Espresso is a core category on most café menus, but its family is far more than just Americanos and Lattes. In this article, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) sorts out the definitions, origins, and specific preparation parameters of ten common espresso drinks, including Espresso, Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, Flat White, Mocha, Dirty, Macchiato, Affogato, and Caramel Macchiato. For each drink, Front Street's recipe ratios, cup size choices, and operational key points will be given, helping coffee enthusiasts understand the differences and connections between them. Whether you want to recreate them at home or want to understand the logic behind café menus, this compilation can provide clear and practical reference.

Espresso is an indispensable beverage category in almost all cafés, and its varieties go far beyond just Americano and Latte. In this article, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will introduce one by one the ten common espresso drinks found in cafés and explain how each is made.

① Espresso

Espresso, as the name suggests, is a concentrated coffee extracted quickly. Under the push of steam pressure at about 9 atmospheres, hot water rapidly passes through the coffee powder layer, fully extracting the essence of the coffee, ultimately producing a cup of coffee that is rich, aromatic, mellow, and bittersweet with caramel notes. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) usually uses a double espresso (20 grams of coffee powder) as the baseline to make about 40 grams of espresso, whose surface is covered with a delicate and rich layer of coffee oil, commonly known as "Crema."

Espresso is the foundation of many espresso drinks. It can be said that if the espresso extraction is not ideal, other espresso drinks will also be hard to make tasty.

② Americano

Diluting Italian espresso with hot water gives you Americano. Its origin is related to the period during World War II when American troops landed in Europe. At that time, American soldiers were not used to drinking Italian espresso, so they added water to dilute it, and it gradually evolved into Americano. Although a large amount of water is added, the flavor of Americano is milder than ordinary espresso, but the aroma and flavor are not weakened. Compared with Americano brewed by filter methods, the style is completely different. It pairs very well with sweets such as cookies and muffins, and is suitable for people who cannot quite accept strong espresso.

Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) hot Americano ratio is 40 grams of espresso mixed with 180 milliliters of hot water, resulting in a 220-milliliter cup of Americano, with an espresso-to-water ratio of 1:4.5.

③ Latte

Latte is a common milk coffee among espresso drinks. Latte in Italian simply means "milk." When Front Street makes Latte, it uses 40g of double espresso, paired with 260g of milk and milk foam, with a milk foam thickness of about 1cm. Latte can also be made with exquisite latte art patterns. After the milk and coffee are fully integrated, it highlights both the sweetness of the milk and preserves the mellow charm of the coffee.

④ Cappuccino

Cappuccino is transliterated from "Cappuccino," and the name comes from the Capuchin order and the Italian word for hood (Cappucio). Cappuccino is similar to Latte. Both belong to milk coffee and are also composed of espresso and steamed milk, but the difference is that 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 espresso and adds the rich aroma of milk foam, making it easier to accept. Among espresso drinks, Cappuccino has the thickest milk foam, and the dense, delicate foam also brings a good mouthfeel.

When Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) makes Cappuccino, it uses a 180-milliliter tulip cup. First pour a freshly extracted shot of espresso into the cup, then add milk steamed to a dense, thick foam.

⑤ Flat White

Flat White can be understood as the Australian localized version of "Latte," so it is slightly different from the common Latte. Flat White originated in Australia and New Zealand and is a coffee product evolved by Oceanian residents according to their own needs. It consists of espresso, milk, and a thin layer of milk foam. Usually, Flat White has a smaller cup size than Latte, less milk, and stronger coffee, highlighting the richness of the coffee. It is worth mentioning that Flat White is only served hot.

Front Street's standard for Flat White: use a 220ml glass cup, use 30g of ristretto espresso, 190ml of milk plus milk foam, with a milk foam thickness of about 0.5 cm. (Milk foaming degree: milk filled to the 5th mark, steamed to 5.5-6th mark of milk foam.)

⑥ Mocha

In Italian, Mo means chocolate, so Mocha is chocolate coffee, made by combining rich coffee, creamy milk, and sweet chocolate. There is a variant of Mocha called white cafe mocha, which uses white chocolate instead of milk and dark chocolate. In addition, there is another variant that mixes two kinds of chocolate syrup, called zebras, sometimes also called tuxedo mocha.

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

⑦ Dirty Coffee

Many people ask, what is the difference between Dirty Coffee and iced latte? Indeed, from ingredients to recipe to appearance, the two have too many similarities. But upon closer observation, you will find that Dirty is essentially a more particular iced latte, and the biggest difference lies in the choice of container and operational details.

Dirty Coffee usually uses a glass cup that can show off the beautiful liquid, and no ice is added. What it emphasizes is espresso flowing into pure white milk, slowly penetrating and slowly blending, forming a beautiful layered effect. As time passes, the pure white milk is gradually "polluted" by the rich espresso. Looking through the glass, this drink becomes dirty. In addition to its visual dirtiness, it also contains the collision between cold milk and hot espresso, allowing people to feel the change from hot to cold in one cup of coffee.

Front Street's ratio for making Dirty is 150g milk and 40g espresso. First take out a pre-chilled glass cup, make sure there is no water in the cup, and pour in the cold milk. Then attach the tamped coffee portafilter, and place the glass cup containing the cold milk under the spout (if using a bottomless portafilter, place it directly below the outlet). The outlet should not be too far from the liquid surface. If it is too far, the coffee's own gravity will create stronger penetration and make it easy to blend. A distance of about 1cm is recommended. Qualified espresso flows evenly, slowly flows onto the surface of the milk, floats on the liquid surface, and slowly sinks, creating that dirty feeling.

Drinking Dirty does not require stirring, and you should drink it quickly. You will 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 originated in Italy in the 1980s. At that time, some customers were accustomed to adding a small amount of milk to espresso, but the milk would quickly disappear into the coffee crema. So baristas wanted to distinguish a pure espresso from an espresso with a small amount of milk, and used milk foam to "mark" a white dot on top of the coffee crema.

Later, people discovered that in the process of the milk foam gradually merging with the espresso, one can taste both the rich aroma and mellow body of the espresso and the dense sweetness of the milk, interwoven in the mouth, wonderfully indescribable. Thus the traditional Macchiato was born.

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

⑨ Affogato

This is a very special coffee drink. The usual 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 tasting it, you will feel the cold sweetness of the vanilla ice cream carrying the aroma of coffee. It is very suitable for drinking in summer.

⑩ Caramel Macchiato

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

Caramel Macchiato: when making it, a large amount of milk and milk foam is used, and it is not much different from a wet cappuccino or a thicker latte. Vanilla syrup and smooth hot fresh milk, with soft, fine milk foam on top.

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