What Separates Espresso, Latte, Cappuccino and Mocha Drinks?

Ten espresso drinks fill most cafe menus: Espresso, Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, Flat White, Mocha, Dirty, Macchiato, Affogato, and Caramel Macchiato. The differences come down to the espresso base and the milk ratio, foam thickness, and layering. Espresso is pulled under about 9 bars of pressure, and a double shot uses 20 grams of grounds to yield roughly 40 grams of liquid with crema on top.

Milk drinks build from that base: a Latte carries more steamed milk, a Cappuccino leans on foam, and the meaning of mocha adds chocolate. To make an espresso macchiato, a shot is marked with just a small spoonful of milk foam, keeping the coffee forward. Americano simply dilutes the shot with water, while Affogato pours espresso over ice cream.

Walking into any café, do the dazzling array of espresso drink names on the menu leave you puzzled? Espresso, Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, Flat White, Mocha, Dirty, Macchiato, Affogato, Caramel Macchiato—what exactly are the differences between these ten common coffee drinks, and how should they be made? In this article, Front Street Coffee breaks down each drink one by one—the recipe logic, taste characteristics, and serving standards—from the espresso base to the milk ratio, from foam thickness to layering principles, to help you easily understand coffee menus and find the cup that suits you best.

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Espresso drinks are a must-have coffee beverage in almost every café. And espresso drinks are by no means limited to Americano and Latte. In this article, Front Street Coffee introduces 10 espresso drinks found in cafés, along with their preparation methods.

① Espresso Espresso is a fast, concentrated coffee. Under the action of high-pressure steam (around 9 bars), hot water quickly passes through the coffee grounds, fully extracting the essence of the coffee to create a cup that is rich, aromatic, full-bodied, and bittersweet with a caramel note.

Here we use Front Street Classic Espresso Blend, a recipe combining beans from three origins—Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam—and employing a dark roast. This maximizes the coffee's rich aroma and allows anyone to easily extract a rich, dense crema. It is ideal for both water-diluted Americanos and milk-based Lattes, and can be purchased at the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

Front Street Coffee generally uses a double shot of espresso (20g of coffee grounds) as the base, producing about 40g of espresso with a very fine, rich layer of coffee crema on the surface, also known as "Crema."

Espresso is the foundation of many espresso drinks. It can be said that if the espresso is not extracted well, the other espresso drinks will not taste good either.

② Americano Diluting espresso with hot water gives you an Americano. It originated during World War II when American soldiers landed in Europe. Unaccustomed to Italian espresso, they diluted it with water, which evolved into the Americano. Although the Americano is diluted with a large amount of water and has a milder flavor than regular espresso, its flavor and aroma are not diminished. Compared with American-style coffee brewed by the filter method, its flavor is completely different. It pairs very well with sweet treats like cookies and muffins, and is suitable for those who dislike the intensity of straight espresso.

Front Street Coffee's hot Americano ratio is 40g of espresso combined with 180ml of hot water, yielding a 220ml Americano, with an espresso-to-water ratio of 1:4.5.

③ Latte Latte is a common milk coffee among espresso drinks. The word "Latte" means "milk" in Italian. At Front Street, making a Latte uses a double shot of 40g espresso, paired with 260g of milk and milk foam, with a foam thickness of 1cm. Of course, a Latte can be decorated with beautiful latte art. With the perfect fusion of milk and coffee, it highlights the sweetness of the milk while also expressing the mellow charm of the coffee.

④ Cappuccino Cappuccino is translated from "Cappuccino," a name derived from the Capuchin order and the Italian word for hood (Cappucio). Cappuccino is similar to Latte—it is a type of milk coffee, also composed of espresso and steamed milk—but unlike Latte, Cappuccino has thicker, denser milk foam, a smaller volume, and a stronger coffee taste.

Traditional Cappuccino blends espresso, milk, and milk foam in a 1:1:1 ratio, which reduces the bitterness of the espresso and adds the rich aroma of the milk foam, making it easier to accept. Among espresso drinks, Cappuccino has the thickest milk foam, and the dense, delicate foam adds a pleasant texture.

When making a Cappuccino, Front Street Coffee chooses a 180ml tulip cup, adds one freshly extracted shot of espresso to the cup, and then adds milk steamed into dense, thick foam.

