What to Order on Your First Coffee Shop Visit? Introduction to Global Popular Coffee Varieties

A Guide to Coffee Culture: Understanding Your Favorite Beverages

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Do you remember the first time you walked into a coffee shop and felt completely bewildered by the drink names on the menu? Have you ever experienced getting a coffee that was completely different from what you expected? For example:

A matcha latte with no coffee, an Americano with no "American" color (Cantonese pun), or a "wife cake" with no wife inside... (Hey, that's off track!!)

Previously, a British coffee shop created a "no-nonsense coffee guide" that sparked heated discussion online. This guide simply crossed out common coffee menu item names with a rough ✘ and provided simple explanations:

These are classic products on coffee shop menus worldwide, found in almost every establishment. When this menu was released, it immediately received widespread approval online!

Many netizens expressed that if they had such a simple and easy-to-understand coffee menu when first ordering at a coffee shop, they wouldn't have been embarrassed...

Actually, each of these drinks has simple ingredients and uncomplicated preparation methods, so why do they have so many different names? Next, let's explore the origins and stories behind popular coffee product names from both simple and cultural perspectives, and understand what kind of coffee each one really is.

Espresso

Simple understanding: Extra strong, extra small serving of coffee liquid

Espresso is the past participle of the Italian word "esprimere," derived from the Latin "exprimō," meaning "to squeeze out." However, some linguists believe its meaning is similar to the English "express," implying "fast" and "personal." Although the interpretations of the word's origin differ, they both reflect the two main characteristics of espresso.

During the rapid development of the 18th-19th century industrial era when everyone pursued speed, Italians used pressure generated by steam engines to quickly force hot water through coffee grounds to extract rich coffee liquid, aiming to quickly brew a cup of energizing coffee. In 1884, they created a machine that used steam power to pressurize coffee extraction and applied for a patent—what we now call an espresso machine.

Most typical espresso is made using blended coffee beans due to lower cost and stable flavor quality. As coffee consumers pursued more refined flavors, some coffee shops now began using single-origin coffee beans to make espresso, also known as SOE (Single Origin Espresso).

The characteristics of espresso include: requires pressurized extraction, small serving (typically only 15-40ml), consumed without any dilution, high concentration, rich golden crema, intense flavor, and strong mouthfeel.

Americano

Simple understanding: Diluted espresso with water

Legend has it that during World War II, American soldiers in Italy couldn't handle the local harsh and strong espresso, so they added the pressurized espresso liquid to hot water to dilute it before drinking.

The English name for Americano is, according to the Cambridge Dictionary definition: "a type of coffee drink made by adding hot water to espresso coffee." Adding hot water to espresso is what makes an Americano—simply put, diluted espresso is Americano coffee.

The characteristics of Americano include: uses espresso, diluted with water, rich coffee aroma, moderate concentration, and can adjust coffee strength according to personal taste.

Caffè Latte/Coffee Latte

Simple understanding: Milk coffee

Regarding the origin of latte, what we most commonly hear is that in the early 20th century, Italians invented the semi-automatic steam pressure coffee machine, adding steamed milk to extracted espresso. "Latte" means "milk" in Italian (so not all lattes necessarily contain coffee), so "Caffè Latte" originally expressed the fusion of coffee (caffè) and milk (latte).

However, some argue that this milk coffee drink was not invented by Italians but rather after the war between the Ottoman Turkish Empire and Vienna, when Viennese people couldn't get used to the Turkish way of making coffee, so they added milk and honey. Others claim it was the Dutch coffee drinking habit when stationed in Indonesia in 1660, or that when the Dutch brought milk and coffee beans from Indonesia to France, it became the French way of drinking...

Regardless of its origin, the latte we drink today is made by combining espresso with steamed milk. Therefore, the characteristics of latte include: uses espresso, contains milk, has fine and smooth foam (when hot), balanced milk and coffee aromas, with a rich and smooth mouthfeel.

Cappuccino

Simple understanding: Foam milk coffee with cotton candy-like texture

Cappuccino is the phonetic translation of "Cappuccino"—a word derived from the Italian "Cappuccio" meaning "hood." Observant readers may have noticed that these two words differ by just the letter "n," and this "n" is the inspiration for cappuccino coffee's appearance—the Capuchin Order of Saint Francis.

When this order came to Italy for missionary work, they wore dark brown robes and small pointed hats made from folded hoods. At that time, Italians had the ingenious idea of whipping milk into a dense, stable foam and pouring it into espresso, creating a circle of brown in the cup similar to the color of their robes, then using a spoon to shape the milk foam on the coffee surface into a pointed hat shape.

Since "Capuchin" and "Cappucci" have similar pronunciations, Italians incorporated the "n" into "Cappuccio" without changing the rhythm of pronunciation, ultimately naming this milk coffee "Cappuccino."

The characteristics of cappuccino include: uses espresso, contains milk, has thick and dense foam (when hot), balanced milk and coffee aromas, with a rich and dense mouthfeel.

Flat White

Simple understanding: Milk coffee with rich coffee flavor

Popularizing from the Southern Hemisphere to the world, the origin of Flat White remains a topic of debate between New Zealand and Australia for decades. Australian Alan Preston claims he invented this coffee in 1985 when he opened Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney; New Zealand barista Fraser McInnes stated that in 1989 while working at a café in Wellington, he accidentally made a cappuccino with insufficient foam thickness and simply gave it a new name.

