Coffee Information

CSnet7.com Home Page

Coffee Drink Basics


When you enter a coffee house, you have a multitude of drink choices like latté, cappuccino, straight shot and caffé mocha just to name a few.

Sometimes knowing what to order can be overwhelming unless you know what you are getting. After all, who wants to pay an outrageous amount of money for a mystery drink that you may not even like?

So PerfectCoffees.Com has come to the rescue, and after you read this, you'll have a basic understanding of how the most popular coffee drinks are made and what they are made of.

Most coffee drinks start with espresso and espresso is just coffee that is brewed a certain way. It is finely ground to almost a powder then very hot water is forced through the grounds under intense pressure.

The brewing process is timed so that the flavorful and aromatic oils are extracted from the coffee and not the bitter components. This produces a strong flavored, but not bitter, concentrated shot of coffee.

Straight Shot

The straight shot refers to espresso coffee and the secret to good espresso is the extraction time, volume, and golden crema which is a thick light brown layer of frothed coffee oils that float on top of a properly extracted espresso.

The short shot or ristretto is extracted to a volume of three-quarters of an ounce. The shorter restricted pour magnifies the essence of the coffee and the chance of any bitter elements being extracted is minimized. If you have ever ordered an espresso shot in Europe they usually serve the ristretto.

The long shot or lungo is extracted to a volume of one and one-half ounces.

The double shot is a 2 ounce shot using twice as much coffee in the portafilter.

The correct way to serve a straight shot is to extract it directly into a warmed demitasse cup. The warm demitasse cup will keep the straight shot warm and prolong the crema. A straight shot is best enjoyed immediately after brewing.

It is rare to see people drinking straight shots of espresso in the US. Most people here drink variations using steamed milk mixed with the shots to make the different coffee drinks listed here.

Espresso Macchiato

The Espresso Macchiato starts with a shot of espresso and then a small amount of foamed milk is spooned over the shot. Macchiato in Italian means "marked," as the espresso is marked with foam.

Espresso Con Panna

This is an Espresso Macchiato using whipped cream in place of the foamed milk. The drink gets its name Con Panna which means "with cream."

Caffé Americano

The Caffé Americano is a drink similar to American brewed coffee. It is made with a single or double shot of espresso combined with 6 to 8 ounces of hot water out of an espresso machine. The result is a very smooth cup of coffee that is much hotter than brewed coffee.

Cappuccino

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.

Caffé Latté

Caffé Latté is similar to the cappuccino but with much less foam and more steamed milk. A latté is made by holding back the foam with a spoon while pouring the frothed milk from the steaming pitcher. The caffé latté is completed by being topped with a small amount of the held back foam.

Caffé latté gets its name from the addition of coffee to milk. For an iced latté, cold milk is combined with the espresso and then the ice is added.

Caffé Mocha

A caffé mocha is made by adding powdered or chocolate syrup to a hot shot of espresso and blended. Steamed milk is then be added to the espresso-chocolate mixture and usually it is topped with whipped cream.

Iced mochas are made with cold milk and the ice added after the coffee and chocolate have been blended.

Flavored Coffee Drinks

Some popular coffee flavors are: vanilla, Irish creme, almond, hazelnut, caramel and fruit flavors such as orange and raspberry. These drinks usually start with a flavored syrup that is mixed with hot espresso and stirred. Then steamed milk is stirred in like in a latté.

An iced version of these flavored coffees made with cold milk instead of steamed makes a delicious cold drink in the summer months.

So now that you know what's in the basic coffee drinks, try one you haven't tasted yet. Who knows, you might find a new favorite.

Copyright © 2004 PerfectCoffees.com - All Rights Reserved.

This article may be re-published "as is" (unedited) as long as the author's bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information is included. The URLs in the resource box should be set as hyperlinks if used on a web page.

About The Author

Gary Gresham is the webmaster for www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee gifts and delicious desserts online. He offers a free monthly coffee newsletter at www.perfectcoffees.com/newsletter.html.

Gary@perfectcoffees.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Growers Direct Coffee Company Announce Symbol Change
MarketWatch - 12 hours ago
For more information about our coffee products, visit our website at www.growersdirectcoffee.com Our wholly owned subsidiary, Uncommon Grounds Inc., ...


The Enterprise Ledger

Arrests made in connection with recent Coffee, Geneva County robberies
The Enterprise Ledger, AL - 4 hours ago
By Carole Brand Phillip Curtis smiled anxiously as he looked over items recently stolen from a rash of robberies and burglaries in Enterprise, Coffee and ...
Law enforcers say two arrests should end rash of robberies, burglaries Southeast Sun
Arrests Made in Connection With Recent Robberies WTVY
Police catch serial robber The Enterprise Ledger
all 6 news articles


Coffee, curd rice and me
Sify, India - 13 hours ago
"You'll get nothing but filter coffee and curd rice," sneered another. I’ve been here more than year now, and ALL of them have been proved wrong. ...


Morning Coffee: Sanford not going anywhere
ESPN - 11 hours ago
Mmmmm, Non-BCS Morning Coffee tastes like heaven with a hint of the little black pebble in FieldTurf. Come get your links! • For all of you UNLV fans hoping ...


GO-TO GAL: Who takes care of coffee-spilling railroad tracks?
Newton Kansan, KS - 9 hours ago
So maybe we won’t lose half our cups of coffee each time we cross the tracks. Which means Newtonians may have twice as much coffee flowing through our veins ...


FoodBev.com

Starbucks, Pepsi and Unilever Partner to Grow the Tazo(R) Tea ...
FOXBusiness - Aug 20, 2008
Starbucks relationship with PepsiCo dates back to 1994, when the two companies formed the North American Coffee Partnership (NACP), a joint venture that ...
Pepsi to Bottle Starbucks' Tazo Teas AdAge.com (subscription)
Starbucks signs tea distribution deal with PepsiCo, Unilever Bizjournals.com
PepsiCo to distribute Tazo Tea more widely The Associated Press
Trading Markets (press release)
all 121 news articles


Global warming pushes Peru to pick coffee earlier
Reuters - Aug 20, 2008
By Dana Ford LA MERCED (Reuters) - Teresa Rocha, a migrant worker who picks coffee on the steamy, lush, green farms near La Merced in central Peru, ...


Musical chairs for Broadway coffee shops
Queen Anne News, WA - 2 hours ago
By Sasha London While Seattle may be known as the birthplace of Starbucks, local coffee shops like B&O Espresso, Vivace and the Dilettante reign supreme on ...


The Alpha Coffee Table - aptly named.
AdLand, Denmark - 1 hour ago
I am in a seriously bad case of lust for a coffee table folks. If it asked, I would marry it in a heartbeat. And we'd have little doll house sized Eames ...


AGRIBUSINESS: Coffee prices up 1.74% at NYBOT
Gazeta Mercantil, Brazil - 3 hours ago
SÃO PAULO, 8/21/08 - Coffee contracts maturing in December grew 1.74% today, quoted at 143.65 cents of dollar per pound (weight) on the New York Board of ...

Coffee - Google News

home | site map | Coffee | Fashion | Landscaping and Gardening
Chocolate | CShroeder | Gifts
© 2006 EZmatic.com