Dedicated to all coffee drinkers!! The espresso was then invented in Venice, Italy back in the early 20th century. The drink was created by businessmen Luigi Bezzerra who was experimenting with coffee to see how he could make his brew faster. In the first decades, the machines were manual. The epressos where made by physically pulling the lever to allow the pressurized water through the ground coffee. Later the water would become steam, thanks to invention of Francesco Illy in 1933, but the operational method remained similar.
Of course you would ask me what did Italians drink before they had espressos? The answer is simple, it was Turkish coffee!!!! In Italy’s original coffee house’s coffee was usually brewed Turkish style- boiled with spices and sugar in a heated pot. Each cup of Turkish coffee took around five minutes to prepare not counting the time it took to cool down enough for customers to enjoy it.
You can also ask me why do Europeans drink espressos with a glass of water? The answer is simple !This tradition has its origins in the ancient Italian coffee roasters, in which water was served to customers before they tasted the coffee. The roasters, in fact, wanted customers to appreciate all the aromatic nuances of coffee without having the taste of other foods previously eaten.
Now, let’s talk about all the differences between all the espresso drinks: espresso, double espresso, espresso macchiato, lungo, ristretto, Glace, espresso Romano, Café Brave and many others.
First of all, all the espresso drinks are based on an espresso shot and foamed milk (and the flavors, depends on what flavor do you want to add to it – is it a caramel,or lavender, or vanilla, or hazelnut or many others) basically all the espresso drinks are based on a single shot of espresso or a double shot of espresso and the different amount of foamed milk. There is no super secrrect or magic!
The secret is in that how the coffee beans are grinded! So basically the grinder machine has to produce the ground coffee to be perfect match for the espresso machine, when this chemistry works – you got the best coffee! How do coffee grinders work? There are two basic types of coffee grinders: burr and blade. Burr grinders crash beans through force and blade grinders cut them with sharp blades. While both can lead to a delicious cup of coffee, Burr grinders are often preferred for their ability to create exceptionally uniform grounds.
Why Americano and is there an Americano drink in Italy? Americano is the drink that includes a shot of espresso (30 mL) and the rest is hot water – for a regular coffee cup, if you want a large cup of Americano it will be two shots of espresso and more hot water. There are very few Italians who would drink an Americano, if they see you drinking one, most likely, they will ask you how you can drink that “dirty water” as the Italian nickname suggests, it’s a shot of espresso with the hot water. So no americanos in Italy, apperently!!!
OK, so now espresso, lungo and ristretto! When espresso is 30 mL of coffee then Ristretto is the shorter way of espresso, it’s like a very strong drink,when espresso is 30 mL so ristretto is 15 mL of coffee, and basically in ristretto you will get only efir oils not the coffeine. And lungo is a longer version of espresso, it is 50 mL of the drink and there’s more of coffeine than efir oils.
Espresso, lungo and ristretto are not different types of coffee. Lungo and ristretto are types of espresso that you can make an espresso machine. Lungo coffee uses more water and a longer extraction time. This gives a less punchy drink that’s double the size of your espresso. Café Lungo has about 90-130 mg of caffeine in a cup and an espresso has 70-120 mg in a cup. A café lungo has more caffeine because more time is taking forcing hot water through the beans. In comparison, an espresso has less caffeine because the extraction time is shorter.
Espresso shot
Single espresso, single shot or just an espresso is served in the small espresso cup. The volume is usually around 20-30 mL or it’s 21 g, it’s a very intense, strong in flavor, concentrated beverage with a rich taste and smooth structure. It has fluffy foam so before you drink it it’s good to stir it so all the layers mix before you taste it.
Americano
As we have talked before the humble Americano is basically a diluted espresso and is intended for those who prefer a less intense coffee. You can expect it to be served in a cappuccino cup. The barista first adds a shot of espresso 30 mL of coffee and then add 100 to 120 ml of hot water.
Cappuccino
Cappuccino is probably the most popular drink in the world. It consists of a single shot of espresso and foamed milk. The ratio between these two varies from coffeehouse to coffeehouse and depends on the cups of their choice. Usually cups are around 150 to 200 mL which creates a nice balance between coffee and milk.
Wet cappuccino
As you know all cappuccinos have a shot of espresso and a nice layer of foamed milk. While wet cappuccino has more steamed milk and less foam while a dry cappuccino has less milk and more foam.
Flat white
The flat white is a very popular espresso milk drink which originates from Australia and New Zealand. It mixes a double shot of espresso with foamed milk in a cup designed for a cappuccino or sometimes an even smaller one. Flat white gives you a bigger kick from the double espresso and also gives you more flavor.
Espresso macchiato
If you want to taste more coffee your option is an espresso macchiato, it’s served in a small espresso cup where you mix a single shot of espresso with just a little bit of foam milk, the ratio is usually between 1:1 and 1:2.
Cortado
Cordano is basically when you want to get a drink smaller than cappuccino but bigger than espresso macchiato. Cortado sometimes also referred to as Piccolo is a small milky espresso drink often served in the glass cup.It mixes a single shot of espresso with foamed milk in at 100 to 120 mL mug.
Latte macchiato
If you want to drink more milk and last coffee then your option is Caffe latte macchiato. It’s served in a relatively big mugs (around 300 mL) and it mixes a single shot of espresso with foamed milk. But you can also change the amount of espresso shots and the amount of the foamed milk to the size of the mug you have, it can be a stronger flavor or it can be a less flavor of the coffee, depends of the mug’s size.
Café Glace
Café Glace is a drink based on two shots of espresso and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.It can be served in a small clear glass latte cup.
Espresso Romano
It’s a drink based on a shot of espresso with a fresh cut lemon slice. It can be served in a small espresso cup.
Café Brave
Café Brave is a drink based on one shot of espresso with the steamed half-and-half, it can be served in a small cappuccino cup.
Vienna coffee
Vienna coffee is a drink based on a single shot of espresso topped with whipped cream, it can be served in a small espresso cup.
