Types Of Coffee Drinks – Coffee Varieties

It can sometimes be daunting walking into a coffee house and seeing the long list of coffee varieties and drinks on the menu. What’s the difference between a latte and an Au lait? How does a cappuccino differ from an Americano? We’ll try to make it all clear for you below:

Americano: A single shot of espresso with about 7 ounces of hot water added to the mix. The name for this coffee drink stemmed from an insult to ‘uncouth’ Americans who weren’t up to drinking full espressos.

A Shot in the Dark: See ‘Hammerhead’.

Black coffee: A drip brew, percolated or French press style coffee served straight, with no milk.

Cafe au Lait: Similar to Caffe Latte, except that an au lait is made with brewed coffee instead of espresso. Additionally, the ratio of milk to coffee is 1:1, making for a much less intense taste.

Cafe Breva: A cappuccino made with half and half milk, instead of whole milk. The theory is that the mix gives a richer, creamier flavor. You should be aware, before trying this for yourself, that half and half is much harder to foam.

Caffe Latte: Essentially, a single shot of espresso in steamed (not frothed) milk. The ratio of milk to coffee should be about 3:1, but you should be aware that latte in Italian means ‘milk’, so be careful ordering one when in Rome.

Cafe Macchiato: A shot of espresso with steamed milk added. The ratio of coffee to milk is approximately 4:1.

Cappuccino: Usually equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and frothed milk, often with cinnamon or flaked chocolate sprinkled on top. Some coffee shops will add more milk than that so that the customer will get a bigger drink out of the deal, but that makes the coffee itself far weaker. Click here for how to make Cappuccino

Double, or Double Shot: Just as it sounds, this is two shots of espresso mixed in with the regular amount of additional ingredients. So, for example, if you were going to make a double hammerhead, you would put two shots of espresso into a coffee cup, and fill it with the drip blend, rather than the usual single espresso shot.

Dry Cappuccino: A regular cappuccino, only with a smaller amount of foam, and no steamed milk at all.

Types Of Coffee Drinks II


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  1. leonardo_dirobin Says:

    very informative. =)

  2. Jeff Batchelder Says:

    For a true cafe au lait, it should be made with double strong brewed coffee, but also it’s supposed to be New Orleans coffee flavored with chicory.
    I’m sure there are tons of variations out there and who’s to say which one is The Right One, but this is a little nugget of info I gleaned in my five years of being a barista.

  3. coffee lovah Says:

    we are coffee lovah’s
    we love-espresso, cappiccino, latte, mocha, decaf(of course)frappiccino(gotta have that b frap in your chino!)

  4. Patco Says:

    We just got to have coffee.It does not matter what type of coffee it is.It is what i call addiction.

  5. dania Says:

    coffee is a wonderful thing in the life

  6. J Vaught Says:

    How does one process coffee for decaffinated coffee

  7. J Says:

    I am sensitive to coffee therefore would love to know how to process coffee by water, similar to Sumatra decaffinated water processing of coffee.

  8. Obaid Says:

    Me and my girl, we love kofe… a good mug of cappuccino or latte and time slips by smoothly. hope to get a coffee machine and brew up some nice mugs from your recipes!!!
    anyone is welcome to post a recipe as a comment on my blog.
    obaid

  9. Scott Says:

    Very informative page, thank you! One question, I am trying to categorise all coffee brewed at coffee shops with one category for a website I am making. Current categories I have are: Instant Coffee, Coffee Beans, Ground Coffee, and I want one category to sum up all coffee at cafe’s, like “Cafe Coffee”, or “Brewed Coffee”, or “Bought Coffee”, or “Ordered Coffee”,but I can’t think of a category that will sum it up. Any ideas? (and I don’t want to offend coffee drinkers with the wrong title).

  10. tonny mbaya Says:

    It doesn’t matter the type of coffee one has to take,but how it is prepared.

  11. jayanta sahu Says:

    What a peace after a sip of Cappuccino!

  12. gautam Says:

    what is turkish coffee

  13. Donghwi Park Says:

    I love this site ^^
    but what is espresso ?

  14. Marvin Ersando Says:

    Can somebody help me start a business on coffee industry. we had coffee plantation here in Cavite Phils. We had the raw materials but I dont know where to start. If someone is interested to be my partner you can contact me … Thank you

  15. Tauria Kane Says:

    I read they put some kind of chemical like chloride or something to weaken the potency of the regular coffee to make it decaf. I stay away from it. Its poison.

  16. Tauria Kane Says:

    Hey Marvin: You need to get an industry consultant to help you with processing your product as far as roasting, grinding and packing. just go on the net or find a coffee industry trade show somewhere in the US. There are magazines like “Fresh Cup” and Specialty Coffee retailer. Do the foot work!

  17. Jivan Says:

    It is very helpful to understand the basic knowledge about coffee. More importantly it is useful to those who wants to develop furthur career in coffe work.

  18. Jeena Devasia Says:

    Cafe Macchiato is few drops of milk in a strong cup of espresso-right? Still for me there was nothing to beat a cup of Caffe Latte from the wonderful Italian Coffee Shops. as I am used to drink my coffee with milk!

  19. l. Safrazian Says:

    Would like the name of a good expresso for Mocha Blend Coffee. I love a good expresso – but not too strong.

  20. Greg Says:

    There is an error in the Cafe Macchiato description. It says the ratio of coffee to milk it 4:1. Shouldn’t it be milk to coffee is 4:1, similar to the Cafe Latte description?

  21. oddballmac Says:

    I ordered cafe lait, when the bill came it said cafe cream, which i thought it was as it had very little milk. As I was paying i said that i had ordered Lait to which he replied. “Don’t try to tell me my job, they are the same thing” One thing was odd, when i ordered it his English was great but now he would not say one word of English. Thank goodness i knew enough to reply. But please could someone tell me if he was right. If so then all the other times that i have ordered Lait in my local in france has been wrong !!!!!! lol please help.

  22. MmmCoffeeeeee Says:

    Coffee is like heaven on a stick, i am young but i love coffee!!!

  23. Morgan Says:

    Black coffee FTW! Why ruin the genuine taste of coffee with additional ingredients? It’s like watering down your beer… LOL!

  24. Ashland Says:

    my dad loves what is called the “quad esspresso machiato”…
    no clue…

  25. james barclay Says:

    Psychological warfare c.1861: During the United States Civil War the Union Navy blocked Souhern ports so no coffee could get in. Since tea, not coffee, was the staple beverage of the North and coffee the staple beverage of the South, it was thought that doing so would demoralize the Confederate troops and possibly cause rebellions and riots in Southern towns and cities. The southerners chose, instead, to use chickoree, carob, roasted grains, roasted dandelion greens or other plants wheich may have had some caffeine in them. Today in many places of the Deep South, chickory is still mixed with coffee and greatly prized and enjoyed. One brand, Luzianne, is sold worldwide.

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