By: Matthew Hick
Your choices of coffee drinks at a coffee shop are almost endless. Your only limits are your own likes and dislikes. Each coffee shop will have a variety of coffees and blends to choose from, not to mention the specialty coffee drinks.
To start your order selection, you must decide upon your coffee drink size. Your friendly barista (a person who serves coffee drinks as a profession) will ask if you prefer a short (8 oz), tall (12 oz), grande (16 oz) or venti (20 oz) sizes.
If you were ordering a regular (drip coffee), you might ask for milk and sugar. But with a coffee drink, you have the options of steamed milk, frothed milk (milk made thick and foamy by aerating it with hot steam), breve (half and half), panna (whipped cream) or wet (when a coffee drink contains more milk than usual).
Next you need to decide if you prefer a latte, mocha, or a cappuccino. A latte is an espresso shot with steamed milk. A cappuccino is equal parts of espresso, steamed milk, and frothed milk. A mocha is basically a latte or a cappuccino with chocolate syrup added.
The following lists just a few of the specialty coffee drinks available in a coffee shop. Of course the names and preparations could vary slightly from one coffee shop to another.
- Solo – Single shot of espresso coffee drink.
- Doppio – Double shot of espresso coffee drink.
- Double Dry Short – Double shot of espresso in short cup with no foam.
- Quad – Espresso drink with four shots of coffee.
- Split shot – Espresso shot with half the caffeine.
- Caffe Americano – Single shot of espresso with 6 to 8 ounces of hot water added.
- Caffe Cubano – A shot of espresso that has been heavily sweetened.
- Espresso Con Panna – An espresso shot with whipped cream.
- Ristretto – A restricted shot of espresso (called a short pull). During the brewing process, less water is allowed to pass through the coffee grounds. The makes an especially intense flavor.
- Lungo – An extra long pull. During the brewing process, twice as much water is allowed to pass through the coffee grounds.
- Dry – Espresso with small amount of foam and no steamed milk.
- Chairo – Espresso drink made “clear” by adding more milk.
- Caffe Medici – Doppio poured over chocolate syrup and orange peel, topped with whipped cream.
- Frappe – Coffee drink made with ice cream and milk.
- Shot in the Dark (aka Redeye) – An espresso shot in coffee cup, then rest of cup filled with drip coffee.
- Café Breva – Cappuccino made with Half & Half instead of whole milk.
- Café Mocha – Cappuccino with chocolate syrup added.
- Caffe Mochaccino – Cappuccino with chocolate syrup.
With all these choices it’s hard to pick just one! You can always try a demitasse. This is a French term meaning “half cup” or a small cup of coffee. You can keep trying until you find your favorite!
