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.
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September 20th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
very informative. =)
November 19th, 2007 at 11:09 am
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.
February 12th, 2008 at 12:43 am
we are coffee lovah’s
we love-espresso, cappiccino, latte, mocha, decaf(of course)frappiccino(gotta have that b frap in your chino!)
April 14th, 2008 at 11:57 am
We just got to have coffee.It does not matter what type of coffee it is.It is what i call addiction.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
coffee is a wonderful thing in the life
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:39 am
How does one process coffee for decaffinated coffee
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:48 am
I am sensitive to coffee therefore would love to know how to process coffee by water, similar to Sumatra decaffinated water processing of coffee.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
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
August 10th, 2008 at 7:29 am
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).
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 am
It doesn’t matter the type of coffee one has to take,but how it is prepared.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
What a peace after a sip of Cappuccino!
December 24th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
what is turkish coffee
December 27th, 2008 at 8:07 am
I love this site ^^
but what is espresso ?
January 18th, 2009 at 8:06 am
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
February 28th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
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.
February 28th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
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!
May 23rd, 2009 at 9:14 pm
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.
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
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!
July 9th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Would like the name of a good expresso for Mocha Blend Coffee. I love a good expresso – but not too strong.
July 29th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
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?
August 19th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
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.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:10 am
Coffee is like heaven on a stick, i am young but i love coffee!!!
September 29th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Black coffee FTW! Why ruin the genuine taste of coffee with additional ingredients? It’s like watering down your beer… LOL!
October 6th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
my dad loves what is called the “quad esspresso machiato”…
no clue…
October 17th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
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.
March 28th, 2010 at 3:22 am
You forgot Flat White.
It originates in New Zealand and is essentially a double shot of espresso with steamed milk which is poured from the bottom of the steaming pitcher. This holds back the lighter froth on the bottom.
April 11th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Re earlier post about using chemicals to decaffinate coffee. Methlyene chloride is used. It has a very low boiling point (104F) so any left on the treated beans would be long gone after roasting the beans. Still for those concerned go for the CO2 treated or Swiss water process. If you really want to be concerned about chemicals used in treating food, check out the sprays used on tomatoes etal from mexico. They use Ortho Phenol phenylic which is a deadly neuro toxin!!!
June 12th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
Stu Dragon makes a good point about the low risk associated with decaffeinating using methyl chloride, howeve i cant see the point in taking the risk when non chemical methods of decaffeination are readily available, such as the excellent Swiss Water process coffees from Canada.
June 15th, 2010 at 8:52 am
This website is useful for adults who love coffe
hope you can plublish one about tea too! 
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:33 am
Thank you for this very informative piece!!!….
October 17th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Been in catering all my life.I have just opened my own cafe & could not remember the measurements for each coffee! very very hepful & simple -Thanks x
October 19th, 2010 at 4:18 am
I work in a Restaurant. I wonder if you can provide all different type of coffees that are availiable in the world today, such as Caffe Latte, Cappucino, etc.,
October 19th, 2010 at 4:21 am
I work ia a Restaurant. I wonder if you could tell me all the cooffees that are available in the world today, such as Caffe Latte, Mocha, Cappuccino, etc. Thank You.
April 5th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
this did work wonders!!
May 16th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Thanks for sharing! Walking in to a coffee shop and not knowing what to order can be extremely daunting. We try and make it as easy possible for our customers at our coffee shop in Frisco, TX. Best of luck to you all!
October 6th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
a friend of mine told me about a certain kind of Spanish coffee called “Bastula”. she wasn’t sure of the correct spelling, and neither am I. she said that it is usually only found at ethnic stores and markets. she said it is very strong coffee usually made on the stove, and is mostly prepared with sugar. I’ve been trying to look this up online, but I’m not able to find any information at all. am I spelling this incorrectly? judging by the description of Puerto Rican coffee, it seems somewhat similar. does this sound familiar to anyone?
October 6th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Hi I love to drink coffee everyday