If you're still drinking instant coffee, there's a lot more you need to know...

If you still drink Starbucks, you can learn about this...

If you are already drinking specialty coffee, please forgive me for being so unprofessional...

Coffee is a beverage made from roasted coffee beans. It is one of the three major beverages popular in the world, along with cocoa and tea.

The coffee we drink daily is made from coffee beans and different brewing utensils. A standard cup of coffee should not taste bitter. A qualified barista will rigorously perform each step when making coffee, and finally present a perfect cup of coffee to the guests, showing different degrees of sweetness, acidity, mellowness or cleanliness in taste.

There are two common coffee tree species: Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica coffee grows best at high altitudes, and the flavor of this coffee is much more delicate than other coffees, while the caffeine content only accounts for 1% of the total weight of the coffee.

Robusta coffee has a mellow flavor, strong resistance to diseases and pests, and a high yield per plant. In low-altitude areas, because it can extract rich and stable oils, it is mostly used in Italian blends to make espresso.

So let's start with Espresso coffee! Because it is the basis of many types of coffee, that is to say, many types of coffee are developed on the basis of it!

Espresso

Espresso, also known as Italian espresso, is bitter but fragrant, and is a type of coffee with a strong taste. It is made by pouring 90.5 degrees Celsius hot water through finely ground coffee powder at a high pressure of 130PSI. It was invented and developed in Italy in the early 20th century. It has a thicker texture than drip coffee and contains more dissolved substances per unit volume.

The chemical composition of espresso is complex and fickle, with many components breaking down due to oxidation or lowering of temperature. This especially includes crema, the reddish-brown foam that floats on the surface of espresso. It is made up of vegetable oils, proteins and sugars, and is a combination of both an emulsion and a foam colloid.

This type of coffee brewed in a short time and at high pressure makes the coffee flavor concentrated and strong, but the caffeine content is relatively low due to the short extraction time. Of course, in order to match the boldness of men, Double Espresso came into being. It is strong and not pretentious, equivalent to strong liquor. The choking taste is not something that everyone can tolerate, but it is the favorite of real coffee lovers! There are even extreme enthusiasts who add rum or whiskey to Double to pursue the satisfaction of being surrounded by taste!

Here is a little tip to add. Generally speaking, the water temperature for brewing coffee ranges from 85 to 93 degrees Celsius. The higher the temperature, the easier it is to dissolve the bitter substances in the coffee, and the lower the temperature, the more sour the coffee is. So it is said that 85 degrees Celsius is just the right temperature for coffee!

Espresso Macchiato

Macchiato often adds a layer of milk foam on top of espresso, and the sweet milk foam dilutes the bitter taste of espresso. Although Macchiato looks like a smaller version of cappuccino, the portion is only one-third of cappuccino, and no milk is added to the espresso, so the milk aroma only stays on the lips when you drink it, and the taste of espresso is not diluted by milk.

This coffee is also the most popular type of Kung Fu coffee today. Many young coffee shops like to use this coffee to change up their styles, and quietly increase the portion, and the taste has also become much lighter, but they just keep using this nice name!

Americano

American coffee is black coffee made using a siphon pot, French press, etc. It can also be made by adding a large amount of water to espresso. It has a lighter taste and a higher caffeine content because the extraction time is relatively long.

This is of course the official statement. So, what is the difference between Americano and Italian coffee?

Here we need to add a little black history:

The name of American coffee originated from the wartime habit of American soldiers in Europe to add hot water to small espresso cups, which are common in Europe. Americans generally prepare coffee casually and simply, and this method quickly became popular as American chain stores spread around the world. Later, American coffee could even be a general term for all black coffee, and black coffee made with drip filters, French presses, and other utensils could all be called American coffee.

Flat White

White coffee does not mean that this coffee is white, but it is made by adding milk to espresso, which is full of milk flavor without hurting the stomach. Of course, the traditional white coffee we refer to is the specialty coffee produced in Malaysia, which uses special Liberica, Arabica and Robusta coffee beans and special skim creamer raw materials. After medium-light low-temperature roasting and special processing, a large amount of caffeine is removed, and the bitter and sour taste produced by high-temperature charcoal roasting is removed, and the bitter and sour taste of coffee and the caffeine content are reduced to the minimum. It is sweet and fragrant without hurting the stomach, retaining the original color and aroma of coffee, with a smooth and pure taste. The color is lighter and softer than ordinary milk coffee, with a light golden milk color, so it is called white coffee.

Isn't it more poetic to translate the white coffee here into Flat White? I won't go into the reasons for the translation here. Of course, the name comes from the coffee launched by Starbucks in 2015. It uses Ristretto Shot, which has a shorter extraction time and less extraction volume than Espresso Shot, making the coffee richer, mellower, and slightly sweeter. If you want to try a stronger coffee, it is definitely a good choice. The proportion of steamed milk in it is relatively large, making it smooth, rich and sweet in taste.

Continuing the black history:

Whether it originated in Australia or New Zealand, this controversial topic is not what we are concerned about. The difference between it and cappuccino is that cappuccino means "foam cap", so there is thick milk foam, while Flat White has only thin foam, the milk foam is beaten to microfoam state, the loose foam on the top of the distillation container is discarded, and the delicate milky white milk is poured into the coffee, forming a smooth and soft texture, which is the so-called Flat.

