Do you know the differences between a Latte, a Cappuccino, and a Mocha? Standing in front of the ordering counter at a café, have you ever had this question but didn't dare to ask, so you just randomly picked one, or always ordered the same one? Today, Front Street Coffee is here to help you sort out their similarities and differences, so you can become a coffee expert too.
What we call Espresso is a highly concentrated coffee made by using an espresso machine to brew under pressure. Because Espresso has a strong flavor and intense taste, many people find it hard to get used to. Therefore, after espresso spread around the world, people in different countries added different ingredients to it, using espresso as a base, and derived many different types of coffee.
Among them, espresso drinks with milk added can be said to be dazzlingly varied. Among them, Latte, Cappuccino, Flat White (Aussie White), and Mocha were widely promoted globally by Starbucks, so many friends in China have a deep impression of these espresso milk coffees.
No matter which espresso milk coffee it is, we first need to prepare an espresso machine with a steam wand. Then choose medium-dark roasted, full-bodied comprehensive coffee beans specially blended for espresso. The taste of coffee depends on the coffee beans themselves and the degree of roasting.
Front Street, a local time-honored brand in Guangzhou, sells six popular espresso blend coffee beans, all shipped as whole beans by default within 5 days after roasting, ensuring that everyone receives 100% freshly roasted coffee beans. After receiving the coffee beans, you can check the roasting date on the back label and start using them 7 days after that date, giving the coffee beans time to release carbon dioxide on their own, further ensuring extraction stability. Below, Front Street has selected several espresso blends that are very suitable for making latte coffee. You can choose according to your own preferences:
"Front Street Classic Blend Coffee Beans": Brazilian coffee beans + Indonesian coffee beans + Vietnamese coffee beans, with obvious chocolate, caramel, and roasted nut coffee aromas, rich crema, and deep color, suitable for home brewing enthusiasts who pursue specialty latte art.
"Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend Coffee Beans": with elegant rose fragrance, strawberry gummy, grape, and dried fruit flavors, creamy and silky on the palate, with an almond aroma in the finish, suitable for friends who like floral and fruity coffee.
"Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans": Colombian washed coffee beans + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans, with nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavor performance, suitable for friends who like rich hazelnut coffee aroma.
"Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans":Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans + Colombian washed coffee beans + Vietnamese washed coffee,with rich coffee crema and roasted aromas, making an Americano with a mellow and very easy-drinking taste; made into a latte, it is rich and smooth, leaving a lingering fragrance after drinking, and it is affordable, making it a daily staple bean for home brewing.
"Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans": Yunnan washed coffee beans + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans, espressohas soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nut and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, and is also affordable, suitable for shop owners and home users who prioritize cost and have average flavor requirements.
To make latte coffee, mocha coffee, and cappuccino coffee, Front Street specialty espresso blend coffee beans were used. After we receive the coffee beans, we need to prepare an espresso grinder, grind the coffee beans into extremely fine particles, then put them into the portafilter basket of the coffee machine and distribute them evenly, then use the included tamping tool to press flat and firm, lock it onto the coffee machine, and press the extraction button.
Since the performance of every grinder and coffee machine is different, generally extracting 20g of coffee liquid from 10g of coffee grounds, or 40g of coffee liquid from 20g of coffee grounds, takes between 25-30 seconds. After extracting the espresso, everyone can taste it and then decide whether to adjust the grind coarser (lighter) or finer (stronger).
After making the espresso, you can use the steam wand to heat and froth the milk.
The ratio Front Street uses to make latte coffee is: 20g espresso + 200ml milk + 1cm thick milk foam. After the milk and coffee are evenly blended, the overall balance is good and the mouthfeel is smooth. The total capacity is about 280ml, so everyone needs to prepare a 300ml bowl-shaped latte cup for making it.
Mocha coffee, a chocolate-flavored espresso milk coffee. The production ratio is 20g espresso + 15g chocolate sauce + 190ml milk + 1cm thick milk foam. If conditions allow, you can also add your favorite marshmallows on top to increase the sweet aroma and taste. The method is similar to latte coffee, so everyone can prepare a 300ml bowl-shaped latte cup for making it.
The production ratio for cappuccino coffee is: 40g espresso + 150g milk + 1.5cm thick milk foam. The total capacity is about 190ml. After making it, the coffee forms a high dome. Compared with latte coffee, cappuccino is a milk coffee with a stronger coffee taste and denser, thicker milk foam. The first sip feels like marshmallow. When making cappuccino, the milk foam must be piled high, so it is recommended to use a 200ml straight-sided/tulip-shaped coffee cup.
When comparing the three coffees at the same time, the cappuccino with the least milk tastes the strongest in coffee flavor, the milk taste is lighter, and the foam is abundant; latte coffee has the most balanced mouthfeel, whether it is coffee flavor, milk aroma, or the thickness of the foam layer, we can feel all of them; finally, mocha is based on latte coffee with chocolate-flavored mocha sauce added, so it tastes not only of the mellow aroma of espresso but also the sweet fragrance of milk chocolate, with richer layers.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
