Introduction To Coffee Drinking
When you enter a coffee house, you have
a multitude of drink choices like latt?,
cappuccino, straight shot and caff?
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?
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.”
Caff? Americano The Caff? 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.
Caff? Latt? Caff? Latt? is similar to
the cappuccino but with much less foam
and more steamed milk. A latt? is made
by holding back the foam with a spoon
while pouring the frothed milk from the
steaming pitcher. The caff? latt? is
completed by being topped with a small
amount of the held back foam.
Caff? latt? gets its name from the
addition of coffee to milk. For an iced
latt?, cold milk is combined with the
espresso and then the ice is added.
Caff? Mocha A caff? 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 latt?.
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.
Information on freezing corn can be
found at the Fruits And Vegetables site.
Article Directory: Article Dashboard
When you enter a coffee house, you have a multitude of drink
choices like latt?, cappuccino, straight shot and caff?
mocha just to name a few.
Technorati Tags : coffee espresso straight drink