Need a pick-me-up and feel like exploring all the different types of coffee drinks you can try?
This guide to different types of coffee is for you. Read on to learn about 25 kinds of coffee drinks you can make at home or order in your favourite coffee shop.
What Are the Different Types of Coffee?
There are many types of coffee, and the number depends on your classification standard or criterion.
If one is counting according to coffee beans, a number over 120 should be a reasonable answer. A well-known coffee brand says there are more than 120 varieties of coffee beans, including one of the most expensive, Geisha coffee.
If you’re looking to get the different types of coffee drinks explained, it’s best to start with the four main types of coffee bean variants: arabica, robusta, excelsa, and liberica (with arabica and robusta as the most common). All other coffee bean varieties are typically hybrids or variations of these four main types.
Coffee may also be classified according to its origin. There are coffees from Ethiopia, Colombia, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Panama, Indonesia, etc.
A sub-classification under origin usually indicates the specific source area and the coffee’s level of purity. Coffee can be a blend, single-origin, single-farm, single-estate, or micro/nano-lot.
Coffee may also be classified according to caffeine content, in which case there is caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. Note that decaf coffee is not devoid of caffeine. However, it usually has 97% less caffeine than regular coffee.
Coffee may also vary according to the processing techniques used to make it. There’s anaerobically fermented, carbonically macerated, fully washed/wet, natural/dried, pulped natural, and wet-hulled, among others.
Coffee also varies according to the brewing method. In this context, there’s espresso, AeroPress, drip, pour-over, Chemex, cold brew, French press, vacuum/syphon, percolator, Turkish, and moka pot coffee.
Finally, coffee may be classified according to roast levels: dark roast, light roast, extra dark roast, or medium roast coffee. There’s even green coffee made from unroasted coffee beans.
What Are the Different Types of Coffee Drinks?
Just how many types of coffee drinks are there? A discussion of the various coffee drinks is, thankfully, less convoluted than a discussion on the types of coffee.
In this post, we will discuss 25 of the most common types of coffee drinks, most of them based on espresso.
1. Espresso
Espresso is simply expressed coffee made typically in a one-to-two coffee-to-water ratio.
A single shot espresso is 25 ml give or take a few millilitres of liquid, made from approximately seven grams of finely ground coffee brewed under around six to nine bars of pressure using water hot water (about 88-96 °C), and topped with a rich, red-brown foam called crema.
Doppio, or a double shot of espresso, is typically made in a bigger filter basket; a double basket can take from 14 to 21 grams of coffee, while a triple basket can take more than 21 grams. Using more coffee means drawing more espresso coffee, typically two fluid ounces (or about 60 millilitres) worth and usually double the amount of a single shot of espresso.
2. Ristretto
Ristretto means limited, shortened, or restricted. In essence, it is a restricted-flow coffee. You use the same amount of coffee as you would in espresso, but you let it have contact with a lesser amount of water. A typical coffee-to-water ratio is one to one and one to one and a half.
An easy way to make it would be to cut the flow of the liquid, in which case you can get a brighter brew. However, if you want a more intense brew, grind your coffee beans a little bit finer than you would for espresso. This would naturally restrict and slow down the flow of water through the coffee.
3. Lungo
Lungo means long, so lungo is long coffee. It is a more watery espresso because you push more water through the coffee. The typical coffee-to-water ratio of a lungo is from 1:3 to 1:6.
It’s standard practice to use a coarser grind when preparing a lungo, especially if your lungo’s brew time is longer than that of espresso. A longer extraction period can lead to more bitterness if using the standard espresso grind size.
4. Espresso Con Panna
Panna means cream, so espresso con panna is espresso with cream. Essentially, this is espresso coffee topped with a little whipped or double cream.
This is a coffee drink that is best made when using a really dark roast, as the cream can help counter the coffee’s bitterness.
5. Macchiato
Macchiato means stained, so macchiato is traditionally espresso coffee stained by a little bit of milk; at most, it would be one part of milk to two parts espresso.
In traditional coffee shops, a macchiato is marked by a little dollop of milk on top of the red-brown crema to indicate that the espresso has milk added to it.
In modern coffee shops, owing to the popularity of latte art, macchiato can mean a lot more milk. A modern macchiato can be as much as one part milk to one part espresso.
6. Long Macchiato
A long macchiato is a double-shot espresso stained with milk. It usually follows the same ratio of espresso to milk as a typical macchiato.
7. Latte Macchiato
A latte macchiato is milk stained by espresso. A barista would prepare the milk first and then top it with espresso.
In making this coffee drink, you’ll use the same ratio of espresso to milk that one would use in a latte.
