Types, Characteristics, and Preparation Methods of Italian Coffee - Exploring Common Varieties of Espresso-Based Coffee

Italian coffee is an essential beverage at every coffee shop. Many Chinese people's first impression of espresso is that it's simply bitter, but Italian coffee offers much more than just bitter espresso. If you want to enjoy Italian coffee that's not bitter and suits your taste, the first thing you need to understand is the different types of Italian coffee. FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to several common types of Italian coffee found in cafés, helping you gain a deeper understanding of Italian coffee.

When speaking of Italian coffee, espresso is one type you absolutely must know about. Why? Because all other Italian coffee varieties are derived from espresso.

Authentic espresso is made by forcing near-boiling high-pressure hot water—specifically at 92-94°C, 9 bar atmospheric pressure, and 20-30 seconds extraction time—through finely ground, evenly tamped coffee grounds to create approximately 30ml of liquid. The surface is covered with a thick, dense layer of coffee foam called Crema, whose color tends toward golden yellow and brown, though the shade varies depending on the coffee's roast degree. Traditional Italians place great importance on espresso culture and quality. For this reason, the Italian National Coffee Institute provides official certification for espresso extraction parameters, making the brewing process transparent with data, helping to better preserve the traditional flavors of Italian coffee.

The "es" in espresso actually comes from the English "ex," meaning quick and convenient. Italian coffee beans are called House Blend, also commonly known as blend/formula coffee. As the name implies, this is coffee made from beans mixed from multiple growing regions. Using blended coffee helps balance flavors and maintain consistent taste. To ensure final brewing quality, coffee beans are typically ground to a fine consistency using professional grinders before making espresso, allowing for complete extraction within a short time.

Because Italian coffee has a very intense flavor, many people also add sugar or milk to balance the bitterness, which has sparked a trend of using espresso as a base. Fancy Italian coffees are combined with syrups, cream, spices, and various seasonings to create multi-layered coffee experiences with diverse flavors. Examples like Con Panna, Macchiato, Caramel Macchiato, Cappuccino, Latte, Mocha, and Americano all belong to the Italian coffee family!

Italian coffee is a fundamental element in many coffee beverages. Let's now explore the common types of Italian coffee together!

Espresso

The most common type of Italian coffee is espresso. Espresso uses dark-roasted coffee beans, with coffee liquid extracted instantly through steam pressure. The coffee flavor is intense and strongly bitter, with the caramelized aroma of dark roast. It can be said to be the spiritual symbol of the coffee world, and all other Italian coffee varieties are derived from espresso. In other words, if the espresso extraction is poor, other Italian coffees won't taste good either.

Espresso means "fast concentrated coffee." Under steam high pressure (about 9 atmospheres), when hot water quickly passes through coffee grounds, the essence of coffee is fully extracted, creating a cup of rich, aromatic, high-bodied coffee with caramel notes in its bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee typically uses double-shot espresso (20 grams of coffee grounds) to make approximately 40 grams of espresso, with a very fine and rich layer of coffee foam on the surface, also called "Crema."

Americano

Americano coffee, commonly found in cafés, refers to an Italian coffee variety made by adding a large amount of hot water to dilute espresso. Legend has it that during World War II, American soldiers in Italy couldn't get used to the strong taste of espresso, so they added large amounts of hot water to dilute it, which later became popular as another way to drink Italian coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's hot Americano ratio is 40 grams of espresso mixed with 180 milliliters of hot water, creating a 220-milliliter Americano with an espresso-to-water ratio of 1:4.5.

Caffè Latte

In Italian, "latte" means milk, while in other parts of Europe, it refers to an Italian coffee beverage with milk and milk foam. Common latte coffee consists of 1/5 espresso, 2/5 hot milk, and 2/5 milk foam. This Italian coffee variety is quite rich and can be flavored with vanilla syrup, cinnamon, or caramel. Different regions use different ratio combinations. FrontStreet Coffee uses double-shot espresso (40g) to make lattes, paired with 260 grams of milk and foam, with 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 showcasing the smooth richness of coffee.

Cappuccino

Also composed of espresso, milk foam, and hot milk, cappuccino proportions are 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, and 1/3 milk foam. The coffee proportion is heavier, and the taste is stronger. The mixed color resembles the outer garments of Italian Franciscan monks, hence the name from the Italian word for Franciscan monks.

When making cappuccino, FrontStreet Coffee chooses to use a 180-milliliter tulip cup, adds freshly extracted espresso to the cup, then adds milk with dense, thick foam.

Mocha

Mocha originally referred to a type of coffee bean with chocolate aroma, but later came to mean all Italian coffee varieties with chocolate added. Common proportions are 2/5 espresso, 2/5 hot chocolate, and 1/5 hot milk. You can simultaneously taste the aroma of coffee and the richness of chocolate, with a smoother texture. Friends who love chocolate drinks should try this Italian coffee.

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

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 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 milk foam to "mark" a white dot on top of the coffee crema.

Later, people discovered that as milk foam and espresso gradually blended, they could experience the rich, mellow aroma of espresso while appreciating the dense sweetness of milk, intertwining and melting in the mouth—it was wonderfully indescribable. Thus, traditional macchiato coffee was born.

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

Caramel Macchiato

This is Starbucks' signature Italian coffee beverage (completely unrelated to traditional macchiato). A medium 355ml coffee contains one shot (about 30ml) of espresso, with the other 300+ milliliters being milk with foam, vanilla syrup, and caramel, creating a sweet flavor.

Caramel Macchiato: Making it requires a lot of milk and foam, not much different from a wet cappuccino or thicker latte. Vanilla syrup and smooth hot fresh milk, topped with fine, smooth foam, mixed with rich espresso, plus soft caramel sauce—the sweet, rich caramel macchiato becomes an excellent choice for coffee lovers to experience extra-strong coffee.

Dirty Coffee

Many people wonder about the difference between Dirty Coffee and iced latte. Indeed, from ingredients to recipes to appearance, these two are very similar. 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 vessel and the detailed operation.

Dirty Coffee typically chooses glass vessels that can display beautiful liquid layers, and there's no ice inside. The focus is on espresso liquid flowing into pure white milk, slowly penetrating and gradually blending, forming beautiful layered effects. As time changes, the pure white milk is gradually "contaminated" by rich espresso. Through the glass, the beverage looks "dirty." Besides the visual dirtiness, it actually contains the collision between iced milk and hot espresso, allowing people to experience the change from hot to cold in one cup of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Dirty ratio is 150 grams of milk to 40 grams of espresso. First, take out the pre-chilled glass, ensure the glass is water-free, and pour in iced milk. Then attach the tamped coffee portafilter, placing the glass with iced milk under the splitter (for bottomless portafilters, place directly under the liquid outlet). The distance from the liquid outlet to the liquid surface shouldn't be too far—if too far, the coffee's own gravity will have stronger penetration power, easily causing "fusion." The recommended distance is about 1cm. Proper espresso flow will be even, slowly flowing onto the milk surface and "floating" on top, gradually sinking to create the dirty effect.

Drinking Dirty requires no stirring and should be done quickly. You'll find the hot espresso on top hasn't been iced yet, and the milk below hasn't been "contaminated." That transformation from rich chocolate-flavored hot coffee to milky iced light coffee is simply wonderfully indescribable.

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