What does cappuccino mean in English within the espresso family?

Espresso-based coffee covers a whole family of drinks built on one foundation: a standard shot pulled with water at about 92 to 94 degrees Celsius, 9 bar of pressure, and an extraction time of 20 to 30 seconds, yielding roughly 30 milliliters topped with crema. From that base come the Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha, Macchiato, Caramel Macchiato, and Dirty Coffee, each defined mainly by its ingredient ratios.

Understanding what does cappuccino mean in English helps separate the drinks: the name points to the milk and foam proportions layered over the shot, which is why why is cappuccino called cappuccino comes up alongside questions about its ratio. Extraction parameters and the blending logic behind the beans decide whether the cup tastes bitter and astringent or balanced, so the ratio matters as much as the roast.

Walk into any café, and espresso-based coffee is almost always the star of the menu. When many people first taste espresso, their initial reaction tends to be that it's bitter and intense, but in reality the espresso family is far more than just that one flavor. To find a cup that suits your taste—neither bitter nor astringent—you first need to understand what the common types of espresso-based coffee actually are. In this article, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) sorts out the most common espresso-based coffees found in cafés, covering everything from espresso extraction parameters and the blending logic behind coffee beans, to the ingredient ratios and preparation details of Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha, Macchiato, Caramel Macchiato, and Dirty Coffee, explaining the differences and connections among them one by one to help coffee lovers more systematically understand the espresso system and find the cup that belongs to them.

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Espresso-based coffee is practically standard on every café menu. Many domestic consumers' first impression of espresso is that it's unbearably bitter, but in fact espresso-based coffee isn't limited to just the bitter espresso route. If you want to drink an espresso-based coffee that isn't bitter and matches your taste, the first step is to figure out exactly what types of espresso-based coffee exist. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will now walk you through the most common espresso-based coffees in cafés, giving you a deeper understanding of this big family.

When it comes to espresso-based coffee, espresso is an unavoidable part. The reason is simple—almost all other espresso-based coffees are extensions of espresso.

A standard cup of espresso is made by forcing nearly boiling high-pressure hot water—at a temperature of about 92 to 94 degrees Celsius, 9 bar of pressure, and an extraction time of 20 to 30 seconds—through a finely ground and evenly tamped coffee puck, ultimately yielding about 30 milliliters of beverage. Its surface is covered with a thick, dense layer of coffee oil foam called Crema, which leans golden to brown in color and nowadays varies in depth depending on the roast level. Traditional Italians place great importance on the culture and quality of espresso; the Italian National Espresso Institute even provides official certification for espresso extraction parameters, giving the brewing process data to rely on and thereby more completely passing down the classic flavor of espresso.

The "es" in Espresso actually corresponds to the English "ex," carrying the meaning of fast and convenient. The coffee beans used to make espresso are called House Blend, commonly known as blended beans or recipe beans, which as the name suggests are blended from beans from multiple origins. Using blended beans helps balance flavor and stabilize output. To ensure final quality, the beans are usually ground to a fine consistency with a professional grinder before preparation, so that extraction can be completed in a short time.

Because espresso-based coffee has a rather intense taste, many people add sugar or milk to neutralize the bitterness, which also gave rise to the trend of flavored espresso drinks. Flavored espresso-based coffees combine with flavoring elements such as syrups, cream, and spices to create rich, multi-layered, and varied flavors—for example, Con Panna, Macchiato, Caramel Macchiato, Cappuccino, Latte, Mocha, and Caffè Americano all belong to the extended family of espresso-based coffee.

Espresso-based coffee is a foundational element of many coffee drinks. Let's take a look at what common types of espresso-based coffee there are.

Espresso

The most common type of espresso-based coffee is espresso. It typically uses dark-roasted coffee beans and forces out the coffee liquid instantly with steam pressure, giving it an intense taste with prominent bitterness and the characteristic roast aroma of dark roasting. It can be called the spiritual symbol of the coffee world, and all other espresso-based coffees are derived from it. It's fair to say that if the espresso isn't extracted properly, the other espresso-based coffees that follow will be hard to make taste good.

Espresso means a fast, concentrated coffee. Under the action of high-pressure steam at about 9 atmospheres, hot water rapidly passes through the coffee grounds, fully releasing the essence of the coffee, ultimately producing a cup that is rich, aromatic, full-bodied, and bittersweet with caramel notes.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) typically uses a double shot of espresso (20 grams of coffee grounds) as the baseline, producing about 40 grams of espresso, topped with a very fine and abundant layer of coffee oil foam, known as "Crema."

Americano

The Americano commonly found in cafés is an espresso-based coffee made by diluting espresso with a large amount of hot water. It's said that during World War II, American troops stationed in Italy couldn't get used to the intense taste of espresso, so they added a large amount of hot water to dilute it. This practice later spread widely and became another way of drinking espresso-based coffee.