8. Espresso Romano
An espresso Romano involves the use of lemon. Specifically, it is a shot of espresso with a lemon slice or twist. The juice from the slice may be squeezed into the coffee or not. It can also be espresso with a bit of lemon juice and sugar.
Lemon in espresso can be an excellent way to lift a very dark brew, to give it more brightness, but it’s not recommended in an already crisp cup. It can also help mask undesirable flavours in inferior coffee.
9. Cortado
Cortado is a coffee drink that originated in Spain, and it is the past tense of the verb to cut. It is essentially espresso with steamed milk at a one-to-one ratio. The milk is added to cut through the intensity of the coffee.
In some coffee shops, a cortado can contain more milk than coffee, having a ratio of as much as three parts milk to one part espresso.
10. Piccolo Latte
A piccolo latte is a small latte. It is typically one part espresso with two parts milk, but some coffee shops add three to four parts of milk to one part espresso. This blurs the line between a piccolo latte and a cortado.
11. Americano
Americano is espresso watered down so it can approximate the taste of American-style filter coffee. It is a combination of one part espresso and three to five parts hot water. It is made by pouring hot water over espresso.
12. Long Black
Long back originated in Australia and New Zealand. A long black is hot water topped with a double-shot espresso or ristretto and is typically two parts water and one part espresso.
13. Cappuccino
While cappuccino is considered an espresso-based drink, it is very likely that it predates espresso. It originated in Vienna as the kapuziner (the German word for Capuchin), and it referred to a coffee drink that is the same colour as the robes worn by the monks that belonged to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.
Cappuccino is coffee with milk. Traditionally, one would add only as much milk as was required to achieve the brown colour of the Capuchin monks’ robes.
Today, cappuccino remains a relatively strong and intense coffee with milk drink. It is typically one part espresso to three to five parts milk. It has a thick layer of microfoam, with the individual bubbles so delicate you should barely be able to see them.
14. Caffe Latte
A caffe latte is espresso with milk, but it tastes weaker than a cappuccino. It is also usually served in bigger portions than a cappuccino.
It is typically one part espresso (usually a double shot) with four to six parts of milk.
15. Café au Lait
Café au lait is also coffee with milk at a one-to-one ratio. However, unlike other coffee with milk drinks, café au lait is usually made with French press coffee instead of espresso. It also uses scalded milk rather than steamed milk.
16. Flat White
You can think of a flat white as a cappuccino with a flatter microfoam layer. It is for people who would like a cappuccino with a thinner, less firm foam or a smaller but stronger latte.
It usually has a double-shot espresso base and is typically one part espresso to two to three parts steamed milk.
17. Caffè Corretto
Caffè corretto means ‘corrected coffee’. It’s traditionally espresso coffee served with an alcoholic drink (typically grappa, sambuca, or Cognac) on the side.
One would drink most of the espresso, add the spirit to the cup, and swirl it so it mixes with the remaining espresso before drinking it. However, some shops serve the caffè corretto with the alcohol already incorporated into the espresso.
18. Mocha
Mocha traditionally referred to coffee from Yemen; Mokha is a Yemeni port city on the Red Sea coast.
Today, however, mocha refers to espresso coffee with chocolate or hot chocolate with espresso. Typically, it’s one part espresso to one part chocolate. It can also be topped with steamed milk or whipped cream.
19. Red Eye
Red eye is a North American coffee and takes its name from the red-eye flight. It is designed to be a highly caffeinated coffee, perfect as a pick-me-up, as it is made with filter coffee (around six ounces) with a shot of espresso (approximately one ounce).
20. Black Eye
The black-eye coffee is more potent than the red eye. It has the same amount of filter coffee as a red eye but with a double shot of espresso.
21. Dripped Eye
A dripped eye is even more intense than a black eye. It has the same amount of filter coffee as a red eye but with three shots of espresso.
22. Lazy Eye
A lazy eye is a red eye (one shot of espresso) or a black eye (double shot of espresso) with a base of decaffeinated filter coffee.
23. Breve Latte
Breve latte is another North American coffee drink. It is essentially a caffe latte, but instead of using steamed whole milk, it uses half-and-half.
Half-and-half is one part whole milk and one part single cream, so it contains more fat than whole milk. This higher fat content makes a breve latte’s foam different from a caffe latte.
24. Gibraltar
Gibraltar coffee is espresso with milk, typically at a one-to-two ratio, served in a Libbey Gibraltar glass.
25. Vienna
Vienna is espresso with whipped cream. It’s similar to espresso con panna, in this regard, but Vienna coffee is larger than an espresso con panna and is often served in a cappuccino cup. It is typically one part espresso to one part cream.
Enjoy Your Favourite Coffee Drink
There are a lot more coffee drinks than the 25 listed above. However, we hope this guide to the different types of coffee will make choosing a drink easier the next time you visit a cafe.
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