Introduction to Common Coffee Types: The Differences Between Iced Americano, Latte, Flat White, and Dirty Coffee

Every time you visit a coffee shop,相信小伙伴都会开始纠结今天喝美式咖啡好，还是手冲咖啡好……又或者是和拿铁咖啡好，还是喝Dirty咖啡好！面对琳琅满目的咖啡菜单以及长得似乎都差不多的咖啡产品，实际上有什么区别呢？本文前街咖啡（FrontStreet Coffee）就和大家捋一捋咖啡馆常见的咖啡种类！

Cafés commonly offer three main types of coffee: Espresso family, Drip coffee family, and Cold brew coffee family.

Espresso Family

Espresso, also known as Italian浓缩咖啡，是一款在浓缩咖啡机增压状态下将水流注入研磨极细的咖啡粉，最终萃取出浓度较高的咖啡。该家族的相关产品都是在浓缩咖啡的基础下加入其他配料制作而成～同样的配料不同的比例也会制作出不同的产品。

前街咖啡（FrontStreet Coffee）门店日常制作浓缩咖啡采用的是「前街向日葵暖阳意式拼配咖啡豆」，这款咖啡豆采用了3成的日晒耶加雪菲红樱桃咖啡豆+7成洪都拉斯威士忌酒桶处理雪莉咖啡豆～萃取完成的浓缩咖啡有着浓郁的发酵酒香、莓果酸甜、香草奶油、坚果焦糖的风味。

Double espresso extraction parameters are typically 19-20g of coffee grounds to extract 35-40g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 28-35 seconds. Single espresso extraction parameters are generally 11-12g of coffee grounds to extract 20g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 18-23 seconds. Of course, every espresso machine and grinder has different performance characteristics, so the above data is for reference only and should be adjusted according to actual conditions.

Common espresso variations include: Regular Espresso (the extraction parameters mentioned above are for Espresso), Ristretto, and Single Origin Espresso/SOE (using single-origin coffee beans to extract espresso). The differences between them are that Ristretto is more concentrated than regular espresso (with a reduced extraction ratio), while Single Origin Espresso uses coffee beans from a single region/estate, whereas regular espresso uses coffee beans blended from different regions.

Common family members include: Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, Flat White, Dirty, and Mocha.

Americano (Water + Espresso)

FrontStreet Coffee's standard preparation uses two regular espressos mixed with hot/ice water in a 1:6-1:8 ratio.

Latte (Milk + Espresso)

FrontStreet Coffee's standard preparation uses two regular espressos mixed with steamed milk/iced milk/iced milk + ice in a 1:5-1:8 ratio.

Cappuccino (Typically only hot, dense thick foam + milk + espresso)

FrontStreet Coffee's cappuccino preparation uses two regular espressos mixed with hot milk with thick foam in a 1:5-1:8 ratio.

Flat White (Typically only hot, thin foam + milk + Ristretto)

FrontStreet Coffee's standard preparation uses two Ristrettos mixed with hot milk with thin foam in a 1:5-1:6 ratio. Different from latte, it has higher coffee concentration and less milk ratio, making it taste richer and more intense.

Dirty (Only cold, ice cup + ice milk supporting two espressos)

FrontStreet Coffee's preparation uses a chilled ice cup with 160ml of ice milk, then positioned close to the coffee outlet to let espresso flow directly into the milk. Due to density differences, espresso floats on the milk surface creating a layered gradient effect. Different from latte, Dirty coffee doesn't need to be stirred when drinking, allowing you to experience different layers, textures, and flavors as the coffee and milk gradually blend during consumption.

Mocha (Chocolate syrup + milk + espresso)

FrontStreet Coffee's standard preparation uses two regular espressos + chocolate syrup well mixed, then adds steamed milk/iced milk/iced milk + ice in a 1:5-1:8 ratio.

Drip Coffee Family

Drip coffee is coffee extracted by water naturally passing through coffee grounds through filter paper/filter screens. Through the ratio of coffee grounds to injected water, it extracts moderately concentrated coffee that can express different flavor layers, making the coffee taste cleaner.