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

Caffe Latte

In Italian, latte means milk; outside of Europe, however, it refers to an espresso-based coffee drink with added milk and milk foam. A common latte consists of 1/5 espresso, 2/5 hot milk, and 2/5 milk foam, with a relatively rich flavor. It can also be additionally flavored with vanilla syrup, cinnamon, or caramel, and the ratios are adjusted somewhat in different regions. When making a latte, Front Street uses a double shot of 40 grams of espresso paired with 260 grams of milk and milk foam, with the milk foam about 1 centimeter thick. Lattes can also feature exquisite latte art patterns. After the milk and coffee fully blend, it highlights both the sweetness of the milk and preserves the mellow charm of the coffee.

Cappuccino

Also composed of espresso, milk foam, and hot milk, a cappuccino has a ratio of 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, and 1/3 milk foam. Coffee accounts for a heavier proportion, so the taste is more intense. The blended color resembles the robe of the Franciscan friars in Italy, hence the name derived from the Italian word for Franciscan friar.

When making a cappuccino, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a 180-milliliter tulip cup, pouring a freshly extracted shot of espresso into the cup, then adding milk steamed to a dense, thick foam.

Mocha

Mocha originally referred to a type of coffee bean with a chocolate aroma, and later came to generally refer to any espresso-based coffee with chocolate added. The common ratio is 2/5 espresso, 2/5 hot chocolate, and 1/5 hot milk. You can taste both the coffee aroma and the rich chocolate flavor at the same time, and the texture is smoother as well. Friends who enjoy chocolate drinks should give it a try.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s mocha recipe is 40 grams of espresso plus 20 grams of chocolate sauce, paired with 260 grams of hot milk.

Macchiato

Macchiato is an Italian word meaning "marked." Macchiato coffee originated in Italy in the 1980s. At the time, some customers were in the habit of adding a small amount of milk to their espresso, but the milk would quickly be submerged by the coffee crema. So, to distinguish pure espresso from espresso with a small amount of milk added, baristas would use milk foam to "mark" a white dot on the surface of the crema.

Later, people discovered that as the milk foam and espresso gradually blend, you can taste both the rich, mellow intensity of the espresso and the dense, sweet smoothness of the milk, interweaving in the mouth in a way that is simply wonderful. Thus the traditional macchiato was born.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) macchiato recipe: 40 grams of espresso plus 1 spoonful of fine milk foam.

Caramel Macchiato

This is Starbucks' star espresso-based coffee drink (unrelated to the macchiato). A medium 355-milliliter Caramel Macchiato contains 1 shot (about 30 milliliters) of espresso, with the remaining 300-plus milliliters being milk with milk foam, vanilla syrup, and caramel, giving it a sweet flavor.

Making a Caramel Macchiato uses a lot of milk and milk foam, not much different from a wet cappuccino or a latte with thicker milk foam. With vanilla syrup and smooth, hot fresh milk as the base, topped with dense, fine milk foam, mixed with rich espresso, and then drizzled with smooth caramel sauce, the sweet and mellow Caramel Macchiato becomes a great choice for coffee lovers to enjoy a strong espresso drink.

Dirty Coffee

Many people ask, what exactly is the difference between Dirty Coffee and an iced latte? Indeed, from ingredients to recipe to appearance, the two have so much in common. But on closer observation, you'll find that Dirty is essentially a more refined iced latte, with the biggest differences being the choice of vessel and the operational details.

Dirty Coffee typically uses a glass cup that can showcase the beautiful liquid, and no ice is added to the cup. What matters is the espresso liquid flowing into the pure white milk, slowly seeping 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, the drink becomes dirty. Beyond the visual dirtiness, it also involves the collision between cold milk and hot espresso, letting you experience the change from hot to cold in a single cup of coffee.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s Dirty ratio is 150 grams of milk plus 40 grams of espresso. First, take out a pre-chilled glass cup, make sure there's no water in the cup, and pour in the cold milk. Then lock on the tamped portafilter and place the glass cup containing the cold milk directly below the spout (if using a bottomless portafilter, place it directly below the extraction point). The spout shouldn't be too far from the liquid surface, otherwise the coffee's own gravity will create a stronger penetrating force and tend to "blend in"; a distance of about 1 centimeter is recommended. A properly extracted espresso flows at an even rate, slowly flowing onto the surface of the milk and "floating" on the surface, slowly sinking, creating that dirty feel.

Drinking a Dirty doesn't require stirring, and you should drink it as soon as possible. You'll find that the hot espresso on top hasn't been cooled by the ice yet, and the milk below hasn't been "polluted" yet. That transformation from a rich, chocolatey hot coffee into a milky, light iced coffee is truly wonderful.

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