Walking into a café and facing the dazzling array of names on the menu, have you ever wondered about the story and flavor behind each fancy coffee? From Espresso, which forms the base of all fancy coffees, to latte and cappuccino where milk and coffee blend together, to Irish coffee with its hint of whiskey and the beautifully layered iced latte, each one has its own unique ratio and way of drinking. This article systematically covers the ingredients, preparation steps, and taste characteristics of over ten classic fancy coffees, including basic options suitable for daily drinking as well as exotic Russian, Turkish, and Viennese-style coffees. Whether you're a coffee novice just starting out or a seasoned enthusiast looking to refine your skills, you'll find a cup worth trying.

Espresso

To make an Espresso, typically 7 grams of coffee grounds are used, extracted under 9 atmospheres of pressure at approximately 90 degrees Celsius using a pump-driven steam espresso machine, producing 28 to 30 milliliters of concentrated coffee liquid in about 20 seconds. The key to judging whether an Espresso is successful is whether its surface is covered with a thick, reddish-brown, glossy foam known as "crema."

Espresso's most prominent characteristic is the concentration of aroma and flavor. The traditional way to drink it is to add sugar first, stir briefly, and then down it in one go. This way you can fully appreciate the rich flavor while actually consuming relatively less caffeine.

Latte

A proper Italian latte typically has a ratio of 70% milk, 20% milk foam, and 10% coffee. Compared to cappuccino, latte has a higher proportion of milk and a lower proportion of coffee. The method is simple: just pour freshly extracted espresso into nearly boiling milk. In fact, there's no hard rule about the amount of milk—you can adjust it freely according to personal preference.

If you add a layer of whipped cold milk foam on top of the hot milk, it becomes an American-style latte. Starbucks lattes use exactly this approach: the bottom of the cup is milk heated to 65 to 75 degrees Celsius, the middle is espresso, and the top layer is cold milk foam no more than half a centimeter thick.

Iced Latte

This coffee uses differences in density to create layers, thereby enhancing its visual appeal. Once you understand this principle, there are infinite variations in how coffee can be presented, and you can combine them freely according to your own creativity, preferences, and mood. The steps for making an iced latte are as follows:

Step 1: Fill a glass halfway with ice cubes, then pour in the syrup.

Step 2: Pour fresh milk into the glass until it's 70% full, stir well to let the syrup fully blend into the fresh milk, thereby increasing the milk's density.

Step 3: Slowly pour the coffee into the glass along the back of a spoon. Be sure to pour very slowly, otherwise the layers will be ruined.

Step 4: Finally, add three large spoonfuls of milk foam, and a three-layered iced latte is complete.

Cappuccino

Unlike a latte, a cappuccino is characterized by more coffee and less milk. On a base of Italian espresso, a thick layer of foamed milk is added on top to create a cappuccino. The traditional recipe is: one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, and one-third milk foam. You can sprinkle some cinnamon powder or chocolate powder on the surface of the milk foam to help it last longer.

Irish Coffee

Irish coffee has the dual nature of both alcohol and coffee, with ingredients of Irish whiskey and coffee beans. It requires special glassware and a unique brewing method, with a process that is earnest and dedicated, and a style that is old and simple. The Irish coffee glass is a heat-resistant glass suitable for flambéing. Flambéing can evaporate the alcohol from the liquor, allowing the aroma of the whiskey and coffee to merge more directly. If you can't hold your liquor, one Irish coffee is enough to make you tipsy; even if you have a high tolerance, one glass will still give you that floating-on-air feeling—as the saying goes, it's not the wine that intoxicates, but the drinker who intoxicates himself.

Macchiato

A macchiato is made by adding no fresh cream or milk to Italian espresso, but only two large spoonfuls of smooth, soft milk foam on top. It must be drunk in one gulp to fully appreciate its wonderful flavor.

Con Panna

This is an Italian-style Viennese coffee. The whipped cream can either be stirred into the coffee or served separately as a dessert for guests to enjoy while drinking. Later, when pressurized brewing methods were adopted, it was renamed "whipped cream with strong coffee." In America, the whipped cream is sometimes not served separately but floated directly on the surface of the coffee. The Con Panna currently sold on the market consists of a scoop of iced fresh cream placed on hot Espresso, offering a stunning experience in the interplay of cold and hot, bitter and sweet.

