How to Order a Great Cup of Coffee

A "tall, skinny single" might sound like a supermodel, but it's actually just a cup of joe. Brush up on the latest latte lingo and in no time you'll be speaking like an experienced coffee connoisseur, whether you stick to a straight-up cup of black coffee or dabble in flavored and foamed concoctions.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Know your basics. As most people know, there is caffeinated (regular), decaffeinated (decaf) and "half-calf" coffee. A shot of espresso is smaller, but offers a condensed quantity of what amount to more or less a small cup of coffee. It's brewed from a finer grain, and is stronger per ounce.

2. Add milk, if you choose. There are a few milk-based coffee concoctions. A cafe au lait is brewed with equal parts coffee and hot milk. A cafe latte is espresso with steamed milk. In lattes, the milk is frothier. A macchiato is a an espresso with just a hint of milk foam.

3. Don't stop at milk. There are a number of coffee additions that add to the flavor. Some are combined with milk, and some stand alone. An americano is an espresso shot poured into a cup of piping hot water. A drink "con panna" means adding whipped cream to your coffee. This is not unlike adding heavy whipping cream and a dash of sugar. It amounts to a sweeter, creamier coffee drink. Various syrups are also used to spice up the flavor, including vanilla, hazelnut and and caramel. A mocha is a latte brewed with chocolate.

4. Make it an adult beverage. An Irish coffee has a shot of whiskey, heavy whipping cream and three sugar cubes.

5. Know how to order. Shots of espresso and espresso-based drinks are order in single, double, triple and quad. This distinction determine how many shots of espresso you're getting. Size generally range short, tall and grande (small, medium and large, respectively).

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[robmarreel]

on 4/19/2009 Software can solve this problem. Check out Coffee Order at www.exectones.com

on 8/8/2006 TERM \t TRANSLATION
Drip \t Brewed coffee.
Espresso Concentrated coffee brewed by forcing hot(~200F) water through a puck of finely ground coffee at ~9bar of pressure (that's 9 atmospheres). Fresh beans will result in gobs of crema (100% crema at initial pour!)
Cafe au Lait \tEqual parts brewed coffee and frothed milk.
Cafe Latte \t1/4 espresso, 3/4 frothed milk
Cappuccino \t2 shots of espresso(~2oz), ~2oz. of steamed milk, and ~2oz. of milk froth. 1/3 1/3 1/3
Cafe Macchiato \tEspresso topped with a dollop of milk froth
Cafe con Panna \tEspresso topped with whipped cream.
Cafe Americano \tEspresso diluted with hot water to about the strength of drip coffee.
Half-caff \thalf caffeinated.
Mocha Latte \tLatte with chocolate, traditionally topped with whipped cream.
Skinny \tAny coffee drink with nonfat milk
Single, Double, Triple or Quad \tThe number of espresso shots (one, two, three or four) in a drink.
Short, Tall, Grande \tSmall(8oz), medium(12oz), large(16oz) cups (respectively).
Vanilla, Caramel, Hazelnut Flavored syrups that can be added to a coffee drink.
Irish Coffee \tStrong brewed coffee with a shot of whiskey, topped with whipped cream.

on 6/30/2006 When ordering a tall dark coffee (for example), ask for a Grande cup. It cost the same and it saves you from pouring out coffee to make room for cream/milk.
Ask for it as a tall dark in a Grande cup. No more pouring out your coffee to make room for cream/milk!

on 3/21/2006 If you want to confuse your barista, add terminology that they may be unfamiliar with. For example, I usu sally order a triple grande caramel macchiato, but to confuse them, I sometimes order an upside down triple ristretto caramel macchiato.

Upside down - Drink is made with the caramel at the bottom, and everything else reversed. Mixes the caramel in a bit more, MM.
Ristretto - A shot pulled for a shorter amount of time, sweeter, as if it wasn't already sweet enough, the reason why this drink is sometimes referred to by baristas as 'caf tooth decay'.

on 11/22/2005 I just wanted to correct Justin and tell him that Starbucks Venti cappuccinos do not have 6.8 ounces of espresso in them. It is only two shots- around 2 ounces. It's actually the best thing to get if you like the coffee, but would like it more "diluted" with milk/foam. If you like the coffee flavour, get a grande (because it also has two shots). Talls have one shot, and so do shorts. Same logic goes to those sizes, as well- if you don't like coffee flavour, try a tall. If you do like the coffee flavour, get the short.