Counterpoint’s espresso tonic creates a different kind of buzz.

Increasingly, baristas blur the lines between coffee and cocktails.

Espresso, cold-brewed coffee and matcha stand in for spirits to craft a different sort of buzz-worthy beverage. This new coffee “mixology” reflects customers’ desire for coffee creativity and the growing popularity of nonalcoholic options. It has yielded drinks like a cold-brew coffee old-fashioned or a sweetened shaken espresso.

Seaside’s Counterpoint Coffee now offers beer and wine, but is also rolling with alternatives in keeping with this trend with drinks like their signature espresso tonic. It starts with Fever-Tree’s Indian tonic water, a premium bottled tonic made with the bark of the cinchona tree and bitter oranges. Counterpoint’s baristas pour the bitter and bubbly water over ice, then finish it off with a shot of espresso from San Jose’s Chromatic Coffee Co. roasters.

The espresso’s fruit-forward notes mellow the bitter bite of botanicals in the sparkling tonic. This effervescent espresso upgrades a classic iced coffee or adds a gentle buzz to start your evening.

COUNTERPOINT COFFEE, 565 Broadway Avenue, Seaside. 586-5888.