Caffè Americano or simply Americano (the name is also spelled with varying capitalization and use of diacritics: e.g. Café Americano, Cafe Americano, etc.) is a style of coffee prepared by adding hot water to espresso, giving a similar strength to but different flavor from regular drip coffee.  The Americano was supposedly invented by European baristas for American G.I.’s during World War II to replicate Americans’ preferred drip-style coffee. It’s popular on its own after dinner in Italy, but in the U.S., many consume it with milk and/or sugar throughout the day.

Caffè Americano or simply Americano (the name is also spelled with varying capitalization and use of diacritics: e.g. Café Americano, Cafe Americano, etc.) is a style of coffee prepared by adding hot water to espresso, giving a similar strength to but different flavor from regular drip coffee.  The Americano was supposedly invented by European baristas for American G.I.’s during World War II to replicate Americans’ preferred drip-style coffee. It’s popular on its own after dinner in Italy, but in the U.S., many consume it with milk and/or sugar throughout the day.

Café bombón was made popular in Valencia, Spain, and spread gradually to the rest of the country. It might have been re-created and modified to suit European tastebuds as in many parts of Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore the same recipe for coffee which is called “Kopi Susu Panas” (Malaysia) or “Gafeh Rorn” (Thailand) has already been around for decades and is very popular in “mamak” stalls and “kopitiams” in Malaysia. A café bombón, however uses espresso served with sweetened condensed milk in a 1:1 ratio whereas the Asian version uses ground coffee and sweetened condensed milk at the same ratio. For café bombón, the condensed milk is added to the espresso. For visual effect, a glass is used, and the condensed milk is added slowly to sink underneath the coffee and create two separate bands of contrasting colour – though these layers are customarily stirred together before consumption. Some establishments merely serve an espresso with a sachet of condensed milk for patrons to make themselves.

Miel is French for “honey”. This sweet and flavorful drink, known as Cafe con Miel to the Spaniards and Café Miel to the French, is the perfect indulgence often served as a mid-afternoon pick me up but makes a wonderful, light dessert after dinner. There are two distict flavors from which to choose. In Spain, the Cafe con Miel (Spanish for “coffee with honey”) combines esspresso, milk, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. The French version (café miel) has a shot of espresso, steamed milk, cinnamon, and honey. Either way this drink is low on fuss and big on taste and presentation.

Cappuccino is a coffee-based drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed milk foam. A cappuccino differs from a caffè latte in that it is prepared with much less steamed or textured milk than the caffè latte with the total of espresso and milk/foam making up between approximately 5 to 6 fluid ounces. A cappuccino usually exceeds the height of the cup, making the foam visible above the side of the cup. A cappuccino is traditionally served in a porcelain cup, which has far better heat retention characteristics than glass or paper. The foam on top of the cappuccino acts as an insulator and helps retain the heat of the liquid, allowing it to stay hotter longer.

Espresso is brewed by using an espresso machine to force a small amount of nearly boiling water and steam – about 187 to 203 °F – under pressure through finely ground and compacted coffee. The espresso machine was patented in 1901 from an earlier 1884 machine, and developed in Italy; with the invention of the Gaggia machine, espresso spread in popularity to the UK in the 1950s where it was more often drunk with milk as cappuccino due to the influence of the British milk bars, then America in the 1980s where again it was mainly drunk with milk, and then via coffeehouse chains it spread worldwide. Espresso is generally denser than coffee brewed by other methods, having a higher concentration of suspended and dissolved solids; it generally has a creamy foam on top termed “crema”. Espresso is the base for a number of other coffee drinks, such as latte, cappuccino, macchiato, mocha, and Americano.

Frappé coffee is generally a foam-covered iced coffee drink made from blending ice with powdered coffee and a large range of other ingredients tailored to the taste for a refreshing cold drink. Accidentally invented in 1957 in the city of Thessaloniki, it is now the most popular coffee among Greek youth and foreign tourists. It is very popular in Greece and Cyprus, especially during the summer, but has now spread to other countries. The word frappé is French and comes from the verb frapper which means to ‘hit’; in this context, however, in French, when describing a drink, the word frappé means chilled, as with ice cubes in a shaker. The frappé has become a hallmark of the post-war outdoor Greek coffee culture.