Common members of the drip coffee family include: Pour-over coffee and Ice drip coffee. Pour-over coffee belongs to high-temperature extraction coffee, while ice drip coffee belongs to low-temperature extraction coffee. The differences between them are:

The advantage of high-temperature extraction is that it can quickly extract coffee flavor compounds, causing tannins in coffee to rapidly decompose into pyruvic acid, producing sweet, sour, and bitter notes - the process FrontStreet Coffee often refers to as releasing coffee flavors. The disadvantage of high-temperature extraction is that it easily leads to complete release of coffee flavors, followed by release of woody fiber flavors from coffee beans, which are what we commonly call undesirable flavors like woody tastes.

The advantage of low-temperature extraction is that coffee flavors have reduced volatility under low temperatures,尽可能把咖啡香气储藏在咖啡液中，再喝到嘴巴里的时候，咖啡液温度升高，蕴含在咖啡液中的香气突然大爆发，让喝咖啡的人在口腔的舌后根感受到浓烈的香气，这种突然的爆香会让人产生极大的幸福感。The disadvantage is that production time is longer, and the finished ice drip coffee cannot be consumed immediately - it needs to rest in the refrigerator for more than 8 hours to allow the flavor molecules extracted at low temperatures to fully release.

FrontStreet Coffee, when making pour-over coffee, to ensure consistent quality for every cup, uniformly uses 15g of coffee grounds with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio (i.e., 225g of water), and also uses a three-stage pouring technique. Light to medium roast coffee beans use medium-fine grinding (75-80% retention rate on China No. 20 standard sieve), with recommended brewing water temperature of 90-91°C. Medium-dark to dark roast coffee beans use medium-coarse grinding (65-70% retention rate on China No. 20 standard sieve), with recommended brewing water temperature of 88-89°C.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that whether a cup of coffee tastes good depends on the injected water passing 100% through the coffee grounds within a reasonable time and extracting substances. Therefore, using the right water temperature, correct grinding degree, and appropriate water amount, regardless of pouring method, can produce a satisfying cup of coffee.

Ice drip coffee - FrontStreet Coffee uses an ice drip coffee pot for making ice drip coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's ice drip uses a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:10, meaning 60g of coffee grounds extracts 600ml of coffee liquid. The resulting coffee is quite concentrated and needs to be diluted before drinking.

Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee, also known as cold extraction coffee. Although both are low-temperature extraction methods, they are completely different extraction methods from ice drip coffee. Ice drip coffee extracts flavor compounds by water droplets passing through coffee grounds, while cold brew coffee extracts coffee compounds by fully steeping coffee grounds. The taste difference between them is that ice drip coffee is relatively cleaner and brighter, while cold brew coffee is relatively fuller and richer.

The single-origin coffee beans used by FrontStreet Coffee for making cold brew can all be purchased at FrontStreet Coffee's flagship store. Friends who like sweet and sour notes can choose "Ethiopia Sidamo Guji Coffee Beans," those who like fermentation notes can choose "Costa Rica Musician Series Mozart Coffee Beans," those who prefer low acidity can choose "Brazil Queen Estate Coffee Beans," and those who enjoy wine-like aromas can choose "Honduras Sherry Coffee Beans."

Cold brew coffee preparation is also very simple. Containers can use mineral water bottles or glass bottles, as long as they have a sealed lid. The coffee grinding should be slightly finer than pour-over, about 85% retention rate on a No. 20 sieve.

FrontStreet Coffee uses 50g of coffee grounds as a base, puts the coffee grounds into a glass bottle, then adds 400ml of room temperature water and 200g of hard ice cubes to the bottle (cold water can substitute if no ice cubes are available), with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:12. Then use a stirring rod to mix the coffee grounds and water evenly, seal, and place in a refrigerator. After 12-24 hours in the refrigerator, use filter paper to filter out the coffee grounds, obtaining clean coffee liquid. Then use a clean sealed bottle to store the coffee liquid and refrigerate for about 4 more hours before drinking - it will taste even better!

Finally - no matter what type of coffee, good taste离不开新鲜烘焙、新鲜研磨。FrontStreet Coffee为了让大家能喝到最新鲜的咖啡豆，咖啡豆都是烘焙日期完成后5天内发出，默认发原豆，最佳赏味期为烘焙完成后30天。Although grinding service is available, ground coffee's aroma and flavors will dissipate more quickly. Therefore, if you want to experience the best flavors of coffee, the best approach is still to buy coffee beans and grind them yourself.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473