Red Eye
Also shot in the dark, sludge cup
Drip coffee fortified with a shot of espresso. The caffeine of a large filter coffee plus a shot makes it one of the strongest everyday café orders.
SpecialtyServed hotFrom United States
- Volume
- 270ml9.1 US fl oz
- Espresso
- 1shot
- Caffeine
- 64mgderived, USDA FDC
- Glass
- Mug350 ml
The build
Watch it made, step by step- Brewed filter coffee240 ml89%
- Espresso30 ml11%
- Volume
- 270ml
- Caffeine
- 64mg
- Espresso
- 1shot
Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.
A full cup of drip coffee with one espresso shot dropped in.
Caffeine
Derivedin a 270 ml red eye
Derived per shot: USDA FoodData Central FDC 171891 (espresso, restaurant-prepared) lists 212 mg per 100 g; a standard 30 g shot is about 63.6 mg, times 1 shot(s). Real values vary with dose, roast and species (robusta roughly doubles it).
USDA FoodData Central record 171890 · read 2026-10-26
A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.
Variants by country
2| Name | Country | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| black eye | United States | Two shots. |
| dead eye | United States | Three shots. |
History
Popular accountNamed for the overnight 'red-eye' flight it is meant to get you through; a US coffee-shop coinage with no documented inventor. We have not found a primary source for this account.
American diner and café slang.
Parts of this story are repeated widely but were not confirmed against a source this atlas accepts. They are kept as the story people tell, not as fact.
Related drinks
Coffee blended with butter and MCT oil into a creamy emulsion, a 2009 US diet-culture drink. Butter in coffee is older in Singapore and Ethiopia.
Specialty Dirty Chai 270 ml · 64 mgA chai latte 'dirtied' with a shot of espresso. The caffeine figure here counts only the espresso; the tea adds more.
Specialty Olive Oil Coffee (Oleato-style) 255 ml · 127 mgA latte with a spoon of extra-virgin olive oil blended in, a 2023 chain-café novelty launched in Italy.
Specialty Black Eye 300 ml · 127 mgA cup of drip coffee with two espresso shots added. The middle rung of the red eye, black eye, dead eye ladder.
Specialty Dead Eye 330 ml · 191 mgDrip coffee with three espresso shots. At well over 250 mg of caffeine by USDA figures it approaches a full day's commonly cited intake limit in one cup.
Specialty Affogato 130 ml · 64 mgA scoop of gelato drowned in a shot of hot espresso. Served in a small glass or bowl and eaten with a spoon as much as drunk.