It’s simply espresso.

Espresso coffee is the most popular coffee drink in the world. Coming from Italy in 1880s, this coffee recipe was no longer an Italian specialty, but a worldwide drink. Espresso is name of a drink and also a method of making coffee which use machine to force boiled water through a basket of tightly and fine ground coffee powder for a limited amount of time at a very high pressure.

Espresso coffee has a whole world of its based beverages. The espresso-based beverages are numerous and today, people have created many more. However, there are just 9 classic espresso’s and espresso-based beverages, including espresso, double espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, dry cappuccino, café latte, Gibraltar, Americano and café mocha.

#1. Espresso coffee

There are many definitions of espresso, but the most easily understandable is: 1 ounce (about 28 ml) of coffee beverage made from 7 grams of ground coffee, brewed at 9 bar of pressure (130 psi) at roughly 200 Fahrenheit degrees. It means 7 grams of coffee powder can make 28 ml of coffee in liquid. And this recipe is also called one-shot espresso. Of course, the barista can add or minus the amount of coffee ground to create different flavors. There are two basic varieties of one-shot espresso: ristretto (a very short shot or “restrained” shot) and espresso lungo (long shot to make 2 or 3 ounce of coffee drink).

#2. Double espresso

Double espresso or espresso doppio is two shots of espresso coffee made from 14 grams of coffee ground in a double portafilter. The double espresso is more concentrated than normal espresso.

#3. Macchiato

In Italian language, macchiato means “stained” or “spotted”. And espresso macchiato is a coffee “stained” with milk or foamed milk. Macchiato can be made of both steamed hot milk and cold milk. If the milk is hot, it is called “macchiato caldo” and if it made of cold milk, it is named “macchiato freddo”.

#4. Cappuccino

Cappuccino is the most well-known espresso-based drinks but also the most difficult beverage to make. The traditional cappuccino recipe contains 1/3 espresso coffee, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 foam. The foamed milk layer must be floated on top surface of the cup with the most glossy, smoothest appearance, surrounded by thick crema.

#5. Dry cappuccino

It is as same as cappuccino in materials but it requires more foam than steamed milk in ratio. This cappuccino is darker than normal cappuccino and is able to stay hotter longer.

#6. Café latte

Café latte can be understood as “milk coffee” in Italy. Its recipe includes 1/3 espresso coffee and 2/3 hot milk and a very thin layer of foam on the surface. The espresso coffee used to make latte is a double ristretto. Like cappuccino, latte has a glossy and beautiful appearance when it is done with many decorations. People usually say that making lattes is an art with a lot of creations, skillful hands.

#7. Gibraltar (Cortado)

This coffee is called different names at different places, but generally, it is an espresso “cut” and foam-infused milk. It uses ½ espresso and ½ foamed milk. It is something between macchiato and café latte, but stronger in flavor. It is the drink for people preferring strong coffee, but still need adding little milk to soften the espresso.

#8. Americano

Americano is the espresso coffee of American people. Since they cannot handle with the Italian coffee, they add more hot water to double long shot espresso to make it less intense and concentrated. The proportion of water depends on each personal taste, but the café Americano of Italian people usually has 1:1 espresso/water in ratio.

#9. Mocha

Caffe mocha is the combination of café latte and chocolate. The recipe is various, depending on the amount of chocolate that drinker wants. However, it is generally 1/3 espresso coffee, 1/3 milk, 1/6 cocoa powder and 1/6 foamed milk.

To sum up, it is easy to understand why espresso becomes very popular in the world of coffee today. It is no doubt that espresso coffee tastes very original whilst its espresso-based drinks are also driving many coffee fans going crazy with the specially delicious taste. Try out espresso today.