You might be new to coffee. You wonder what to order, what goes into it or how to make one. Here is a guide breaking down different styles of coffee across the world, you should know and understand before you try one!
Coffee – it’s an art of its own. There’s a lot about coffee that’s not just what we call “coffee”. There’s espresso, cappuccino, flat white, latte, brews, affogato, cortado, ristretto, lungo, long black, americano, bulletproof coffee and so on.
If you prefer coffees with milk, cappuccino, latte, flat white are the ideal choices. If you don’t prefer milk and just want to taste the strong dose of pure coffee, then comes the rest. Still confused? Talk to your barista which is milk based or which is not milk based. Talk to your barista so they can understand your preferences before taking up an order – They love to serve to you. All you have to do is greet, talk, place your order. Wait for them to happily bring the goodness to you.
Breaking Down the Brews!
Lets take a look at the ingredients in different types of coffee for an indepth understanding:
Espresso – Coffee beans are grounded. A small amount of boiling water is pressurized through the machine. Coffee in its purest form, espresso is the primary base of all the coffees.
Cappuccino – It consists of one part espresso, one part milk and one part froth.
Flat white – Similar to cappuccino but excluding step of foam or froth. Flat white is made by adding in two shots of espresso to one part steamed milk.
Latte – A tad milkier than cappuccino, latte is made with espresso and more steamed milk.
Cold brew – Ground coffee brewed in room temperature or cold water, steeped for however long you want. As the name suggests, It is not served hot, which makes it unique.
Cortado – A sibling to cappuccino, cortado is made by espresso and equal parts of milk. The milk in cortado is steamed and not frothed unlike cappuccino.
Ristretto – A close cousin to espresso. What makes it different is that ristretto is a stronger shot of coffee extracted than espresso, which basically is concentrated espresso.
Lungo – Lungo is a coffee extracted from the machine, and is very similar to the espresso. It has more than a single shot of espresso. lungo means “long” which means a long shot of espresso.
There are also coffees that you can add in more flavor, the most popular being:
Irish coffee – Made by mixing a combination of whiskey and coffee. There are add on options such as sugar, cream, and foam.
Affogato – A dessert and coffee lover’s dream! It is by scooping some generous amount of frozen vanilla ice cream into a cup, and adding in a shot of espresso. Affogato means “drown”, which is exactly what’s happening in this coffee, the ice cream drowning in the coffee.
Frappe – This beverage is an iced/cold coffee which is made by blending iced coffee, syrups of choice and topped with whipped cream. It’s not coffee in its purest form but this drink can be enjoyed by those who prefer the subtle taste of coffee.
Mocha – A drink for the chocolate lover – mocha consists one part chocolate, one part milk, one part foam and one part of coffee. It has the sweetness of the chocolate paired with the strong bitter taste of espresso.
Coffee can be an emotion to some and a habit to some, but the feeling is universal. Consumed in many ways across the world, the beverage is experimental and regional. We hope you understood our beginners guide to how the basic coffees are made.
Coffee-cling!