Viennese Coffee

Viennese coffee is Austria's most famous coffee, invented by a carriage driver named Ein Schubner, which is why people occasionally call it the "single-horse carriage." It has won over coffee lovers worldwide with its rich fresh cream and the sweet flavor of chocolate. Colorful sprinkles scattered on snow-white fresh cream make it very appealing in appearance; sipping hot coffee through sweet chocolate syrup and cold fresh cream is an especially unique experience.

This Viennese coffee has a unique way of drinking. No stirring is needed—the first thing that hits your palate is the cool cream, which feels pleasant and comforting, then you taste the hot coffee, and finally the sweetness of the sugar emerges, presenting three layers of flavor in sequence.

The method for making Viennese coffee is similar to an American-style mocha. First, sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar or fine rock sugar at the bottom of a warmed coffee cup, then pour hot, somewhat strong black coffee into the cup, and finally top it with two spoonfuls of cold fresh cream—a classic Viennese coffee is complete.

Mixed Coffee

Mixing equal amounts of coffee and milk creates a Viennese-style milk coffee.

Preparation method: First pour dark-roasted coffee into a cup. Pour an equal amount of milk into a milk pan and bring to a boil over low heat. Add cream before it foams, and pour into the coffee before the foam disappears.

Neapolitan-Style Coffee

Neapolitan-style coffee is a very bitter and hot morning coffee, which young Americans prefer to call "Dawn Coffee."

Preparation method: Pour dark-roasted coffee into a cup with a handle, then place a slice of lemon on the surface, and drink it in the dark.

Hot Mocaccino Coffee

Russian-style coffee is also called hot Mocaccino, with a very rich coffee flavor.

Preparation method: Heat dark-roasted coffee, melted chocolate, cola, egg yolk, and a small amount of milk over a fire, stirring thoroughly. Add 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, stir well, and pour into a cup. Add 1 tablespoon of cream floated on the surface, then shave some chocolate on top for decoration.

Indian Coffee

For Indian coffee, you can buy matching pairs of handled coffee cups, or collect them one by one by your favorite brand. When collecting individually, first decide on a theme, then choose by color and pattern—they can become collectible display pieces. Adding a tiny bit of salt can bring out the pure sweetness of the milk. Holding a handled coffee cup to drink this coffee warms you from head to toe. Preparation method: Pour milk into a pot and heat it. Before the milk boils, add dark-roasted coffee and 10 grams of brown sugar, then add a little salt and stir thoroughly.

Turkish Coffee

After finishing their coffee, Turkish people always examine the coffee grounds left at the bottom of the cup, reading their fortune for the day from the patterns.

Turkish coffee is neither distilled nor brewed—rather, extremely fine Turkish coffee grounds are combined with cold water and slowly heated to a boil over low heat in a small long-handled pot, producing cup after cup of bitter, strong foamy coffee. Clever Turks know well that such strong coffee is bad for health, so the porcelain cups and saucers used are quite miniaturized, about half the capacity of a regular coffee cup.

Preparation method: Pour finely ground dark-roasted coffee and spices such as cinnamon into a milk bowl, stir well, then transfer to a pot, add water, and bring to a boil 3 times, then remove from heat. Wait for the grounds to settle, pour the clear liquid into a cup, then slowly add orange juice and honey to finish.

Iced Cream Block Coffee

Iced cream block coffee doesn't use ice cubes but is chilled instead. Here we introduce an American-style method of drinking it with coffee ice cubes.

Preparation method: Add coffee ice cubes to a glass, pour in sweetened boiled milk, then slowly pour iced coffee from above—the milk and coffee will separate into two layers. Milk foam floats on the top layer; sprinkle some cinnamon powder for decoration.

Russian Coffee

Russian-style coffee is also called hot Mocaccino, with a rich coffee flavor.

Preparation method: Heat dark-roasted coffee, melted chocolate, cola, egg yolk, and a small amount of milk over a fire, stirring thoroughly. Add 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, stir well, pour into a cup, add 1 tablespoon of cream floated on top, and shave some chocolate on top for decoration.

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