Contents
This a continuation of our fascinating trip to the world of different coffee concoctions. We keep diving into the best types of coffee you need to try.
If you missed the beginning – go to part 1. The last part of our guide to coffee drinks is here.
11. ESPRESSO ROMANO
Interestingly, this coffee type is just a regular espresso with lemon juice or zest. We’re not 100% sure if it can be considered as an Italian coffee recipe… Several of our friends from Italy were surveyed. But, frankly, they have never heard about it. Nevertheless coffee with lemon juice is highly popular across the globe, especially in the US. It is also proven that coffee with citrus taste has a positive effect on your nervous system.
The preparation of espresso romano is rather simple and quick. Brew 1-2 shots of espresso and serve with a lemon twist. Some baristas squeeze a bit of lemon juice into the serving cup (demitasse is preferable) or just rub the lemon around the rim of the cup. Citrus aspect brightens the espresso’s sweetness so that sugar is not required.
Nothing to say more about romano coffee – try it and share your impression.
12. ESPRESSO MACCHIATO
That’s also an espresso-based drink. But please don’t confuse espresso macchiato and latte macchiato – it’s totally different when it comes to taste and ingredients ratio!
In Italian “macchiato” means “marked”. So, basically, espresso macchiato is an espresso marked with a dollop of foamed milk. But in the case of latte macchiato, it’s vice versa: steamed milk is marked with espresso.
Since you know how to make the traditional espresso and froth milk, you can easily prepare macchiato by yourself. You’ll need a shot of espresso (30 ml) and 15 ml of milk. Make the espresso shot in an espresso machine or stovetop espresso maker – doesn’t really matter. Pour the prepared espresso into the prewarmed serving cup. Than steam milk in a tall metal container until the milk has increased in volume and foam is appeared. The perfect temperature for steamed milk is 60C. Add milk to espresso and top it with a dollop of milky foam. Serve the drink immediately until it’s hot!
Ideal serving: 90 ml glass or demitasse cup.
13. CAFE CON LECHE
This exactly how Spaniards like to start the day! Actually, not only start, this coffee is an essential part of lunch, afternoon meal and even after dinner it’s a great drink to fuel a long night out.
Literally “cafe con leche” means “coffee with milk”. It’s quite simple but so delicious. But it’s not usual americano with milk or latte.
“Cafe” is a traditional espresso shot, “leche” is steamed (not frothy) milk which has its own distinct flavor. Details are important, so make sure that you use dark roast (French one, for example) and freshly ground coffee beans. Also, we recommend using 2% low-fat milk.
So, how it’s done:
- Firstly, brew 1 espresso shot (for example, you may use your stove-top espresso maker).
- Place 7-11 g of coffee to the bottom of your device, add filtered water (30-35 ml) and heat until the water boils up into the upper chamber and it fills up. When the top of espresso maker is full of coffee, it’s ready and you can turn off the stove.
- Meanwhile, steam the milk or heat it up: put the same portion of milk into the pan and use stove, you can even use your microwave. Wait until boiling point, simmer for a few minutes and turn if off (the first larger bubble breaking on the surface), then reduce heat to barely simmering. Simmer gently for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until coffee is done.
- Pour the coffee into the cup and add steamed milk. Add sugar (optional) and serve with small cookies.
14. CORTADO
Coffee cortado is an unusually tasty and delicate drink made from coffee and milk. This coffee concoction is highly popular in its homeland – in Latin America and Spain. Some people say that it was invented in one of the coffee shops in Madrid, but, frankly, we don’t know for sure.
In Spanish word “cortado” means “to cut”, which in our case means the milk helps to ‘cut’ the acidity of the espresso.
However, do not be surprised if, for example, in Cuba, a waiter does not understand your request to bring cortado coffee, because in fact Cuban name of cortado coffee is “cortadito”; in Portugal it is called “garoto”, in France it is known as “cafe noisette”.
Since cortado is one of the varieties of coffee with milk there is the question of how does it differ from espresso macchiato or gallon or latte. Let’s figure it out!
Cortado is prepared from evaporated milk and espresso in a ratio of 1:1, unlike macchiato, which requires whipped in lush foam milk and espresso. In a latte, the milk content is several times bigger than the amount of coffee. Gallon, perhaps, is the closest relative of a cortado, but for its preparation you need espresso and milk in ratio 1:3. Hopefully, it was helpful!
Cortado itself is made from 2 oz espresso, 1-2 oz evaporated milk and not more than 1 tsp sugar (optional, but this is the classic recipe). For serving you’ll need a well-heated glass with a capacity of 150-200 ml.
Pour ready-made espresso into serving glass and dissolve sugar there. With the help of milk frother and pitcher whip the evaporated milk and put it gently with a spoon on top of the espresso. Don’t mix the layers.
By the way, you can prepare evaporated milk by yourself:
- Mix fresh milk and sour cream in a 5:1 ratio.
- Pour the mixture into the ovenware or clay pot and put it in an oven with a temperature of 80°C for 1-2 hours.
- When it’s ready, carefully wrap it with a towel and put it in a warm place for several hours. That’s it! After cooling down and whipping you can add it to coffee.
