In my first few years in the hospitality industry one of my duties has been to make high quality espresso and coffee beverages for my guests. I’ve had to learn how to make a whole host of drinks and at this point I’ve seen them all. I get asked often to explain the difference between espresso beverages; or what's the difference between the types of tea. Today’s guide is about what the basic types of espresso, coffee, and tea are; how to order them at a restaurant; and help you find what you are looking for (or introduce you to something you haven’t had before).
Coffee
Coffee - Water passed through ground coffee beans.
Drip - Regular coffee made from the coffee makers, hot water is dripped onto the grounds and passed through a filter
French Press - Grounds are placed into a tall cup and covered with hot water and left to brew for a few minutes. A mesh filter is pushed down to separate grounds from coffee. Unable to remove fine sediment so it is “murkier” (read: coffee-ier).
Pour Over - Coffee is poured by hand onto the grounds. The speed, temperature, time, and ratio is much more controlled.
Espresso
Espresso - Very concentrated coffee created by forcing water through compacted grounds *very bitter*
Double Espresso - Above x2
Espresso Romano - All this means is you want a slice of lemon with your espresso
Ristretto - Only the first part of the shot is used (it is much more concentrated)
Americano - Espresso with hot water (very coffee-esque)
Macchiato - Espresso with a small scoop of very fluffy milk foam on top
Cappuccino - Espresso with steamed milk and very fluffy milk foam
Latte - Espresso with steamed milk topped with FINE milk foam
Flat white - Espresso with steamed milk
Mocha - Flat white with chocolate syrup
Affogato - Espresso poured over top of ice cream (one of my personal favorites)
All of these can be ordered decaffeinated (if the establishment has the ability to do so). And all of these can be done without dairy.
Tea
All of these four teas come from the same plant but have different processing to make them unique.
Black Tea - Fully oxidized tea leaves (aged in open air to darken and concentrate flavor). Strong.
English Breakfast - Extra strong blend of black teas. Good amount of caffeine.
Earl Grey - Bergamot and citrus is added.
Chai - Black tea as a base with various spices added
Oolong Tea - Partially oxidized. Versatile and balanced.
Green Tea - Not oxidized. Mild and earthy.
Jasmine - Usually green tea as the base but also uses Jasmine flowers.
White Tea - Picked early in the season and not oxidized. Rare and delicate.
When ordering a tea you can ask for it dirty, which means to add a shot of espresso. You can also ask for it as a latte which means the tea is steeped in steamed milk. Common add-ins include milk, sugar, lemon, and honey.
Herbal Tea - any type of tea that does not have any true tea leaves. Common add-ins include lemon and honey (very unusual to add milk to chamomile).
Chamomile - Type of wild flower. Light, floral and delicate. Usually makes the drinker tired and relaxed.
Mint - Helps sooth the stomach after eating a lot of food
This is by no means a complete list. But it should help make ordering coffee, espresso and tea easier to order next time you are out for a meal. I plan to expand this list in the future. I hope to have a quick guide like this for other after-dinner drinks, more teas, spirits, wines, and beer.
Comments