which drink would be better, so I decided I would try both — orange juice and espresso, which is making the rounds on TikTok, and orange juice, espresso, and seltzer water, which seems to be the blueprint for the trend. Here's how it went:

I gathered my liquids: no pulp orange juice, seltzer water, and a doppio (doubleshot) espresso from Starbucks.

Jen Adams

First, the viral-inspired drink. After looking around on TikTok, I realized nobody really specified how much orange juice you should use, so I was a little stuck. It seemed like people were being pretty generous with the OJ, though, so I used half of the bottle, which came out to about 6 ounces. I also put some ice in it.

Jen Adams

Then, I poured the doppio espresso — which is 2 ounces — into the drink.

Jen Adams

Really aesthetically pleasing.

Jen Adams

I mixed it with a spoon, and it was ready to drink. At first, I was concerned that there was too much coffee in it, but I figured it was fine since I did actually pour in three times as much OJ as espresso, and I do like my coffee strong.

Jen Adams

Here's me ~moments~ before my first sip.

Jen Adams

Reaction: Y'ALL! It's actually good. The original poster of the TikTok is absolutely right — if you like orange juice, and if you like espresso, you will surely like this. The drink is nicely balanced. The bitterness of the espresso and sweetness of the orange juice blend together seamlessly. You are still able to taste that tangy, citrus flavor without the sugariness. Definitely a bit of an acquired taste, but it's really good and I can see why people would want to drink this.

Now that I had tried the espresso and orange juice, it was time for phase two of the mission — making Bon Appetit's "Spritzy Americano," or the seltzer water version of the beverage.

Jen Adams

The recipe actually specifies using 2 ounces of orange juice, 2 ounces of espresso, and 5 ounces of seltzer water, so I stuck to those measurements.

Jen Adams

I poured in orange juice and ice first, followed by the seltzer water and the espresso, mimicking the TikTok above.

Jen Adams

I later realized I messed up the order of the liquids and that the recipe specifies these directions be followed: "Ice. Room temperature seltzer. Espresso. Orange juice." Oh well.

I ended up with this bubbly, tan concoction.

Jen Adams

Another selfie before the first sip.

Jen Adams

Verdict — LOVE. If you decide to make either of the two drinks, the seltzer water version is definitely worth your time. This drink is better than just the espresso and orange juice. The carbonation takes it one step further and makes it really refreshing! I can see myself sipping this on a beach somewhere, for sure. I can see why someone would want to drink this over something like a latte, because the orange juice definitely cuts that "heavy" feeling that comes with milky coffee beverages.

Have you tried either drink? Let me know what you think about it in the comments!