Coffee (Miguel song)

Miguel wrote "Coffee" with musician and songwriter Brook Davis while recording material for Wildheart. Miguel later described the song as a recollection of a night spent with someone with whom he formed an unexpected connection. The two stayed awake talking and moving between different places before sharing coffee the following morning.^[4]

The first version of "Coffee" appeared in December 2014 as one of three songs on Miguel's surprise EP Wild.^[5] Before its commercial release, the recording was extended and retitled "Coffee (Fucking)", with Wale contributing an additional verse.^[1] The explicit title distinguished the extended single from the solo recording included on Wildheart.

The album version has a duration of four minutes and 46 seconds, while the extended version featuring Wale runs for five minutes and 14 seconds.^[6][2]

"Coffee" is an R&B song built around layered guitars, programmed percussion and an atmospheric arrangement. Nolan Feeney of Time described its production as combining fuzzy guitars with hazy textures, while Meaghan Garvey of Pitchfork characterized it as drawing from the sound and emotional directness of 1980s power ballads.^[7][8]

The lyrics follow a relationship through the course of a night and into the following morning. Miguel moves between romantic imagery, sexual references and scenes of conversation and domestic familiarity. Coffee functions as the final, ordinary detail of the encounter, contrasting with the heightened language used throughout the rest of the song.^[4]

The extended recording retains Miguel's original structure and adds a verse by Wale. His contribution is more explicit and uses wordplay that continues the song's morning theme.^[8]

"Coffee" received positive reviews from music critics. Garvey selected it as a "Best New Track" for Pitchfork, praising its open treatment of intimacy and contrasting Miguel's sincerity with the emotional detachment found in some contemporary R&B.^[8]

In a review of Wildheart, Maura Johnston of Time cited "Coffee" as an example of Miguel's detailed approach to writing about intimacy. She noted the way its lyrics moved between everyday observations and broader expressions of affection.^[9]

Writing for DIY, Jamie Milton considered it the strongest of the three songs first released on Wild, describing it as a more direct exploration of love than Miguel's earlier work.^[10]

At the end of 2015, Pitchfork placed "Coffee" at number 14 on its list of the year's 100 best songs. The publication's Brad Nelson highlighted the contrast between the song's expansive production and its central image of preparing coffee for another person.^[11] Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 27 on its list of the 50 best songs of 2015.^[12]

The music video for "Coffee" was released on June 16, 2015. It uses the solo album recording rather than the extended version featuring Wale.^[13]

The video alternates between dimly lit scenes of Miguel and then girlfriend Naznin Mandi performing and scenes depicting a couple spending the night together. The final portions show quieter domestic moments as morning approaches, reflecting the progression described in the lyrics. Elias Leight of The Fader wrote that the video emphasized the song's depiction of domestic intimacy, while also noting the prominent role of guitars in Miguel's developing rock-influenced sound.^[14]

Miguel performed "Coffee" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in June 2015. The televised appearance included a staged segment in which he surprised a customer at a coffee shop before performing the song with his band in the studio. He performed it again the following morning on Good Morning America.^[15]

The song was subsequently included in the set list for Miguel's 2015 tour supporting Wildheart.^[16]

• Digital download – album version^[6]

1. "Coffee" – 4:46

• Digital download – extended version^[2]

1. "Coffee (Fucking)" (featuring Wale) – 5:14

Credits are adapted from Apple Music and Shazam.^[6][17]

• Miguel Pimentel – vocals, songwriting, production, recording engineering
• Brook Davis (Brook D'Leau) – songwriting, programming
• Manny Marroquin – mixing
• Chris Galland – assistant mixing
• Ike Schultz – assistant mixing
• Tom Coyne – mastering