Tonic and Espresso – Easier Than You Think

Tonic water is carbonated water infused with quinine. It has a bitter flavor, much like the bitterness of a lemon or lime. Quinine is extracted from the bark of the Andean Tree (Cinchona) and some have traced back its usage as far back as 1630 by Jesuit missionaries in South America to treat diseases. According to legends, an Indian with a high fever was lost in an Andean jungle and came across a pool of water surrounded by quina-quina trees. He drank from the water and found that it tasted bitter and thought he was poisoned. His fever went away shortly after, and he shared his discovery with his fellow villagers. 

There is debate on how European countries adopted it, but during the 17th Century, quinine was used by British soldiers to fight against malaria. They began to mix it with gin at one point to mask the extremely bitter flavor. While we don’t associate tonic water with fighting diseases anymore, tonic water has an interesting background. Today, you can find so many different brands of tonic water. My absolute favorite is Fever Tree. But there are other budget-friendly options when you choose a store brand tonic water.  For this post, I’ll be using tonic water that I picked up at my local Trader Joes.