A real cortado must have a rich, delicate taste with a sweet aftertaste, replaced by coffee bitterness. Layers should have a smooth transition from a beautiful creamy-milk color to a rich black coffee color.
15. CORTADITO
Cortadito is a Cuban brother of cortado. Actually, this is a kind of mix of cortado and cafe Cubano.
So, first of all, you should brew cafe Cubano (check the recipe in par. 9 of our guide) and add warm evaporated milk to coffee in a 1:1 ratio. Then try to experiment with coffee and sugar ratio, so that you can get a nice strong drink which is sweet and not bitter!
16. PICCOLO LATTE
That’s a kind of miniature latte. Word “piccolo” is “small” from Italian. This drink has grown in popularity over the last 10 years and originated from Sydney, Australia. Piccolo latte was invented specifically for those people who tried to reduce their milk intake and therefore wanted coffee with less milk comparing to their regular flat white or latte.
Also, there was a legend, which said that the piccolo recipe was developed by the baristas and coffee beans roster, who wanted to check how harmoniously the taste of strong espresso could be combined with the tenderness of usual milk.
So, piccolo latte has a very strong but softened espresso taste due to the steamed milk and foam in it. It is usually served in a glass cup (90 ml), preferably not demitasse since this is a kind of latte drink. For the preparation you need to brew 20 ml of ristretto and steam 60 ml of milk. Pour the coffee into the cup and add milk, spread the foam on top and it’s coffee break, buddy.
17. CAPPUCCINO
We think that there is no such person in the world who has never tried cappuccino. The word “cappuccino”, as well as drink, originated from Italy and refers to friars (yes, not to coffee), namely Capuchin friars, because of the similar color of cappuccino drink and Capuchin’s apparel – the robe. That’s a coffee drink based on espresso, milk and a beautiful milk froth on top. Italians drink cappuccino mainly for breakfast.
The most essential component of cappuccino is the correctly foamed milk, which is poured to the espresso. To make the foam perfect, the temperature of the milk we take for whipping should be +4°C. It is better to use pasteurized milk with 2.5-3.5% fat content.
Cappuccino consists of 1/3 of espresso, 1/3 of hot milk and 1/3 of milk foam. The standard portion of cappuccino is five to seven ounces or 150-180 ml. Usually, it’s served in pre-warmed cappuccino cups with thick walls and rounded edges which allow keeping the heat well.
How to make cappuccino?
- Pour 4 ounces of cold milk in the pitcher. Foam the milk with steaming wand or cappuccinatore until it doubles in volume. But do not let the milk to start boiling.
- Pull a double shot of espresso into a serving cup.
- Pour the milk into the coffee. Direct the stream of milk to the center of the cup. If the milk is foamed correctly, it will settle out of the foam and separate layers of foam, milk, and espresso will be created. The foam should have a thick, homogeneous, velvety consistency. This milk foam on top helps to keep the drink hot longer.
To check if cappuccino is prepared correctly, you can put a spoonful of sugar on top of the foam in a cup: if the foam is frothed well, the sugar will stay on the surface.
Actually, there is no need to add sugar in well-made cappuccino, as it’s self-sufficient and tasty enough without sugar due to the natural sweetness of milk (which it acquires during the heating process at 60-65°C).
In Italy, cappuccino is usually served with a cookie or cornetto. Sometimes baristas like to do latte art on it.
18. FLAT WHITE
“Flat White” is a variation of coffee with milk. This drink appeared only in the 80s of the 20th century, but it quickly gained popularity and driven out even latte and cappuccino of the menu of coffee shops and best restaurants.
The kind of coffee was developed by barista and co-owner of the DKD coffee shop in Auckland – Derek Townsend (actually there are still disputes between Australia and New Zealand about the origin of flat white, but that’s not so important at the moment). Following New Zealand and Australia, flat white conquered Britain, U.S. and then all other countries with high coffee culture.
For the first time, flat white was an innovative drink, which could be found only in the hipster coffee houses. These days it is a modern mainstream that has even penetrated such famous coffee shops networks as “Starbucks”, “Costa Coffee” and “Pret a Manger”, where it is usually served in a small cup.
Flat white is one of the favorite drinks of professional coffee baristas, as it allows you to reveal the real taste of high-quality roasted coffee beans in a milk drink. For the preparation of flat white they usually use the best sorts of coffee with medium roast to exclude bitterness and heavy viscosity of burnt coffee.
The standard recipe of a flat white is: 60 ml of espresso and 120 ml of steamed milk.
Pour espresso to the serving cup. Meanwhile, froth the milk. Here pay attention to the foam. The best foam is obtained without boiling milk, at a temperature of 60-70C. In this case, the barista’s task is not to allow large bubbles to appear and to achieve smooth and velvety foam. Such foam structure provides it with a flat surface, which justifies the name of the drink “flat white” and differentiates the drink from cappuccino and latte. Add frothed milk to espresso and make sure that the drink is topped with the foam not more than 5 mm. Latte art can be applied optionally, but baristas like to practice drawing interesting patterns on a neat flat foam of flat white, creating different coffee styles.
