The 10 Most Common Coffee Varieties and Beverages on the Market - What Do Coffee Experts Drink?

Don't be nervous if it's your first time visiting a coffee shop! Currently, there are 10 common types of coffee available in coffee shops: Espresso, SOE (Single Origin Espresso), Americano, Latte, Flat White, Cappuccino, Pour-over Coffee, Cold Brew Coffee, Dirty, and Specialty Coffee.

Almost all of these coffees are made from Arabica coffee beans. Coffee enthusiasts typically choose coffees made from Arabica beans. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly discuss the differences between these 10 types of coffee.

Espresso-based Coffees: Espresso, SOE Coffee, Americano, Latte, Flat White, Cappuccino, Dirty

Espresso

Espresso requires an espresso machine for pressurized extraction. Coffee beans need to be ground to a very fine consistency, then evenly distributed and tamped. In a sealed environment, water is forced through the grounds to extract a small amount of highly concentrated coffee liquid. Typically, espresso products pursue high cost-effectiveness, so most coffee shops use blended coffee. By blending coffee beans from different regions, the extracted coffee can achieve a more balanced taste profile, while using medium-dark or darker roasting to make the coffee flavor more rich and mellow.

SOE Coffee

SOE (Single Origin Espresso) refers to espresso extracted from single-origin (single bean) coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee believes that compared to espresso made from blended coffee beans, SOE coffee can showcase the unique regional characteristics of a single coffee bean and offers more complex layers of flavor.

Americano

Espresso + water. (Iced Americano = espresso + water + ice)

Latte

1/3 espresso + 2/3 milk + 1cm foam (hot)

Cappuccino

2/3 espresso + 1/3 milk + 1.5cm foam (hot)

Flat White

2/3 espresso + 1/3 milk + 0.5cm foam (hot)

Dirty

Iced milk/iced dairy milk (purified milk) + espresso, forming distinct layers between coffee and milk. When drinking, don't stir - directly experience the rich texture as the coffee transitions to milk.

Pour-over Coffee

Pour-over coffee is actually a brewing method commonly seen in daily coffee shops, using equipment like pour-over cones and pouring kettles. One characteristic of pour-over coffee is the use of pour-over cones with filter paper or other filtering media to remove coffee grounds.

If you want to experience the most original flavor with rich layers of coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends trying pour-over coffee made from freshly roasted coffee beans ground to order. Currently, all single-origin specialty coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee can be used for pour-over coffee brewing. To ensure freshness, all shipments are sent within five days of roasting.

Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee is made by grinding coffee beans to a medium-fine consistency, then steeping them in cold water for over 8 hours, followed by filtering out the coffee grounds. The cold brew method is very simple - as long as you use the right parameters, you can easily make delicious iced coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's cold brew standard uses a ratio of coffee grounds to water to ice of 1:8:4, meaning the actual coffee-to-water ratio is 1:12. Ice is added to ensure the water temperature remains sufficiently low, maintaining stable extraction efficiency.

Cold Drip Coffee

Cold drip coffee involves the process of slowly dripping ice water at a consistent speed onto coffee grounds for extraction, typically requiring at least 5 hours. After dripping, the coffee needs to be refrigerated overnight for fermentation before drinking. To highlight the unique mellow, wine-like characteristics of cold drip while avoiding the bitter notes from long dripping times, many coffee shops specifically select high-quality single-origin beans rich in fruit aromas. Under the combination of slow dripping and low-temperature maturation, the resulting cold drip not only carries the bright essence of fruity coffee but also exudes a fermented quality similar to fruit wine - mellow and fragrant yet refreshing.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee is actually coffee prepared using different extraction methods, with various ingredients added for flavoring, typically using fruits and fruit juices as main ingredients.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473