Americano or cappuccino? Latte or cortado? Full fat cow’s milk or coconut milk? Decaf or extra shot?
Options, options and more options.
There are tons of coffee choices out there, and if you don’t know your mocha from your macchiato, then this is the blog post for you.
We’ve all walked into a coffee shop as coffee novices, looked up at the menu, barista staring into your soul as you try not to annoy the long line of people wondering what’s taking so long. The sweat starts to drip down your forehead, your eyes dart from drink to drink wondering which coffee is which. Wondering whether you’re even looking at a coffee menu anymore. Is this the food menu? I’m sure that word’s not in the dictionary…hurry up, hurry up, everyone’s staring at you! Eventually the floor opens up and you’re sucked into a swirling abyss of caffeine induced anxiety…but you haven’t even sipped your coffee yet.
Don’t worry, we’re here. Consider this blog post your saviour, we’ll grab your hand and pull you out from the swirling vortex of long coffee words, give you a big hug (Covid permitted) and guide you on your way to coffee heaven.
I will list and describe below the different types of coffee that we have on our menus and what those coffees consist of, if one sounds nice, be daring and have a try next time you’re at one of our stores.
The Different Choices
ESPRESSO – The simplest coffee you can get. A few heavenly sips at most. Ground coffee beans extracted through our coffee machine. Intense taste, intense caffeine high. Available as a double or single shot, no milk, no water, pure coffee.
AMERICANO – What people consider to be a ‘normal’ coffee. It comes black. You can add milk. The nearest you will get to an instant coffee that you’d drink at home whilst sleepily watching the Breakfast news. It is simply hot water and espresso coffee shots.
LATTE – A latte is at its heart, a milky coffee. It consists of espresso shots and hot steamed milk. At Espositos we take care with our lattes and steam the milk to perfection, giving it a silky feel. It has a slight amount of foam on the top which gives it that signature texture.
CAPPUCCINO – A cappuccino is a lattes’ slightly stronger and foamier brother. We add more espresso and steam the milk so that there is a lot more foam on the top. These factors create more of an intense coffee hit and taste. Also very popular with a sprinkle of chocolate on the top. Life is just better with chocolate sprinkles.
MOCHA – I like to think of mochas as hot chocolate for grown ups. We all love the taste of a silky smooth hot chocolate but sometimes you just need that comforting taste to be injected with a bit of energy. Hot chocolate with espresso shots.
FLAT WHITE – My personal favourite. Our flat whites are the same size as small lattes. The milk is steamed in the same way as the latte milk, silky. A triple espresso shot extracted for a shorter amount of time than usual giving less volume but richer taste. Smooth in all senses of the word. This allows us to create those patterns on top that you see in lifestyle magazines. Aren’t you posh, eh? 😉
Which one will you choose?
Written by Nathan Tindsley (Senior Barista @ Runcorn Hill Park Deli)