As for which is truly the place of origin, there's currently no way to verify. The Australian approach uses a smaller (around 3oz) glass cup, combining single-shot espresso with a small amount of steamed hot milk, with foam thickness about half that of a latte. The New Zealand approach uses a regular-sized glass cup with double-shot ristretto espresso mixed with steamed hot milk, also with relatively thin foam.

Regardless of which approach, Flat White's characteristic is that although it's also a mixture of milk and coffee, compared to latte and cappuccino, Flat White contains less milk, making the coffee flavor more prominent! Therefore, if you want to drink milk coffee but don't want too much milk, you can choose Flat White—rich coffee flavor with a mellow and smooth taste.

Dirty Coffee

Simple understanding: Only available iced, unstirred, with distinct layers, milk coffee with rich coffee flavor

This is a coffee that began to gain popularity around 2018. True to its name, visually the entire coffee surface is covered by the rich crema of espresso, creating the appearance that coffee liquid has "dirtied" the white milk.

Dirty emphasizes using high-fat content chilled milk, frozen cups, and having espresso float on the milk surface, so you need to directly use a frozen cup filled with iced milk and closely catch the extracted espresso. Espresso is hot and has a layer of coffee crema, so it will float on the milk surface and gradually present a gradient effect.

Dirty offers a changing mouth experience—from strong to light, from deep to shallow. The first sip is rich coffee, the last sip is sweet. Therefore, after getting a Dirty, don't let it sit too long and don't stir it while drinking. If possible, try to finish a Dirty in three sips to experience the charm of its gradual changes.

Mocha Coffee

Simple understanding: Milk coffee with chocolate/dark cocoa added

The word "mocha" originates from the port of Mocha in Yemen. As the world's first country to cultivate and produce coffee beans on a large scale, Yemen began exporting the first batch of coffee beans to Europe in the early 17th century. At that time, Yemen had only one small port for exports to Europe—the port of Mocha. Goods exported from here were stamped with "MOCHA" to prove they were transported from Mocha port, so Europeans called the delicious coffee from Mocha port "mocha coffee."

Although mocha coffee beans are small in size, they possess a very rich and fragrant flavor. They have noticeable acidity, strong body, fermentation notes, moderate aftertaste, and a rich dark cocoa aroma in the finish.

By the 18th century, Mocha port came under the control of the Ottoman Empire (a multi-ethnic empire established by Turks). Turks loved Yemeni coffee even more, so fewer and fewer Yemeni coffee beans were exported to Europe. Italians at that time missed the rich cocoa aroma of mocha coffee beans, so they tried adding dark cocoa to espresso, starting a new wave of mocha popularity—Italian mocha coffee.

Characteristics of mocha coffee: uses espresso, adds dark cocoa/chocolate, most mocha coffee on the market is sweet, with a rich, smooth, and sweet taste.

Hand Drip Coffee

Simple understanding: Drip coffee with overall balance, clean taste, and distinct layers of aroma and flavor

Hand drip was first invented by German Melitta Benz in the early 20th century. At that time, she was making coffee at home and had the innovative idea of using her son's blotting paper as a filter paper to brew coffee grounds, unexpectedly extracting a coffee with a taste different from previous methods.

After several improvements, in 1908, Melitta filter paper and ceramic filter cups obtained a German patent and became popular in Europe, allowing people to finally drink clean, residue-free drip coffee. Compared to espresso, drip coffee has higher overall cleanliness, and you can also choose suitable single-origin coffee beans for brewing according to your taste preferences.

Nowadays, there are more and more choices of single-origin coffee beans, and many people find it quite difficult to choose. Here's a tip for choosing hand drip coffee beans: if you like sour and refreshing flavors, choose lightly roasted African beans; if you prefer mild acidity with rich body, choose Central American beans; if you like completely non-sour, high body, and solid taste, choose Asian or island region beans.

Remember, more expensive coffee beans are not necessarily better! Choosing what you like is most important!! Flavor descriptions dominated by floral and fruit notes mostly have acidity—the more fruit descriptions, the higher the sweet and sour taste. Descriptions dominated by nutty notes mostly have mild acidity, and those without floral and fruit descriptions are generally not sour.

Cold Brew/Ice Drip Coffee

Simple understanding: Iced coffee extracted at low temperature, with clean, full, and smooth taste

Legend has it that in 1660, Dutch sailors transported coffee from the colony of Indonesia back to Europe. During the journey, because there was no hot water on the ship, they couldn't drink hot coffee, so they came up with cold water extraction coffee. The taste was gentle and smooth, with an enticing aroma, loved not only by the sailors but also by ordinary people. Later, Japanese merchants adapted this story into the origin of ice drip coffee.

Whether it's ice drip coffee or cold brew coffee, both use low-temperature extraction methods. Compared to other coffees extracted with hot water, cold water lacks the heat to promote molecular movement of water molecules, making it difficult for bitter substances in coffee to be released at low temperatures. Therefore, cold brew/ice drip coffee has a cleaner and more refreshing taste. The long extraction time also allows good flavor substances in the coffee to be fully released, so the taste is also very full.

Due to the long extraction time, the caffeine content in ice drip/cold brew coffee is higher than in drip coffee and espresso-type coffee, so for those who need an urgent energy boost, you can choose them!

Image source: Internet

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473