⑤ Flat White Flat White can be understood as Australia's localized version of "Latte." Therefore, it differs slightly from the Latte we commonly know. Flat White originated in Australia and New Zealand. It is a coffee product that Oceania residents evolved according to their own needs. It consists of espresso, milk, and a thin layer of milk foam. Generally, a Flat White has a smaller cup size than a Latte, with less milk and a stronger coffee flavor that highlights the coffee's richness. It is worth noting that Flat White is only served hot.

Front Street's Flat White standard: use a 220ml glass, use 30g of espresso, and 190ml of milk plus milk foam. The foam thickness is about 0.5cm. (Foaming level: steam milk to 5 parts full, foam to 5.5-6 parts full.)

⑥ Mocha In Italian, "Mo" means chocolate, so Mocha coffee means chocolate coffee, blending rich coffee, creamy milk, and sweet chocolate. There is a variant of Mocha called White Mocha (white cafe mocha), which uses white chocolate instead of milk and dark chocolate. Besides White Mocha, there is another variant that mixes two kinds of chocolate syrup, called Zebras, sometimes referred to as Tuxedo Mocha.

Front Street Coffee's Mocha recipe is 40g espresso + 20g chocolate sauce + 260g hot milk.

⑦ Dirty Coffee Many people wonder how Dirty Coffee differs from Iced Latte. Indeed, from ingredients to recipe to appearance, the two have too many similarities. But if you look closely, you'll find that Dirty is essentially a more refined Iced Latte. Its biggest differences lie in the choice of container and the detailed handling.

The container chosen for Dirty Coffee is often a glass that can show off the beautiful liquid, and no ice is added. What matters is the espresso flowing into the pure white milk, slowly seeping and slowly blending to form a beautiful layered effect. As time passes, the pure white milk is gradually "polluted" by the rich espresso, and viewed through the glass, the drink appears dirty. Besides the visual dirtiness, it also embodies the collision between cold milk and hot espresso, letting you experience the transition from hot to cold in a single cup of coffee.

Front Street's Dirty ratio is 150g of milk and 40g of espresso. First, take out a pre-chilled glass and make sure it has no water in it, then pour in the cold milk. Then lock in the tamped portafilter and place the glass with the cold milk directly under the spout (or directly under the outlet if using a bottomless portafilter). The spout should not be too far from the liquid surface; if it is too far, the coffee's own gravity will give it stronger penetration and it will blend too easily. A distance of about 1cm is recommended. A qualified espresso will flow evenly and slowly onto the milk surface, float on the surface, and slowly sink, creating that dirty effect.

When drinking a Dirty, there is no need to stir, and you should drink it quickly. You'll find that the hot espresso on top has not yet been cooled by the ice, and the milk below has not yet been "polluted." That transformation from a rich, chocolatey hot coffee into a milky, light iced coffee is simply wonderful.

⑧ Macchiato Macchiato is an Italian word meaning "marked." Macchiato coffee originated in Italy in the 1980s. At that time, some customers had the habit of adding a small amount of milk to their espresso, but the milk would quickly disappear into the crema. So baristas wanted to distinguish a plain espresso from an espresso with a small amount of milk, and used milk foam to "mark" a white dot on top of the crema.

Later, people discovered that in the gradual fusion of milk foam and espresso, one could taste the rich, full-bodied espresso as well as the dense, sweet milk, intertwining and blending in the mouth—simply wonderful. Thus the traditional Macchiato was born.

Front Street Coffee's Macchiato recipe: 40g espresso + 1 spoon of fine milk foam

⑨ Affogato This is a very special coffee drink. The normal method is to place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cup, then pour a shot of espresso over it, and an Affogato is complete. When you taste it, you'll experience the cold sweetness of vanilla ice cream combined with the aroma of coffee—perfect for summer.

⑩ Caramel Macchiato This is a star espresso drink from Starbucks (and has nothing to do with Macchiato). A medium 355ml cup contains 1 shot (about 30ml) of espresso, with the other 300-plus milliliters being milk with milk foam, vanilla syrup, and caramel. It has a sweet taste.

Caramel Macchiato: When making it, a large amount of milk and milk foam is used, not much different from a wet Cappuccino or a thicker Latte. With vanilla syrup and smooth hot fresh milk, topped with soft, fine milk foam, mixed with rich espresso, and finished with smooth caramel sauce, the sweet, rich Caramel Macchiato becomes a great choice for coffee lovers to enjoy espresso.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.