A Newbie's Guide to Different Popular Coffee-Related Drinks
With all the different names for coffee drinks out there, it's no wonder that people get a little overwhelmed when they're ordering. Fortunately, with all the different styles of coffee, there's actually usually just a simple variation on a classic drink happening. We'll prep you for a world where hazelnut and pumpkin lattes are confusing you from what's really going on behind the counter.
First up, here are some of the names of average drinks, but this time, instead of not understanding what they mean, you're going to learn what the heck the difference between an Americano and a Latte really is.
Caffe Latte Also referred to as Cafe au Lait, this is probably the pinnacle, besides the cappucino, of coffee-related drinks. Definitely the most popular styles of coffee around the world are usually variations on this, with some flavors thrown in here and there (a mocha, after all, is just this plus chocolate). The foam on top? Steamed milk, which is also what's mixed into the drink along with the espresso. Basically, you're just drinking espresso with milk.
Americano You know how when you use your drip coffee machine at home, how the product tastes more like coffee-flavored water if you don't put the right amount of grounds in? Well, the Americano is named, jokingly, after the sort of taste it is that Americans prefer when drinking their coffee. Basically, eight ounces of hot water is added to a shot of espresso, giving you a--you guessed it--watered down version of a stronger espresso drink.
Caffe Creme A number of different styles of coffee just involve a couple of variations to change the end result. Here, your coffee is brewed right from the beans, resulting in a non-milk layer of foam, referred to as crema, on top of the drink itself. No dairy is involved, but the taste is surprisingly smooth, considering.
There's more to knowing about styles of coffee than just remembering some of the key names to the drinks. It's even more important to know some of the processes--i.e. what heats the beans. Here are a couple of the most popular:
The French Press This is the device you're most likely to break if you're having breakfast at a posh girlfriend's house the morning after. A wire part and plunger combine in a glass cylinder, where water is poured in, brought to a full boil, and then the coarsely-ground beans are pressed down to make a filtered cup of coffee that tastes a whole lot better than a drip. Be careful not to force the device, especially if it's your first time making coffee in one, or else you're going to have a bad cup of coffee (and probably an angry girlfriend, too).
The Fully Automatic Espresso Machine This is what makes the drinks that you pay the money to buy in a cafe. Machines in some spots in Italy are over a hundred years old, and they're worth every penny because here you have something that grinds the beans, places the right amount of ground beans into the brewer, and then highly compressed water is pumped through. Amazing, and incredibly tasty. Much better than drip coffee, any day.
For the at-home folks, there's also a stovetop version of an espresso machine, which is a cross between a coffee pot and a percolator. Of course, the Americans amongst us are used to a different style of coffee entirely, with the Mr. Coffee drip system, which unfortunately is accurately known for producing slightly sub-par tasting cups of coffee, even when great beans are used.
So the scary world of coffee vocabulary is actually nothing more than a few fancy foreign language words used to describe strong coffee, hot water, and milk in various stages of being heated. Stop worrying, and start drinking. You'll be a coffee expert in no time. - 17274
First up, here are some of the names of average drinks, but this time, instead of not understanding what they mean, you're going to learn what the heck the difference between an Americano and a Latte really is.
Caffe Latte Also referred to as Cafe au Lait, this is probably the pinnacle, besides the cappucino, of coffee-related drinks. Definitely the most popular styles of coffee around the world are usually variations on this, with some flavors thrown in here and there (a mocha, after all, is just this plus chocolate). The foam on top? Steamed milk, which is also what's mixed into the drink along with the espresso. Basically, you're just drinking espresso with milk.
Americano You know how when you use your drip coffee machine at home, how the product tastes more like coffee-flavored water if you don't put the right amount of grounds in? Well, the Americano is named, jokingly, after the sort of taste it is that Americans prefer when drinking their coffee. Basically, eight ounces of hot water is added to a shot of espresso, giving you a--you guessed it--watered down version of a stronger espresso drink.
Caffe Creme A number of different styles of coffee just involve a couple of variations to change the end result. Here, your coffee is brewed right from the beans, resulting in a non-milk layer of foam, referred to as crema, on top of the drink itself. No dairy is involved, but the taste is surprisingly smooth, considering.
There's more to knowing about styles of coffee than just remembering some of the key names to the drinks. It's even more important to know some of the processes--i.e. what heats the beans. Here are a couple of the most popular:
The French Press This is the device you're most likely to break if you're having breakfast at a posh girlfriend's house the morning after. A wire part and plunger combine in a glass cylinder, where water is poured in, brought to a full boil, and then the coarsely-ground beans are pressed down to make a filtered cup of coffee that tastes a whole lot better than a drip. Be careful not to force the device, especially if it's your first time making coffee in one, or else you're going to have a bad cup of coffee (and probably an angry girlfriend, too).
The Fully Automatic Espresso Machine This is what makes the drinks that you pay the money to buy in a cafe. Machines in some spots in Italy are over a hundred years old, and they're worth every penny because here you have something that grinds the beans, places the right amount of ground beans into the brewer, and then highly compressed water is pumped through. Amazing, and incredibly tasty. Much better than drip coffee, any day.
For the at-home folks, there's also a stovetop version of an espresso machine, which is a cross between a coffee pot and a percolator. Of course, the Americans amongst us are used to a different style of coffee entirely, with the Mr. Coffee drip system, which unfortunately is accurately known for producing slightly sub-par tasting cups of coffee, even when great beans are used.
So the scary world of coffee vocabulary is actually nothing more than a few fancy foreign language words used to describe strong coffee, hot water, and milk in various stages of being heated. Stop worrying, and start drinking. You'll be a coffee expert in no time. - 17274
About the Author:
Damian Papworth just purchased a new 2 cup coffee maker, he wrote about it on the One Cup Coffee Makers website.
posted by X - Men at
9:29 AM
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