Internet, I have a confession. I haven’t been completely honest with you about something and I think it’s time that I come clean. I talk to you here a few times each week about the food I’m cooking and eating. I share a lot of my kitchen with you: from the contents of my fridge to my inability to refuse anything that has the words “chocolate” and “chip” in the same sentence.
My confession is that I start every morning with a cup or seven of coffee. Though I rarely mention it here, one of the public relations clients that I work on is a very well-known coffee company (I’m not going to spell it out for you). Since I started my job a year ago, I’ve learned more about my go-to morning beverage than I could ever imagine.
I’ve learned about coffee farming practices and the different varietals of coffee beans. I know that Arabica beans are the highest quality available and finally know, once and for all, the difference between a latte and a cappuccino (the amount of foam). And here’s a good one: Espresso? Not a bean. Espresso is many things: a beverage, a roast, a blend, an ingredient – but when you’re drinking your afternoon latte, the espresso in it is from the same source as the coffee you brewed at home that morning.
When I was talking to my friend John last week, he mentioned that he didn’t know the difference between most of the coffee beverages at his local coffee shop. So I showed him this handy chart that I found (someone at work forwarded it on – but I can’t for the life of me remember why/when/from where).
Now, you’ll never again stare at the menu board in your favorite coffee shop wondering what exactly is an Americano?
Are you a coffee drinker? What’s your favorite basic coffee beverage?
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t drink coffee, but I love the smell of café au lait
I don’t drink coffee often, but when I do it’s usually of the sweetened and flavored variety!
i have had to give up coffee because of tummy problems, but i miss it so much. great post!
Caffe mocha! Or a latte.
Yes, this is how I start my morning too, or else I will not function well through out the day.
Cheers,
elra
I drink coffee, but didn’t realize the difference between the various drinks! Thanks for sharing!
And for some reason, I giggled when I saw the last “AMERICANO.” Espresso + Water.
My favorite basic coffee drink is hazelnut coffee brewed my keurig. My favorite “fancy” drink is an iced nonfat white mocha or caramel macchiato.
Mmmm… coffee. I knew I should have started my day at Starbucks!
I like to stick with a Skinny Vanilla Latte. That way I don’t feel so guilty about getting a pastry.
Thanks for this confession!! Every morning, I take my Lait Russe. This is coffee with a lot of warm milk, also known in Belgium as : Koffie Verkeerd!! I have to have my cup of morning coffee because herbal tea doesn’t do it for me in the morning!!!
I love coffee, but lately I’ve been hung up on tea lattes. SO good.
I must begin my days with this addiction as well. A cup of home french pressed with cream. It smells sooo good =)
Mmmm coffee. I have a favorite blend that I get from one of the local coffee houses. I quit drinking coffee every morning (I was drinking wayyyy too much) but every once in a while I do indulge.
I never drank coffee until I had a child and it became a necessity… throughout the day! At home I brew Starbucks Organic Serena and add Coffeemate vanilla caramel to it… I honestly like it better than going and getting my caramel latte at the store! Once 2pm hits, though, I switch to tea!
I wish I’d known of this chart when I did public relations for a well-known coffee company. Would have been a boon.
Love the chart! Though I could never commit all that to memory. My mom and husband are both die-hard coffee drinkers … as in, if we’re going out for breakfast, they have to have coffee first before leaving the house. Which is why they don’t understand why I don’t like coffee. For me, it’s not so much coffee as it is a hot drink thing. I love coffee ice cream and give me a Frappuccino any day (and bring back the Honey Frapps!), but no hot coffee for me.
I am a Peet’s gal, and I only drink decaf. Which is sort of funny
Many years ago, before I had kids, I worked for a high tech company in Silicon Valley, and it was all the rage to have these super crazy high-end Italian espresso machines in every break room. I would make myself a triple-shot cappuccino every morning. And then I started to notice that I would get all shaky a couple hours later and would become ravenous! So, I cut out the caffeine and only drink decaf now.
Since there is such good decaf available, it is not really a hardship. And, I am completely jealous of your job – PR for a coffee company, awesome!