Caffe Latte

Just add nearly boiling milk to the espresso, more or less milk, depending on personal preference. Italians also like to drink latte for breakfast. It is better to say that they like milk than espresso. Only espresso can give ordinary milk an unforgettable taste.

Latte is the transliteration of the Italian word "Latte". It is a kind of fancy coffee, the ultimate blend of coffee and milk. Italian latte is pure milk and coffee, while American latte replaces part of the milk with milk foam.

Espresso Con Panna

Con means and Panna in Italian, and Con means whipped cream. Con is espresso with a layer of cream on top.

The tender white fresh cream floats lightly on the deep coffee, just like a white lotus flower that has grown out of the mud without being stained, making people want to drink it in one gulp. Of course, there is another saying that a cup of authentic Combo Blue with a piece of chocolate or toffee, first in your mouth, then take a sip of coffee, let the deliciousness bloom in your mouth, it is the most beautiful taste!

Cafe Breve

Some people transliterate it as Brev or Breve. This kind of coffee is very similar to latte, but the difference is that a mixture of half milk and half cream is added to the espresso, or a little milk foam is added.

Therefore, there are two recipes:

1 part espresso + 0.75 parts hot milk + 0.75 parts fresh cream + 0.5 parts milk foam, or

1 part espresso + 0.75 part hot milk + 1.5 parts half milk and half cream + 0.5 part milk foam

The editor doesn’t understand what the difference is. As for which flavor you like, it’s a matter of personal preference!

Cappuccino

Cappuccino is made of espresso, steam milk and foamed milk, each using one third, and sprinkled with small particles of cinnamon powder, which has a fragrant aroma.

In the early 20th century, Italian Archipuccio invented it at the same time as he invented the steam pressure coffee machine. Espresso with steam foam milk, just like the monks of the Cappuccino Church put on a turban over their dark brown robes, hence the name of coffee.

Cappuccino is divided into two types: dry and wet. The so-called dry cappuccino refers to a method of preparing more milk foam and less milk. The coffee tastes stronger than the milk aroma, which is suitable for people with strong taste. The wet cappuccino refers to a method of preparing less milk foam and more milk. The milk aroma covers the strong coffee flavor, which is suitable for people with light taste. The flavor of wet cappuccino is similar to the popular latte.

Generally speaking, cappuccino tastes stronger than latte.

Caffe Mocha

This is one of the oldest coffees, and its history can be traced back to the origin of coffee. It is a mixture of espresso, chocolate syrup, cream and milk. It sounds like a strong chocolate aroma!

The name Mocha comes from the famous Mocha Port. In the 15th century, the coffee transportation industry in the entire Middle East and Africa was not prosperous. Mocha in Yemen was the main coffee export port near the Red Sea at that time. African coffee was mainly concentrated in the Mocha Port and then transported out, so they were collectively called Mocha coffee. Later, emerging ports replaced the Mocha Port, but the name was retained.

Mocha coffee, which is also translated as Arabic premium coffee or chocolate coffee, can be said to be a variant of Italian latte. It is made of one-third Italian espresso and two-thirds milk foam, with a small amount of chocolate added. Whether it is chocolate syrup or instant chocolate, the strong coffee is mixed with the aroma of chocolate, and sometimes whipped cream, cocoa powder and marshmallows are added as decoration, and some cinnamon particles are sprinkled on it, which stimulates your taste buds from the visual and olfactory senses.

Caramel Macchiato

It is a macchiato with caramel added, which is made by adding espresso and vanilla to hot milk and finally pouring pure caramel on it.

Macchiato means "brand" or "printing" in Italian, and is transliterated into Chinese as "machiato", while Caramel means caramel. Caramel Macchiato means a sweet mark.

Irish Coffee

This alcohol-flavored coffee contains Irish whiskey, mixed with hot coffee, cream and sugar. Some people drink it as coffee, while others drink it as a cocktail.

According to legend, a bartender at Dublin Airport fell in love with a beautiful stewardess, but the girl only liked coffee and not alcohol, so he blended whiskey into hot coffee to make this drink for the girl he loved.

Irish coffee is very suitable for drinking in winter, which can help you drive away the cold. And the strong drink has also evolved into Russian coffee made with vodka and French coffee made with brandy.

Viennese Coffee

Viennese coffee is the most famous coffee in Austria. It was invented by a coachman named Einshuberna. Therefore, people sometimes call Viennese coffee "one-headed carriage".

Sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar or fine rock sugar on the bottom of the warm coffee cup, then pour in boiling hot espresso, and finally place two spoonfuls of cold cream on the surface of the coffee.

The sweet flavor of thick whipped cream and chocolate has charmed people all over the world. The colorful rice is sprinkled on the white whipped cream as a decoration, which looks very beautiful. Sipping the hot coffee through the sweet chocolate syrup and cold whipped cream is a unique flavor!

Finally, I’ve attached an explanatory picture to help you remember more clearly!