Introduction to the 10 Most Common Espresso-Based Coffee Types: Preparation Methods and Flavor Characteristics

Espresso coffee is an essential beverage in almost every café. However, espresso coffee encompasses much more than just Americano and latte. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce 10 types of espresso coffee available in cafés, along with their preparation methods.

1. Espresso Coffee

Espresso means "fast, concentrated coffee." It is produced when hot water quickly passes through coffee grounds under high steam pressure (around 9 atmospheres), fully extracting the essence of the coffee to create a rich, aromatic, full-bodied coffee with a bittersweet caramel flavor. FrontStreet Coffee typically uses a double shot of espresso (20g of coffee grounds) to produce approximately 40g of espresso coffee, featuring very fine and rich coffee oils on the surface, also known as "Crema."

Espresso coffee serves as the foundation for many espresso beverages. You could say that if the espresso extraction is poor, other espresso drinks won't taste good either.

2. Americano Coffee

Americano coffee is made by diluting Italian espresso with hot water. It originated during World War II when American soldiers landed in Europe. Finding the Italian espresso too strong for their taste, they diluted it with water, creating what became known as Americano coffee. Although Americano contains a large amount of water and has a milder flavor than regular espresso, its flavor and aroma remain undiminished. Compared to Americano coffee made using filter brewing methods, the flavor is completely different. It pairs excellently with sweet treats like cookies and muffins and is suitable for those who don't prefer the intense flavor of espresso.

FrontStreet Coffee's hot Americano ratio is 40g of espresso mixed with 180ml of hot water, resulting in a 220ml Americano coffee with an espresso-to-water ratio of 1:4.5.

3. Latte Coffee

Latte coffee is a common milk coffee in espresso beverages. The word "Latte" means "milk" in Italian. FrontStreet Coffee uses a double shot of 40g espresso when making latte coffee, paired with 260g of milk and foam, with a foam thickness of 1cm. Of course, latte coffee can be made with beautiful latte art patterns. With the perfect fusion of milk and coffee, it highlights the sweetness of milk while also showcasing the rich character of the coffee.

4. Cappuccino Coffee

Cappuccino is translated from "Cappuccino," with its name derived from the Capuchin order and the Italian word for hood (Cappucio). Cappuccino is similar to latte coffee, belonging to the category of milk coffees, and is also composed of espresso and frothed milk. However, unlike latte coffee, cappuccino has thicker, denser foam, smaller volume, and a stronger coffee flavor.

Traditional cappuccino harmonizes espresso, milk, and foam in a 1:1:1 ratio, making cappuccino coffee less bitter than espresso and adding the richness of foam, making it more acceptable. Among espresso beverages, cappuccino has the thickest foam, and the dense, fine foam adds an excellent texture.

FrontStreet Coffee chooses to use a 180ml tulip cup when making cappuccino, adding one of the freshly extracted espresso shots to the cup, then adding milk frothed into dense, thick foam.

5. Flat White Coffee

Flat White coffee can be understood as the Australian localized version of "latte coffee." Therefore, it differs slightly from our standard latte coffee. Flat White originated in Australia and New Zealand. It is a coffee product evolved by Oceanic residents according to their own needs. It consists of espresso, milk, and a thin layer of foam. Generally, Flat White coffee cups are smaller than latte cups, with less milk and stronger coffee flavor, highlighting the coffee's richness. It's worth noting that Flat White coffee is only served hot.

FrontStreet Coffee's Flat White standard: uses a 220ml glass cup, with 30g of ristretto espresso, and 190ml of milk plus foam. Foam thickness is approximately 0.5cm. (Foam preparation degree: 5 parts full milk frothed to 5.5-6 parts full foam).

6. Mocha Coffee

In Italian, "Mo" means chocolate, so Mocha coffee literally means chocolate coffee. It's a fusion of mellow coffee, rich milk, and sweet chocolate. There is a variation of mocha called white café mocha, which uses white chocolate instead of milk and dark chocolate. Besides white mocha coffee, another variation uses two types of chocolate syrup mixed together, called zebra mocha, sometimes referred to as tuxedo mocha.

FrontStreet Coffee's mocha coffee recipe is: 40g espresso + 20g chocolate syrup + 260g hot milk.

7. Dirty Coffee

Many people wonder about the difference between Dirty Coffee and iced latte. Indeed, from ingredients to recipe to appearance, these two have too many similarities. But if you observe closely, you'll find that Dirty is essentially a more refined iced latte. The biggest differences lie in the choice of container and the detailed preparation.

Dirty Coffee typically chooses a glass container that can display beautiful liquid layers, and importantly, contains no ice. The focus is on the espresso liquid slowly flowing into the pure white milk, gradually permeating and mixing, creating a beautiful layered effect. As time passes, the pure white milk is gradually "contaminated" by the rich espresso. Through the glass, the drink appears dirty. Besides the visual "dirtiness," it actually contains the collision between cold milk and hot espresso, allowing one to experience the change from hot to cold in a single cup of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Dirty ratio is 150g milk and 40g espresso. First, take out a pre-chilled glass cup, ensuring the glass is free of water, and pour in iced milk. Then attach the filled portafilter, placing the glass cup with iced milk under the spout (or directly under the outlet if using a bottomless portafilter). The distance from the outlet to the liquid surface shouldn't be too far—if too far, the coffee's own gravity will have stronger penetrating power and easily mix. A distance of about 1cm is recommended. Proper espresso flow rate will be uniform, slowly flowing onto the milk surface, floating on top, and gradually sinking, creating the dirty effect.

Dirty should be drunk without stirring and quickly. You'll find that the hot espresso on top hasn't been melted by the cold yet, and the milk below hasn't been "contaminated." The transformation from rich chocolate-flavored hot coffee to milky, light iced coffee is simply wonderful.

8. Macchiato Coffee

Macchiato is an Italian word meaning "marked." Macchiato coffee originated in 1980s Italy when customers had the habit of adding a small amount of milk to their espresso, but the milk would quickly disappear in the coffee crema. So baristas wanted to distinguish between pure espresso and espresso containing a small amount of milk, using foam to "mark" a white dot on the coffee crema.

Later, people discovered that in the gradual fusion of foam and espresso, one could taste the rich aroma and full body of espresso while also experiencing the dense sweetness of milk, intertwining and merging in the mouth—it was wonderfully indescribable. Thus, traditional macchiato coffee was born.

FrontStreet Coffee's macchiato recipe: 40g espresso + 1 spoon of fine foam

9. Affogato Coffee

This is a very special coffee beverage. The normal preparation method is to place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cup, then pour a shot of espresso over it. This completes an affogato coffee. When tasting, you'll experience the cool sweetness of vanilla ice cream with the aroma of coffee, making it perfect for summer consumption.

10. Caramel Macchiato

This is Starbucks' signature espresso beverage (completely unrelated to macchiato). A medium 355ml coffee contains one shot (approximately 30ml) of espresso, with the remaining 300ml consisting of foamed milk, vanilla syrup, and caramel, resulting in a sweet flavor.

Caramel Macchiato: When making it, large amounts of milk and foam are used, not much different from a wet cappuccino or a thicker latte. Vanilla syrup and smooth hot fresh milk, topped with a layer of fine, smooth foam, mixed with rich espresso, plus soft caramel sauce—the sweet and rich caramel macchiato becomes an excellent choice for coffee lovers to enjoy strong espresso.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473