You’ve been lurking on the fringes of the coffee house culture for long enough, but you are feeling a little nervous about walking up to a barista and revealing your complete, abject ignorance of the items on the menu. And you most emphatically do NOT want to hold up the line.
But, instead of ordering the first thing you see, and finding out you have made a dreadful mistake, take the time to learn the differences among the most popular fresh-brewed coffee beverages, and you’ll pull off your first order with admirable style.
Begin with espresso. Espresso, no matter what you imagined, is extremely finely ground coffee placed in a machine in which nearly boiling water under great pressure is forced through it.
The entire process lasts between 20 and 30 seconds; the intent is to release as much of the essential coffee oils as possible, resulting in an intensely flavored, sweet drink.
A correctly prepared espresso will have a thin layer of coffee oils, or crema, floating on its surface.
Espresso is served in shots. A short shot is three–quarters of an ounce and a long shot is one and-one-half ounces.
Espressos are meant to be consumed immediately; no nursing allowed.
In the U.S. most coffee drinkers like their espresso doctored. Espresso Machiatto is espresso with a spoonful of frothed milk over it.
Espresso con Panna, for the less diet-conscious, is espresso with whipped cram instead of frothed milk.
Cappuccino is a blend of espresso and cold foamed milk poured simultaneously. Because of the milk’s volume, cappuccino is lighter and less filling than straight espresso. Cappuccino is made with a fluffy, wet foam, mixed with espresso coffee upon the pour to create a blend of the two flavors. Cold milk is essential, as is expertise in the foaming process. Cappuccino has a large volume of foam making it a light weight drink and less filling.
And Caffe Latte is like cappuccino but with more steamed milk. The barista blocks some of the foam with a spoon as it pours, and tops off the drink with the spoonful of foam.
Now go espresso yourself.