Flat white is an espresso with a similar proportion of coffee to milk as a latte and a cappuccino, the main difference being the texture of the milk and (in some regions) the number of espresso shots.

The drink originated in New Zealand in the late 1970s as an alternative to the frothier cappuccino. It has since spread to the UK, where it was first served at independent cafes in London such as Department of Coffee and Social Affairs and Speak Easy where owners and staff from New Zealand brought the style of coffee into the UK but it is rarely found in continental Europe. In New Zealand it is traditionally made with two shots of espresso topped with stretched and textured milk. The milk is prepared by steaming air into the milk and folding the top layer into the lower layers. To achieve the “flat”, non-frothy texture the steamed milk is poured from the bottom of the jug, holding back the lighter froth on the top in order to access milk with smaller bubbles, making the drink smooth and velvety in texture. This leads to a white coffee with the crema on top still intact. 

A latte is an espresso and steamed milk, generally in a 1:3 to 1:5 ratio of espresso to milk, with a little foam on top. In Italy it is called caffè latte or caffellatte, which means “milk coffee”. In northern Europe and Scandinavia the term ‘café au lait’ has traditionally been used for the combination of espresso and milk, but this term is used in the US for brewed coffee and scalded milk. InFrance, ‘caffè latte’ is mostly known from American coffee chains; a combination of espresso and steamed milk equivalent to a ‘latte’ is in French called ‘grand crème’ and in German ‘Milchkaffee’ or ‘Melange’. In Portuguese it is called galão.

Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as masala chai (spiced Indian tea), mate or matcha, and other types of milk, such as soy milk or almond milk are also used.

Numerous houses use the term chai latte to indicate that the steamed milk of a normal cafè latte is being flavoured with a spiced tea concentrate instead of with espresso. Espresso shots are added for a “Dirty Chai Latte”.

Like a latte this comforting drink is espresso and steamed milk, sweetened with lavender, honey and served with a pinch of dried lavender on the foam on topping.

The macchiato itself is a cornerstone of Italian coffee culture as an espresso with a small amount of foamed milk on top — the name macchiato means “marked.” Since Italians only drink cappuccino in the morning, a macchiato gives the afternoon drinker the option of having a little milk in their espresso for some extra flavor. It’s also a good option for those who can’t tolerate a strong espresso but find a cappuccino too weak and milky.
The caramel macchiato is for those who desire an espresso softened with steamed milk and sweetened with the extra flavorings of vanilla syrup, and caramel sauce.

A 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 a chocolate syrup, although other vending systems use instant chocolate powder. Mochas can contain dark or milk chocolate.

The term moccaccino is used in some regions of Europe and the Middle East to describe caffè latte with cocoa or chocolate. In the U.S. it usually refers to a cappuccino made with chocolate. A “cafe borgia” is a mocha with orange rind and sometimes orange flavoring added. Often served with whipped cream and topped with cinnamon.

Cold brew, or cold press, is coffee grounds steeped in water at cold or room temperature for an extended period. It is sometimes referred to as “Toddy coffee” which is a trademarked cold-brewing system. Coarse-ground beans are soaked in water for a prolonged period of time, usually 12 hours or more. The water is normally kept at room temperature, but chilled water is also used. The grounds are filtered out of the water after they have been steeped using a paper coffee filter, a fine metal sieve, a French press or felt, in the case of the Toddy system. The result is a coffee concentrate that is often diluted with water or milk, and is served hot, over ice, or blended with ice and other ingredients such as chocolate. Cold-brewed coffee naturally seems sweeter due to its lower acidity. It is around 65 to 70 percent less acidic than hot drip coffee or espresso. Because the coffee beans in cold-brewed coffee never come into contact with heated water, the process of leaching flavor from the beans produces a chemical profile different from conventional brewing methods.