As a globally renowned coffee chain, Starbucks' product line revolves around espresso, from which classic beverages such as Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, Flat White, Mocha, and Caramel Macchiato are derived, available in three sizes: Tall, Grande, and Venti. In recent years, the Cold Brew series has also quickly gained popularity, favored for its smooth mouthfeel brought by low-temperature, long-duration extraction. This article, compiled by Front Street Coffee, systematically organizes the main types of Starbucks coffee, their brewing principles, and flavor characteristics, while also sharing specific brewing parameters for Iced Americano, helping coffee enthusiasts more clearly understand the logic behind the menu and find the cup that suits their taste.

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Nowadays, the pace of life continues to accelerate, and people's pursuit of quality and dietary experience is also increasing. Today, Front Street will talk about Starbucks coffee, introducing its main categories and the coffee culture behind them. Those interested are welcome to read on.

According to Front Street's understanding, Starbucks' products are basically all built around espresso, creating various espresso beverages by pairing different proportions of ingredients. In terms of cup sizes, three options are offered: Tall at 354ml, Grande at 473ml, and Venti at 591ml.

When making espresso, the coffee beans selected are usually roasted to a degree beyond dark. The darker the roast, the richer and more mellow the flavor the coffee presents. Espresso itself is extremely concentrated, so even after milk, water, or syrup is added later, the coffee's aroma can still be preserved.

Starbucks' espresso-based products mainly include: Americano (espresso + water), Latte (espresso + milk or plant-based milk), Cappuccino (espresso + milk + thick, dense milk foam), Flat White (more intense espresso + milk), Mocha (espresso + chocolate sauce + milk + whipped cream), and Caramel Macchiato (espresso + milk + milk foam + caramel).

Americano Its biggest difference from a Latte is that Americano is made by diluting espresso with an appropriate amount of water. It contains no sugar or milk and is a zero-calorie, zero-fat beverage with a rich, bold taste, making it very suitable for people who work out, control their weight, or are cutting fat.

When Front Street makes an Iced Americano, it first uses 90 grams of ice cubes with 180 grams of water, then takes 20 grams of Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee grounds, extracts 40 grams of coffee liquid, and pours it into the ice water. The resulting Iced Americano has clear notes of vanilla, cream, seeds, berries, and whiskey aroma, with rich aromatic layers and a very refreshing entry.

A Latte, on the other hand, is made by adding an appropriate amount of milk to espresso. The natural sweetness and milk fat of the milk can weaken the bitterness of the espresso while making the overall mouthfeel richer. If you are worried that an Americano is too bitter, you might want to try a Latte, and you can also choose plant-based milk or skim milk.

In addition to espresso-based products, another highly popular Starbucks offering in the past two years is the Cold Brew series. Unlike espresso, which is quickly extracted under high temperature and pressure in a machine, cold brew requires soaking in cold water at low temperature for more than 12 hours to obtain the coffee liquid.

The unpleasant flavor compounds in coffee often need heat molecules to drive them out effectively, so cold brew coffee liquid extracted at low temperature usually has less bitterness and astringency. And because the soaking time is longer, some of the pleasant sweet-and-sour compounds in the coffee are instead extracted more fully, so cold brew's mouthfeel is fuller and smoother.

The coffee beans used to make cold brew are generally specialty coffee beans sold on Starbucks shelves that carry the flavor of their region of origin. If you want to experience the unique regional characteristics of the coffee beans themselves, you might want to order a cup of cold brew and give it a try.

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