coffee
ok, i love fanfic, and most of it is surprisingly well written (except of course for the fact that people cannot distinguish between there/their/they're and loose/lose). yet there's one near constant mistake in any fiction involving the talon, and it's really bugging me. people have no concept what a cappucino is. everyone's always ordering cappuccinos when they Clearly don't know what's involved, like in one i just read lex (who should know better dammit) ordered a cappuccino with whipped cream (lex should never drink something with whipped cream anyways, too silly). only once in my 2 years as obsessive coffeeshop girl did someone order a cappuccino with whipped cream, and i made sure to verify that they actually did want whipped cream And foam. so, a little coffee rundown for y'all so that maybe, just maybe, the world will be a bit smarter about coffee.
barista - the person who makes the fancy italian espresso drinks
espresso - pressure brewed (and differently roasted and grinded) coffee, basically much stronger and requiring a barista (though there are machines that do it now too). if you order an espresso you Just get the shot, and if you didn't know what it was before now you probably won't like it.
macchiato - an espresso shot marked with a dollop of foam. starbucks is run by Idiots, their "carmel macchiato" is actually a latte. drove us Nuts.
con panna - an espresso shot with whipped cream
steamed milk - milk is heated using a steam wand, and it's a skill. if you see a barista leave the milk sitting on the machine tray, you can hear the milk (especially if it starts screaming), smell kind of an acrid milk smell, or god forbid your milk has large bubbles, the barista sucks. most baristas suck these days. though when the shop is slammed i forgive leaving it on the tray. in case you're curious, for good steamed milk the milk should be swirling in a circle around the container, the barista should be slowly raising the wand enough to make the foam for the drink, and the milk is done when the tone of the milk starts to lower about halfway. yeah, i steam by sound, which is why it drives me nuts to be around bad baristas, i Know they're burning my milk.
steamer - called various things at various places, this is just steamed milk with a flavor shot, very yummy if done properly. for this and hot chocolate, the barista Should put the flavor shot/chocolate syrup In the milk Before steaming, not stir it in afterwards. again, i forgive slammed shops for this.
cappuccino - ok, are you listening? a cappuccino is an espresso shot topped with half milk (2%) and half foam (the foam should be airy and kind of solid, for good foam you can turn your ladlethingy upside down and the foam will not fall). dry means you want more foam, wet means you want more milk. if the shop offers sinlge or double shots as size, that means the concentration will remain the same no matter what size you get. if you go someplace like SPoT, the bigger the drink the more milk/foam there is in proportion to the espresso, so a large will taste weaker. the stuff you get in gas stations or dennys is Not a cappuccino, and they are not sweet and yummy.
latte - this is probably what you want to order. an espresso shot topped with steamed milk (whole) and a little foam (the milk and foam should be creamier than cappucino milk). whipped cream and flavor shots generally go with lattes, and steamers/hot chocolates are steamed in the same way. a starbuck "carmel macchiato" is actually a latte.
breve - for those among you who really don't care about calories, these are Divine. expresso shot with half milk (whole) and half light cream.
red eye - also called different things in different shops, this is a shot of espresso in a cup of coffee. if you're going on a road trip, you want a red eye.
americano - an espresso shot in hot water. i've always felt vaguely insulted by that name, i'm not sure what they're insinuating.
cafe au lait - half coffee, half steamed milk.
italian soda - ok, not coffee, but most coffee shops do have them and people never know what they are. it's soda water with a flavor shot, and italian cream sodas have some light cream in them. they are Good. you should have one. but not a citrus flavor (kiwi, orange), because that curdles milk.
i think those are all the basics. please, spread the coffee knowledge, together we can eradicate espresso idiocy!
barista - the person who makes the fancy italian espresso drinks
espresso - pressure brewed (and differently roasted and grinded) coffee, basically much stronger and requiring a barista (though there are machines that do it now too). if you order an espresso you Just get the shot, and if you didn't know what it was before now you probably won't like it.
macchiato - an espresso shot marked with a dollop of foam. starbucks is run by Idiots, their "carmel macchiato" is actually a latte. drove us Nuts.
con panna - an espresso shot with whipped cream
steamed milk - milk is heated using a steam wand, and it's a skill. if you see a barista leave the milk sitting on the machine tray, you can hear the milk (especially if it starts screaming), smell kind of an acrid milk smell, or god forbid your milk has large bubbles, the barista sucks. most baristas suck these days. though when the shop is slammed i forgive leaving it on the tray. in case you're curious, for good steamed milk the milk should be swirling in a circle around the container, the barista should be slowly raising the wand enough to make the foam for the drink, and the milk is done when the tone of the milk starts to lower about halfway. yeah, i steam by sound, which is why it drives me nuts to be around bad baristas, i Know they're burning my milk.
steamer - called various things at various places, this is just steamed milk with a flavor shot, very yummy if done properly. for this and hot chocolate, the barista Should put the flavor shot/chocolate syrup In the milk Before steaming, not stir it in afterwards. again, i forgive slammed shops for this.
cappuccino - ok, are you listening? a cappuccino is an espresso shot topped with half milk (2%) and half foam (the foam should be airy and kind of solid, for good foam you can turn your ladlethingy upside down and the foam will not fall). dry means you want more foam, wet means you want more milk. if the shop offers sinlge or double shots as size, that means the concentration will remain the same no matter what size you get. if you go someplace like SPoT, the bigger the drink the more milk/foam there is in proportion to the espresso, so a large will taste weaker. the stuff you get in gas stations or dennys is Not a cappuccino, and they are not sweet and yummy.
latte - this is probably what you want to order. an espresso shot topped with steamed milk (whole) and a little foam (the milk and foam should be creamier than cappucino milk). whipped cream and flavor shots generally go with lattes, and steamers/hot chocolates are steamed in the same way. a starbuck "carmel macchiato" is actually a latte.
breve - for those among you who really don't care about calories, these are Divine. expresso shot with half milk (whole) and half light cream.
red eye - also called different things in different shops, this is a shot of espresso in a cup of coffee. if you're going on a road trip, you want a red eye.
americano - an espresso shot in hot water. i've always felt vaguely insulted by that name, i'm not sure what they're insinuating.
cafe au lait - half coffee, half steamed milk.
italian soda - ok, not coffee, but most coffee shops do have them and people never know what they are. it's soda water with a flavor shot, and italian cream sodas have some light cream in them. they are Good. you should have one. but not a citrus flavor (kiwi, orange), because that curdles milk.
i think those are all the basics. please, spread the coffee knowledge, together we can eradicate espresso idiocy!