Flat white is served in a medium-sized ceramic cup (220-250 ml) with thick walls. A special cup for flat white is usually low and wide, which gives baristas a large foam surface for experimenting with latte art.
Frankly, for us, it’s the best coffee in the world! Hope you’ll like it too!
19. CAFE AU LAIT
If you want to feel the real taste of Paris, Cafe Au Lait is exactly what you need! And yes, you’re right, that’s kind of French coffee with milk.
Cafe Au Lait is an excellent option for breakfast. A lot of French people drink it with fresh croissants, dipping it into the large cup of coffee. French coffee with milk is known for its strong coffee taste and soft aftertaste.
It’s easy to prepare, but the technique is a bit complicated. But you don’t need to go to France to try it. We’ll teach you how to make it!
The main ingredients are: coffee beans (French roast is preferable), steamed milk.
Proportions: equal amount of coffee and milk.
Preparation: brew strong coffee using your coffee machine, at the same time, heat up an equal amount of milk (don’t let it boil!) and make sure that there is almost no foam – only small bubbles on top. You can use steam cappuccinatore for it – it’ll not allow you to boil the milk and burn it. Use whole milk to get an original, rich taste of the coffee. Mix them up: better to pour both milk and coffee to the serving cup at the same time, but if for some reason you’re not able to do it – just add milk to the cup of coffee; stir it and serve hot.
French people serve it in a small cup, but it’s up to you to decide your size and volume of your Cafe Au Lait!
20. BREVE
Breve is a creamy American version of a latte. Its fans appreciate the softness, aroma and lasting creamy aftertaste of their favorite drink.
Basically, breve is a strong espresso mixed with steamed half-and-half. With the observance of proper proportions – 50/25/25 – we get a soft, not strong creamy coffee. Unlike latte, the volume of one breve portion is not so big – 120 ml. In Italian “breve” means “short”.
So, for a standard portion of breve you need: 2 shots of espresso (60 ml), 30 ml of whole milk and 30 ml of cream.
First of all, steam and froth half-and-half, so that it gets good foam, but please make sure you haven’t burned it (that’ll spoil the real taste of breve). Meanwhile, pull espresso in a serving cup. Gently pour steamed half-and-half to the espresso and spoon the foam on top. And here is your breve coffee!
Breve should be served in ceramic cups with thick walls. Ideally, the cup should be preheated – it will help to fully reveal the taste of the coffee. No need to add sugar, as breve has a decadently rich taste and sweet enough on its own due to milk and cream.
This is an ideal drink for the evening with your friends.
21. RED EYE
Red eye is coffee, which is highly appreciated by strong drinks (coffee drinks, of course!) lovers. It is prepared by adding one shot of espresso into the cup of filtered coffee. Originally it comes from the United States, but it quickly gained incredible popularity among North Americans.
The name of the coffee is associated with the fact that the drink itself contains an extremely high dose of caffeine, sufficient to key up even a very tired person (with red eyes after a sleepless night or with jetlag). Red eye is also called a “train wreck” or “shot in the dark”.
For the preparation of red eye only high-quality coffee beans of dark roasts and fine grind should be used. Make a regular drip coffee and add one shot of espresso, stir it and serve. Traditional red eye recipe doesn’t include sugar, but you can add it to your taste. One portion of red eye should not exceed 150 ml and daily intake should not be more than two cups as it contents a lot of caffeine, which is not so good for those who have problems with the cardiovascular system.
So, if you need to wake up after a big night out – that’s your choice!
22. BLACK EYE
Black eye coffee drink is the elder brother of red eye and another strong coffee with an extreme dose of caffeine. It is a combination of drip coffee and a double shot of espresso.
The name of this drink goes from the color of coffee after adding a double shot espresso (it’s almost black, really!). Some people say it’s because of the color of dark circles under the eyes of people who need and order this drink (ha-ha).
So, as you may understand, the preparation of black eye is the same as red eye, but with 2 espresso shots.
Be careful of a high dose of caffeine!
23. DEAD EYE
Explanations are not required, we guess! That’s the father of two previous drinks – red eye and black eye. Dead eye coffee is the strongest coffee type! It contains a cup of brewed coffee and triple espresso! The name of this drink speaks for itself – it is for those who almost dead and needs a full charge.
Drink it in only in urgent cases. Remember, 4 shots of espresso together with drip coffee can stop your heart!
24. LAZY EYE
If you want to reduce your caffeine intake, but still want to feel the strong coffee taste – order lazy eye coffee! This is a decaffeinated drip coffee with a shot of espresso. We’re not sure that it is ordered too often because you either want caffeine or you don’t. But anyway such drink exists, so there is a demand.
Frankly, we couldn’t find the history of “lazy eye” name creation, so if you know, please share with us!
Well, it worth mentioning that not every coffee beverage from our list will appeal to every palate, but each recipe gives us a look at different cultures and traditions.
That brings us to the end of part 2. Want more? Check part 1 and part 3!
Meanwhile, tell us which above mentioned coffee drink you have already tried and how you liked it. Waiting for you in the comments!
