Some of the best coffee projects we know of got their start on Kickstarter. From...
Espresso Con Panna: Your basic standard espresso with a shot of whipped cream on top.
Flavored coffee: A very much ethnic tradition, syrups, flavorings, and/or spices are added to give the coffee a tinge of something else. Chocolate is the most common additive, either sprinkled on top or added in syrup form, while other favorites include cinnamon, nutmeg, and Italian syrups. Click here for 10 Cheap Ways to Flavor Coffee at Home
Frappe: A big favorite in parts of Europe and Latin America, especially during the summer months. Originally a cold espresso, it has more recently been prepared putting 1-2 teaspoons of instant coffee with sugar, water and ice. The brew is placed in a long glass with ice, and milk if you like, turning it into a big coffee milkshake.
Greek Coffee: See Turkish Coffee.
Hammerhead: A real caffeine fix, this drink consists of a shot of espresso in a regular-sized coffee cup, which is then filled with drip coffee. Also known as a Shot in the Dark, although many cafes rename the drink further to suit their own needs.
Iced coffee: A regular coffee served with ice, and sometimes milk and sugar. Click here for How to Make Perfect Iced Coffee At Home
Indian (Madras) filter coffee: A common brew in the south of India, Indian filter coffee is made from rough ground, dark-roasted coffee Arabica or Peaberry beans. It’s drip-brewed for several hours in a traditional metal coffee filter before being served. The ratio of coffee to milk is usually 3:1.
Instant coffee (or soluble coffee): These grounds have usually been freeze-dried and turned into soluble powder or coffee granules. Basically, instant coffee is for those that prefer speed and convenience over quality. Though some prefer instant coffee to the real thing, there’s just no accounting for taste. Click here for Advantages of Instant Coffee
Irish coffee: A coffee spiked with Irish whiskey, with cream on top. An alcoholic beverage that’s best kept clear of the kids, but warms you up plenty on a cold winter night. Click here for How to Make Irish Coffee
Kopi Tubruk: An Indonesian-style coffee that is very similar to Turkish and Greek in that it’s very thick, but the coarse coffee grounds are actually boiled together with a solid piece of sugar. The islands of Java and Bali tend to drink this brew.
Lungo: One for the aficionados, this is an extra long pull that allows somewhere around twice as much water as normal to pass through the coffee grounds usually used for a single shot of espresso. In technical terms, it’s a 2-3 ounce shot.
Macchiato: (See Cafe Macchiato)
Melya: A coffee mixed with 1 teaspoon of unsweetened powdered cocoa and drizzled honey. Sometimes served with cream.
Mocha: This popular drink is basically a Cappuccino or Latte with chocolate syrup added to the mix. Sweeter, not as intense in coffee flavor, and a good ‘gateway’ coffee for those who don’t usually do the caffeine thing.
Oliang/Oleng: A stronger version of Thai coffee, Oliang is a blend of coffee and other ingredients such as corn, soy beans, and sesame seeds. Traditionally brewed with a “tung tom kah fe”, or a metal ring with a handle and a muslin-like cloth bag attached.
Ristretto: The opposite of a Lungo, the name of this variety of coffee means ‘restricted’, which means less water is pushed through the coffee grounds than normal, even though the shot would take the same amount of time as normal for the coffee maker to pull. If you want to get technical, it’s about a 0.75 ounce pull.
Soluble Coffee: See Instant Coffee.
Turkish Coffee (also known as Greek Coffee): Made by boiling finely ground coffee and water together to form a muddy, thick coffee mix. In fact, the strongest Turkish coffee can almost keep a spoon standing upright. It’s often made in what’s known as an Ibrik, a long-handled, open, brass or copper pot. It is then poured, unfiltered, into tiny Demitasse cups, with the fine grounds included. It’s then left to settle for a while before serving, with sugar and spices often added to the cup. Click here for How to Make Turkish Coffee
Vietnamese style coffee: A drink made by dripping hot water though a metal mesh, with the intense brew then poured over ice and sweetened, condensed milk. This process uses a lot more coffee grounds and is thus a lot slower than most kinds of brewing. Click here for How to Make Vietnamese Coffee (Ca Phe)
White coffee: A black coffee with milk added.
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Albert Ostmann says
Nice list Thanks! There is also the “Café con leche” which (I guess) is a Spanish version of Latte, using a roast like Pilon or Café Bustelo. A Cuban Coffee uses a strong espresso with a big spoon of sugar to give it a super sweet but strong taste. Also, there is the “Indian shaken coffee”, made with instant coffee, milk, and sugar shaken to a frothy treat!
sdfgh says
Greek coffee is made in a briki, perhaps the word is left over from Ottoman rule. And frappe (the instant kind) is a real treat on a hot day, with loads of ice and condensed milk.
joy says
i really love coffee but didnt know all the types of coffee available and this site has helped me in knowing more as am starting my coffee shop in town.
i don’t know how melya and oleng taste like so i will try them before putting them on my menu.by the way am addicted to coffee, i just cant do without a cup a day.
thanks for the information on this site, it has been of good help and informative.
Wickett says
Samantha,
There is a reason why it has been accepted by some coffee shops to use frothy milk instead of straight milk. Interestingly enough, because there is such a small amount of milk in the espresso shot, waiters could not even hardly see that milk was added, so some places started using a small amount of frothy milk on top instead, so that they could better differentiate them.