Espresso is actually not a variation of a coffee drink; it is the name for a method of preparing coffee. With espresso, the coffee is -different than normally- being prepared in very short time under high pressure.
ESPRESSO  Caffè espresso, or just espresso is a concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Compared to other coffee brewing methods, espresso often has a thicker consistency, a higher concentration of dissolved solids, and crema (foam) . As a result of the pressurized brewing process, all of the flavours and chemicals in a typical cup of coffee are very concentrated. For this reason, espresso is the base for other drinks, such as lattes, cappuccino, macchiato, mochas, and americanos. The first espresso machines were introduced at the beginning of the 20th Century, with the first patent being filed by Luigi Bezzera of Milan, Italy, in 1901. Up until the mid-1940s, when the piston lever espresso machine was introduced, it was produced solely with steam pressure. While espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most beverages, compared on the basis of usual serving sizes, a 30 mL (1 US fluid ounce) shot of espresso has about half the caffeine of a standard 180 mL (6 US fluid ounces) cup of drip brewed coffee, which varies from 80 to 130 mg, and hence a 60 mL (2 US fl oz) double shot of espresso has about the same caffeine as a 180 ml (6 US fl oz) cup of drip brewed coffee. In coffee brewing terms, espresso and brewed coffee should have the same extraction (about 20% of the coffee grounds are extracted into the coffee liquid), but espresso has a higher brew strength (concentration, in terms of dissolved coffee solids per unit volume), due to having less water. CAPPUCCINO
A cappuccino is similar to a caffè latte in that both add frothed milk to espresso, but differs in two respects. A cappuccino is traditionally prepared with much less steamed or textured milk than a caffè latte. In a traditional cappuccino, as served in Europe and artisan coffee houses in the United States, the total of espresso and milk/froth make up between approximately 150 ml (5 imp fl oz; 5 US fl oz) and 180 ml (6 imp fl oz; 6 US fl oz). US commercial coffee chains more often serve the cappuccino as a 360 ml (13 imp fl oz; 12 US fl oz) drink or larger.  A latte (from the Italian caffè latte or caffellatte pronounced [ˌkaffelˈlatte], meaning "coffee [and] milk") is a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk. Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as chai, mate or matcha.The word is also sometimes spelled latté or lattè —the non-etymological diacritical mark being added as a hyperforeignism. CAFE MOCHA  A caffè mocha or café mocha is a variant of a caffè latte. Like a latte, it is typically one third espresso and two thirds steamed milk, but a portion of chocolate is added, typically in the form of sweet cocoa powder, although many varieties use chocolate syrup. Mochas can contain dark or milk chocolate. Like cappuccino, café mochas contain the well-known milk froth on top, although they are sometimes served with whipped cream instead. They are usually topped with a dusting of either cinnamon or cocoa powder. Marshmallows may also be added on top for flavor and decoration. A variant is white café mocha, made with white chocolate instead of milk or dark. There are also variants of the drink that mix the two syrups; this mixture is referred to by several names, including black and white mocha, tan mocha, tuxedo mocha and zebra. Café mocha takes its name from the Red Sea coastal town of Mocha, Yemen, which as far back as the fifteenth century was a dominant exporter of coffee, especially to areas around the Arabian Peninsula. These coffees had a notable chocolaty taste, and hence the term "mocha" was extended to mean intentional addition of chocolate to coffee. The caffeine content is 10.9 mg/oz which is 175 mg for a 16 oz glass. CAFE AU LAIT  At home, café au lait can be prepared from dark coffee and heated milk; in cafés, it has been prepared on espresso machines from espresso and steamed milk ever since these machines became available in the 1940s – thus it refers to the usual "coffee + milk" combination, depending on the location, not to a specific drink. "Café au lait" and "caffè latte" are used as contrasting terms, to indicate whether the beverage is served in the "French" or the "Italian" way – the former being in a white porcelain cup or bowl, the latter in a kitchen glass, and always served from the espresso machine. In many American Coffeehouses, a "café au lait" is a drink of strong drip brewed or French pressed coffee, to which steamed milk is added; this contrasts with a "caffè latte", which uses espresso as a base. American café au lait is generally served in a cup, as with brewed coffee, being served in a bowl only at shops which wish to emphasize French tradition. | CAFE AMERICANO  Caffè Americano, or Americano (Italian: American coffee) is a style of coffee prepared by adding hot water to espresso, giving a similar strength but different flavor from regular drip coffee. The strength of an Americano varies with the number of shots of espresso and the amount of water added. In the United States, "Americano" is used broadly to mean combining hot water and espresso in either order, but in a narrower definition it refers to adding water to espresso (espresso on the bottom), while adding espresso to water (espresso on the top) is instead referred to as a long black. The name is also spelled with varying capitalization and use of diacritics: e.g. Café Américano – a hyperforeignism using the French word for coffee and the Italian word for American, plus an additional incorrect accent, café Americano, cafe americano, etc.  