Coffee terms?!
Coffee terms?
A friend of mine and I were discussing what we like to get at Starbucks and even looked up some drinks online and noticed terms like "dry" and "wet". What exactly IS a "wet" drink? My boyfriend orders an "upside down" drink. What do you have when you order your coffee and can you give me some terms and their meanings?
Answers:
Coffee terms are usually French or Italian based, but can also be ordered with the English (or American terms). They are based into terms related to the type of coffee, the type of milk, and other special additional or subtractions.
Expressions related to use of milk in espresso beverages: Having a drink ‘wet” means to include liquid milk (but is redundant to any term requesting a form of milk). Whole milk is “latté”. Half & half is “breve”. Heavy cream is “crème”. Skim milk is called “skinny”. With whip cream is con panna. Having something “dry” means only foamed milk, no liquid milk in the drink. You can also usually have a rice latté or a soy latté instead of regular milk.
Espresso, can be called “caffé”, but most places just call it espresso. A shot is equal to one ounce. If you order an “espresso”, you will get a one ounce shot in a demitasse cup (French for half-cup) and usually holds about three ounces. A“(espresso) macchiato” is a shot of espresso with foam on top, and “(espresso) crème” is espresso with an ounce of heavy cream. If you order a shot of a flavored syrup, one shot is the same one ounce.
Different sizes are called different terms. A “short” (small) (usually 8oz.) or a “tall” (medium) (usually 12oz.) drink usually has two shots of espresso, which is also called a “double” or “doppio”, but can be ordered with just a “single”. The larger sizes (“grande” (16oz.) or “venti”(20oz.)) would normally contain a “triple”, or three shots. A “quad” would be four shots and is only on request.
There are some common special terms such as “mocha”, which means with chocolate. It is technically a “mocha caffé latté”, but can just be called a “mocha”. A “cappuccino” is usually 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, and 1/3 foam. . “Caffé au lait” is drip brewed coffee with steamed milk. An “Americano” is espresso with hot water, mixed like a latté, but with water instead of milk. All drinks can be iced as well, and this is often referred to as a “toddy.” “No foam” means what it says (a normal latté will have a ? to ? inch of foam at the top). “Half-caf”, mix shots in doubles including one shot regular and one shot decaf. “Decaf”, all shots are decaf. “With room” is to leave room in the cup for cream. “Add a shot of (flavor)” can be for any flavored syrup (vanilla, caramel, etc.) (They are usually also available sugar-free). “with a twist” is to twist a small piece of lemon rind in the drink. "tepid" means to use less than scalding milk (or water for an americano). You can also sometimes order specific temperature if you know what is ideal for your "scalded tounge" pain threshold.
"upside-down" is not a common used term, but in the usages I have seen refers to adding the milk or cream and flavorings before the espresso shots. This is not common since the espresso is normally added first (since it is a coffee drink) and hot milk is usually used to fill the cup after all the other ingredients.
Putting the terms together you state size, additions or subtractions, and then drink. You can also add some additions or subtractions to the end (particularly for “con panna” and “with a twist”)
Examples: “grande caffé latté”= 16 oz. steamed whole milk and espresso. ”caffé breve” = steamed half and half with espresso. It is acceptable to order without the “caffé” (i.e. I’ll have a grande latté). “dry cappuccino” (also called “machiotto”) = espresso and foam only. “tall mocha con panna” = 12 oz. chocolate milk with two shots of espresso, with whipped cream. “half-caf doppio caramel machiotto” = one shot decaf, one shot regular espresso, one shot caramel syrup, with milk foam on top. “tall skinny sugar-free vanilla latte” = 12oz. drink with skim milk, two shots of espresso, and a shot of sugar-free vanilla syrup. “grande quad half-caf double vanilla breve con panna with a twist” (say that 5 times fast)= 16oz. drink with half and half milk, 2 shots regular espresso, 2 shots decaf espresso, 2 shots vanilla syrup, with whipped cream and a twisted lemon rind.
It doesn’t make sense to order some combinations like “Dry machiotto” (redundant) or “no foam machiotto” (contradictory).
Believe it or not, my favorite is a simple "tall tepid americano"
Have fun impressing friends with the full name of your favorite drink.
Source(s):
Hard work for years as a "barista" (name for the espresso drink maker)
http://ezinearticles.com/?ordering-coffe...
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/06/lingo/...
I had no idea- but I bet you could find it in one of these sites. I always order a Grande Caramel Macci...(something)
Anyone out there work for Starbucks?
I just have a cup of black coffee.