What is the difference between Flat White, Latte, Cappuccino and American coffee?

Remember the first time you ordered coffee at Starbucks?

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The most commonly ordered coffees include Latte, Cappuccino, Espresso, Americano, Mocha, and the Flat White which has been very popular in recent years. Which one suits your taste best?

Espresso:

The coffee flavor is quickly and strongly extracted with hot water at high temperature and pressure to create an espresso. A single shot of espresso has only 5 calories and 75 mg of caffeine. It is very "strong" because no milk is added.

Americano:

Americano is a cup of espresso with a lot of hot water added to make it lighter and easier to drink. A single shot of Americano also has only 5 calories and 75mg of caffeine.

Mocha Coffee:

Mocha is an espresso with chocolate syrup, milk and milk foam (cream). A single shot of mocha coffee with whole milk has 160 calories and 90mg of caffeine. You can think of it as a latte with chocolate syrup and cream.

Flat White:

For example, a 30ml Ristretto will have 4 times the amount of steamed milk as coffee, with a smoother, less foamy layer of milk foam on the surface. A single shot of thin white coffee brewed with whole milk has 110 calories and 130mg of caffeine, which is suitable for people who don't like milk or milk foam but like strong coffee.

Latte:

For example, a latte contains 3-9 times as much steamed milk as coffee, and a layer of softer, more foamy milk foam on the surface. A single shot latte made with whole milk has 110 calories and 75mg of caffeine. It has a stronger milk flavor than white coffee and less caffeine.

Cappuccino:

For example, a cup of cappuccino will have 1 times the amount of steamed milk as coffee, and a layer of thick and coarse milk foam of ⅓ cup on the surface. Because the amount of milk foam is larger than that of latte and white coffee, the taste is creamier. A single shot, thin cup of latte made with whole milk has 90 calories and 75mg of caffeine.

So what is the difference between Ristretto and Espresso?

Italian translation:

【ristretto】: adjective, originally meaning narrow, extended meaning thick, concentrated. stretto is an adjective, meaning tight, narrow; ri is a prefix indicating repetition. Put together, it means doubly tight, so it is more concentrated.

【espresso】: an adjective, originally meaning fast; the root word means to press or compress.

【lungo】: an adjective, originally meaning long, extended to mean light or thin.

In other words, Ristretto is made with half the normal coffee powder to water ratio, the only difference is the degree of grinding of the coffee powder. Since coffee extraction is strong first and then weak, the flavor of Ristretto is stronger than that of Espresso per unit time. [Lungo] is just the opposite.

In fact, the use of Ristretto to make Flat White originated from Starbucks's improvement. Other coffee shops do not have this requirement, including the Flat White produced by local coffee shops in Australia, which only use Espresso as the base. The ratio of coffee to milk is close to that of cappuccino, and the milk foam is much thinner than that of latte (some even have none), usually less than 5mm, so there is no complicated latte art pattern.