That is so interesting. I am a major coffee drinker myself (and happen to drink your client’s coffee every single morning
). I actually had wondered if all the blends weren’t really the same thing with different names. Thanks for sharing!
Thorough caffeine addict here….deep and dark is how I like it, with a little soy milk, and on occasion, a latte. It is a must-have every day for me, and if I could I would drink it all day long
UMM I have coffee every day before leaving the house, 2 cups, then while Im out I ALWAYS buy a large coffee, cream only. It is my one true addiction and I admit it:)
That is such a handy chart! My confession now…I drink instant Nescafe….with whole milk…sometimes black. I know, I know, the shame. I just LOVE Nescafe! I also love that even though I buy it at my local WalMart, the packaging is all in Spanish. Do only Mexican people (besides myself) drink Nescafe? That is what I would believe. All English speaking people are apparently into paying too much for coffee.
make mine cappuccino, but hurry.. i have hungry guests and then horses to feed
gp
I’m a latte girl. But I recently bought a french press and I am learning how to make good coffee with it!
I gradually weaned myself off coffee (for vanity’s sake) but I do love coffee flavoured anything-I suppose that’s my way of getting a caffeine kick!
I love my coffee! Thanks for posting that last image of what’s in a drink – very interesting
i stopped drinking coffee about a year and a half ago and i still miss it sometimes. i usually drank it strong and dark.
interesting post. i guess this would be an american coffee chart. i was in italy last week, if you order a coffee (caffe) there you get an espresso. if you order an espresso in a coffee bar they will of course understand what you want, but they will just give you a caffe. my parents, who i just visited also, have had a nespresso machine for ages and that makes excellent coffee. i don’t think nespresso is as common in the u.s. as in europe.
I have to have an iced Americano everyday.
Even when it’s 10 degrees outside.
The espresso over ice goes into my bloodstream fast!
That little chart is awesome! I don’t drink much coffee, but when I do I am clueless about what I’m ordering. This is so helpful!
I don’t drink coffee, but that’s exactly why I need this chart. So helpful.
Love the chart! I worked at a small cafe on Rittenhouse Square last year while I was in grad school and loved all of the different drinks- I cannot wait for the day that I can afford one of those $800 dollar Williams and Sonoma espresso makers. Even though now, I prefer straight black coffee.
I am loving the blog! I wish you could cook for us all every day!
I am so addicted to coffee that if I don’t have a cup in the morning I feel like I have a hangover. I almost went home from work once.
Ooooh, I wish said well-known coffee company would post this chart next to their menu! I usually start my days off with a cup of regular coffee, but just yesterday I wanted a higher milk-to-caffeine ratio so I ordered a latte, and then I couldn’t tell the difference between that and a cappuccino. From your chart it looks like they are actually pretty similar – I had no idea!
Also, there’s a tiny hole-in-the-wall coffee shop near my apartment where they steam the milk when you order a regular coffee and it’s basically the best thing ever. So I guess that’s my “usual.”
Freshly ground dark roasted beans (Arabica works just fine
) saturated into caffeinated brilliance via my French Press. Add a bit of cream.
Occasionally, when I’m out and about, I ask the baristas to add a half shot of Raspberry syrup. Try it!
Thanks for the chart… I’ll be using it
I’m a latte girl, all the way.
Though the fact that there’s actually a separate name for lattes without foam worries me. Who doesn’t like foam?!?!
I love coffee, just plain coffee. I always tried to stay away from it because I didn’t want to get addicted, but then I read in one of those Delta air magazines that it is actually good for you, so now I strive for a few cups a week.
Of course, it’s always healthier to drink with milk rather than fancy creamers, right?
wow! The pronunciation on some of these drinks are so wrong!! Like “Breve” is not pronounced [breev]; it is pronounce [bre-ve]. The pronunciation provided for “Americano”, “panna”, and “mocha” is wrong, too.
Just wondering: why does the word “cafe” in “Cafe Breve” have only one “f” and no grave accent over the “e” but the other drinks with “caffè” do?
Anyway, I stopped drinking coffee/caffè last May. I cannot believe it will be a year in a few weeks! I still love the stuff, though.