A medium roast offers one of the best balances between the flavour imparted by the roasting process and the flavour of the coffee.
A lighter body, with higher acidity and no obvious flavours derived from roasting.
Author’s note:
A common description of light roast is after several minutes when the beans “pop” or “crack” and visibly expand in size, this stage is called first crack.
Italian for “spotted”. A true macchiatio is a teaspoon or two of foam that is marked by pouring the espresso over it. The foam is marked by the shot of espresso being poured last.
Author’s note:
Regardless of whatever chain is currently abusing the term Macchiato for marketing purposes, the above term, in my opinion, is the true and traditional form for the drink. Some of these “marketing people” call the larger version of these drinks a Latte Macchiato, but other then adding the shot of espresso to the end of the drink they do not resemble the traditional origins of the term.
A shot or two of espresso in a cup filled with frothy steamed milk. Caffe Latte is Italian for coffee with milk.
Author’s note:
Baristas will often pour the frothy milk through the espresso in a mug to make an artistic design in the crema. This is commonly refered to as Latte Art.
Latte art is made by pouring foamy milk through the espresso. There are two types of latte art. One is called free pouring where the entire art is made by pouring the milk. The other is called etching, which uses stir sticks, spoons and straws to produce a design.
Author’s note:
Chocolate syrup, chocolate powder and crema from espresso are all commonly used as tools in making the Latte Art.
A small metal or plastic pan or drawer near the bar counter for disposal of spent coffee grounds. It’s called a knock box because the barista knocks the porta-filter to remove the grounds.
Instant coffee is just regularly brewed coffee with nearly all the moisture removed by freeze drying.
Author’s note:
Instant coffee is usually made with robusta beans that are low in quality, which has been packaged for years and heavily over priced for what you get, which is only convenience.
An iced mocha is similar to a mocha but served over ice. While there are numerous variations of the iced mocha the basic consists of chocolate sauce, espresso and milk poured over ice and stirred.
Cold milk is poured over the ice and then hot expresso is added to the mixture. Many add liquid sugar to sweeten the taste.
Author’s note:
An iced latte is made with ice cubes and is not blended. It does not comes out of any machine as a mixture because anything that comes under that is either a convenience-store cappuccino or blended style drink.
When using your kettle wait until the water boils, then count 10 to 15 seconds. You want to use hot but not boiling water. Boiling water will actually burn the grinds. It is also a good idea to pre-heat your cups before you serve the coffee. Just add a bit of hot water to heat up the mug, which will keep your coffee warm longer and allow you to taste the coffee through out the temperature range.
