What are the types and characteristics of espresso coffee? What kinds of espresso coffee exist? How do you make less common espresso milk coffee? What is red eye coffee?

Rare Espresso Coffee Varieties You'll Never Find in Coffee Shops

Espresso represents an enormous "coffee family" where a small shot of espresso can transform into completely different products by simply adding various ingredients. Moreover, when it comes to milk coffee, variations in milk quantity and foam thickness can create entirely new coffee beverages with unique personalities.

However, due to the vast variety of coffee drinks, besides the well-known coffees commonly found in cafés, there are some that many coffee shops don't offer or have limited popularity. There are many reasons for not selling these coffees, but most can be categorized as having a relatively limited audience. Therefore, we typically refer to these rarely-known coffees as "niche" coffees.

Today, FrontStreet Coffee will explore several niche espresso coffees that you'll rarely, if ever, find in coffee shops! Let's see how many of these you've tried!

I. Caffè Shakerato

In a recent article, FrontStreet Coffee shared how to use a shaker to make an iced salted mocha, but this method was actually inspired by Caffè Shakerato. The history of Caffè Shakerato dates back to the 1990s, when baristas seeking innovation combined cocktail-making techniques with coffee preparation, giving birth to Caffè Shakerato.

The preparation method and ingredients for Caffè Shakerato are extremely simple – just add a double shot of espresso and appropriate amount of ice to a shaker, shake vigorously until rich foam forms, then pour into a glass and serve.

Because the melting ice dilutes the coffee's bitterness, it doesn't have the intense stimulation of pure espresso (isn't this just diluted iced Americano?). At the same time, the rich foam gives the coffee a smooth texture. It's incredibly refreshing and comfortable to drink. Some establishments even add sugar or spirits by default to create more unique and palatable flavors.

II. Piccolo

Piccolo is a milk coffee. In Italian, "Piccolo" has two meanings – it literally means "small" and also refers to a musical instrument called a "piccolo" (a variant of the flute). Therefore, this milk coffee can be called either piccolo or small latte (mini latte).

As the name suggests, the cup size is naturally not large. Traditional piccolo uses a 3-4 ounce cup, made with 15-20ml of single espresso combined with 60-80ml of steamed milk with a thin layer of foam. Indeed, the cup size and ingredients are only half that of a latte, so calling it a small latte is fitting. While rarely seen on menus in China, piccolo is as popular as flat white in Australia.

III. Coffee Cortado

Piccolo might be small enough, but there's another niche milk coffee that's equally small in size – Cortado.

Cortado originates from Spain, with the name derived from the Spanish word "cortar," meaning "to cut." Compared to piccolo, cortado has a stronger coffee flavor because it uses a 1:1 ratio of espresso to milk, while piccolo follows the traditional latte approach. Therefore, even with the same cup size, cortado tastes more like espresso diluted with a small amount of milk to reduce bitterness.

IV. Red Eye Coffee

Red eye coffee is a beverage with explosive caffeine content. Why? Because its preparation ratio is 1:4. This ratio doesn't refer to coffee and milk or coffee and water, but rather the ratio of espresso to pour-over coffee! Sounds intimidating, doesn't it? But some people indeed need to consume high amounts of caffeine at once to combat sleepiness, such as flight crews on red-eye flights!

Because red-eye flights require long overnight journeys, flight crews need such high-concentration coffee to stay alert and ensure safe landings. Due to its extremely intense flavor and caffeine content beyond what daily life requires, this coffee is almost never found in coffee shops (also because it doesn't taste good) and can only be made at home. Besides red eye coffee, there are even more potent versions, but those are truly extreme!

V. Caffè Corretto

Caffè Corretto, directly translated as "corrected coffee," is an espresso with added spirits. This coffee is very popular in Italy but rarely seen outside its borders. The serving method for this coffee is somewhat special because it's not prepared by the barista and served directly to customers. Instead, the ingredients are separated, allowing customers to decide how much spirits to add themselves.

"Corretto" means "corrected" or "fixed" in Italian. In 20th century Italy, when coffee prices were too high for ordinary people to afford, they sought coffee "alternatives" to satisfy their strong coffee cravings, such as roasting grains until nearly charcoal, grinding them, and adding hot water. While the idea was good, these "alternative coffees" didn't taste great – they were rather unpleasant. So people thought of adding strong, stimulating ingredients to adjust the coffee's flavor. High-proof spirits became the perfect choice. This practice spread widely until coffee became affordable again for ordinary people, at which point this method was applied to actual coffee and named "Corretto" (corrected).

VI. Flat Red

Flat White is one of the well-known star products in coffee shops. But have you ever heard of another "colored coffee" called "Flat Red" besides Flat White?

FrontStreet Coffee has often shared that Flat Red is a Ukrainian "limited" coffee (rarely found elsewhere)! Because people in Ukraine love drinking wine, local coffee shops wanted to create an espresso coffee that resembles wine in color and flavor but contains no alcohol. Flat Red was born from this vision.

By adding fresh pomegranate and orange juice to espresso, it replicates the color and similar taste profile of wine. Flat Red's inventor, Vadym Granovskiy, mentioned that initially he chose juice extracted from Sicilian blood oranges, but since blood orange juice has some astringency after extraction, he replaced it with orange juice and pomegranate juice.

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