Caffè macchiato (Italian pronunciation: [kafˈfɛ mmakˈkjaːto]), sometimes called espresso macchiato, is a coffee drink, made out of espresso with a small amount of milk. "Macchiato" simply means "marked" or "stained," and in the case of caffè macchiato, this means literally "espresso stained/marked with milk." Traditionally it is made with one shot of espresso, and the small amount of added milk was the "stain." However, later the "mark" or "stain" came to refer to the foamed milk that was put on top to indicate the beverage has a little milk in it (usually about a teaspoon [in fact, the Portuguese word for a macchiato is "pingo," which means "drop"]). The reason this coffee drink got its name was that the baristas needed to show the serving waiters the difference between an espresso and an espresso with a tiny bit of milk in it; the latter wasmarked. In the United States, "macchiato" is more likely to describe this variant (in contrast to latte macchiato), and thus arises the common confusion that "macchiato" literally means "foam," or that a macchiato must necessarily have foam. (As the term "macchiato" to describe this type of coffee predates the common usage of foam in coffee by centuries, the staining "agent," the additive that lightens the dark espresso, is traditionally the milk, not the foam.) RISTRETTO  Ristretto (also called a "corto") is a very "short" shot of espresso coffee. Originally this meant pulling a hand press (shown at right) faster than usual using the same amount of water as a regular shot of espresso. Since the water came in contact with the grinds for a much shorter time the caffeine is extracted in reduced ratio to the flavorful coffee oils. The resultant shot could be described as bolder, fuller, with more body and less bitterness. All of these flavors are usually attributed to espresso in general, but are more pronounced in ristretto. Because of this exaggerated flavor, ristretto is often preferred by espresso coffee lovers. Today, with the hand press out of favor and modern automated machines generally less controllable, ristretto usually just means less water; a double espresso shot is typically around 60 ml (2 fl oz), while a double ristretto is typically 45 ml (1–1.5 fl oz). One modern method of "pulling" a ristretto shot is to grind the coffee finer than that used for normal espresso, and pull the shot for the same amount of time as a normal shot. The smaller spaces between the particles of finer-ground coffee allow less water to pass through, resulting in a shorter shot. However, this can also lead to a gritty taste, if the coffee is ground fine enough that the insoluble components can pass through thefilter-basket. This is often a problem in poorer grinders, where the grind is not as even. Another modern method for pulling a ristretto is to simply stop the extraction early, so less water has time to pass through the ground coffee. This produces a slightly different taste than the fine-grinding, equal-time method, and is often preferred in fast-paced cafes because it does not require the barista to change the settings on the coffee grinder. A third modern method, that serves as a compromise between the previous two, is to prepare the shot without adjusting the grind but to use the tamp more firmly. The firmer tamp will compact the grinds in the filter basket allowing for a shot time comparable to a regular espresso. This method has the added benefit that adjusting the coffee grinder is not necessary while keeping much of the body and flavor of the fine-grinding, equal-time method. As the amount of water is increased or decreased relative to a normal shot, the composition of the shot changes, because not all components of coffee dissolve at the same rate. For this reason, an excessively long or short shot will not contain the same ratio of components that a normal shot contains. Therefore, a ristretto is not simply twice as "strong" as a regular shot, nor is a lungo simply twice as weak. CAFE BREVE  Caffè breve (caf-ay brev-ay) is an American variation[1] of a latte: a milk-based espresso drink using steamed half-and-half (a 50:50 mixture of milk and cream) instead of milk. The use of half-and-half increases the foam in the drink as well. LUNGO  Lungo is Italian for 'long', and refers to the coffee beverage made by using an espresso machine to make an espresso (single or double dose or shot) with much more water (generally twice as much), resulting in a stretched espresso, a lungo. A normal espresso takes from 18 up to 30 seconds to pull, and fills 25 to 30 millilitres, while a lungo may take up to a minute to pull, and might fill 50 to 60 millilitres. In French it is called café allongé. | ESPRESSO CON PANNA  Espresso con panna, which means "espresso with cream" in Italian, is a single or double shot of espresso topped with whipped cream. In the US it may also be called café Vienne and in the UK café Viennois. In Vienna the term Wiener Melange properly refers to a different drink, made with foamed milk rather than whipped cream. An espresso con panna is properly called a Franziskaner, but ordering a Wiener Melange will often yield the arrival this drink even in Vienna. In France café Viennois refers to both an espresso con panna and a Wiener Melange. Historically served in a demitasse cup, it is perhaps a more old fashioned drink than a latte or cappuccino, though still very popular, whichever name it receives, at Coffeehouses in Budapest and Vienna. CAFE CREME  1.5 ounces of espresso combined with one ounce of heavy cream.  The beverage is extremely common in Spain and in many Latin American countries and communities around the world. In the Cuban bastions of Tampa and Miami (Florida, US), for example, café con leche is a local breakfast staple. CORRETTO  Espresso with a dash of an alcoholic beverage, usually grappa or brandy. "Corretto" is also the common Italian word for "spiked (with liquor)". CAFFE ROMANO  Regular espresso with a twist of lemon or lemon peel. |
