Most Popular Types of Coffee
Ask a group of coffee lovers what their favorite coffee is, and chances are you’re going to get answers just as varied as the group that you are asking.
That’s the magic of coffee! There are so many varieties on the market because of how you can play around with different aspects with the beverage. If you change one aspect of coffee -whether it’s the blend, the roast, or even the grind size -, you could end up with a completely different drink each time. With all the possible permutations, there are virtually endless choices when it comes to what kind of coffee you can drink.
However, there are some types of coffee that has reached classic status. If you’re a coffee lover, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you are not familiar with them.
Here are five of the most popular types of coffee and some fun trivia about each of them that you can share with your coffee-loving friends.
Espresso
Espresso is arguably the most popular type of coffee, especially in Europe. It originated in Italy and it is consumed by millions of people around the world daily.
The beauty of espresso is in its simplicity and its complexity. It is simple to make because you simply force hot water through finely ground coffee beans. However, it is also complex to make because you need to have the right amount of pressure, the right temperature, and even the correct way of tamping the grounds in order to produce a perfectly balanced cup of espresso.
What’s more, if you can’t produce a great layer of crema, most espresso fans won’t even call it a cup of espresso!
Café Au Lait
This coffee drink comes from France, and it might be more popular as a breakfast drink than espresso with French coffee drinkers. To make a café au lait, steamed milk is added to brewed coffee in a 1:1 ratio.
What makes this beverage distinctly French is that the coffee must be brewed in a French press. This means that the grounds should be coarse and the best roast to use is a medium roast.
Caffe Americano
Do you know it’s called a Caffe Americano? Its name is steeped in history!
This coffee beverage got its name during World War II. During that time, American soldiers stationed in Italy were missing their coffee because they found espresso to be too strong. To approximate the coffee that they were accustomed to back in the US, they would dilute their daily espresso with hot water.
Thus, the drink became known as caffe Americano, or American coffee!
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Flat White
Many people confuse café au lait with flat white because of the addition of steamed milk. However, there are two key differences.
First, for flat white, the coffee used is espresso. If it is not espresso, it is not a flat white.
Second, flat white coffee has a layer of foamed milk on top. The same cannot be said for a café au lait.
Flat white has a very mild and creamy taste because the amount of milk is usually double the amount of espresso.
Cappuccino
The cappuccino has one of the most interesting origin stories out of all coffee types. It is said that the coffee was named after the Capuchin friars, as the color of the drink was like their robes.
To make a cappuccino, you put a shot of espresso, then top it with steamed milk, and put a final layer of foam.
What makes a cappuccino different from a flat white is that cappuccinos don’t have as much milk. This results in a beverage that has a stronger coffee taste.
Conclusion
There you have it, five of the most popular types of coffee! Many coffee beverages stem out from these five classic types. For example, a mocha is a flat white that has added chocolate, while a frappe is any coffee beverage that has been chilled with ice cubes and shaken to produce a frothy drink. In the end, it doesn’t matter which type of coffee you love – they’re all good!