Can or bar? Both have their place. This article compares them honestly: where the Espresso Martini from a can wins, where the bar is ahead, and why the gap is smaller than most people think.
Can an Espresso Martini from a can match the bar?
Yes, if the coffee and the crema are right. That is exactly where most ready to drink coffee cocktails fail: they use flavourings instead of real coffee and have no crema at all.
Cheers Presso uses 100 % single-origin premium Arabica coffee from Colombia and a nitro infusion that creates the same dense layer as hard shaking. What makes a good Espresso Martini is covered in What is an Espresso Martini.
How does the crema form without a shaker?
Through nitrogen. The nitro infusion brings the finest bubbles into the drink, and they settle as a velvety crema as you pour.
In the bar the shaker does that job: ice, force and timing whip air into the drink. The result is comparable, the effort is not.
How long does preparation take?
From the can it takes under ten seconds: open, pour, let the crema settle. In a bar it is one to three minutes, including brewing the espresso, shaking and straining.
Over a busy evening that adds up. Why this matters for businesses in particular is covered in Espresso Martini for bars and restaurants.
What does an Espresso Martini cost in comparison?
Cheers Presso starts at 3.29 euro per can. In a bar an Espresso Martini usually costs between 9 and 14 euro depending on the city and the venue.
In return, the bar gives you service, atmosphere and a glass that somebody else washes up. So the price gap is not a pure product comparison.
Where is the bar still ahead?
On personalisation. A good bartender adjusts sweetness, coffee and strength to your taste and varies the recipe with liqueurs, bitters or other spirits.
A can cannot do that. What it does deliver is exactly the same result every time, including when nobody with shaker experience is anywhere near.
How consistent is the quality?
From the can it is consistent. Every can tastes the same, no matter who opens it or how busy the night is.
In a bar the result depends on the day, the espresso machine and routine. An excellent Espresso Martini is possible there, and so is a mediocre one.
How should you store Cheers Presso?
Dry and at room temperature. Chill it only before serving, ideally to 4 to 6 degrees.
That makes the can practical for stocking up, for the fridge, the cool bag and the picnic. An open cocktail from a bar has none of that flexibility.
How do you serve the drink from the can?
Open it well chilled, pour it into a martini glass and let the crema settle for a moment. A pre chilled glass holds the temperature longer.
If you like, place three coffee beans on the crema. The drink then looks exactly like it does in a bar, without anyone having to shake it.
Who is the can for?
For every moment without a bar: the balcony, the kitchen, the train, a festival, a house party, a barbecue or the evening when nobody feels like washing up.
There are three varieties: Regular, Decaf with 0 mg of caffeine and the sparkling Cold Brew Fizz. Every version is in the shop, and the figures are in Calories and caffeine.
Can you dress up the drink from the can?
Yes, with very little effort. A pre chilled martini glass, three coffee beans on the crema and a twist of orange turn the can into a drink nobody tells apart from the bar.
If you want to experiment, add a dash of chocolate bitters. That is enough, the coffee should stay in the lead.
How do you transport Cheers Presso?
In the can, with nothing to break. It fits a cool bag, a backpack and a bike basket, and it only needs chilling shortly before drinking.
That is the practical advantage over any bottle and over any cocktail prepared in a glass.
Which variety suits which occasion?
Regular for the evening, decaf for late, Cold Brew Fizz for daytime. All three are 10.3% ABV but differ in caffeine, texture and can size.
What defines the Cold Brew Fizz and when it is the better choice has its own article.
True Coffee. True Moments.
