Types of coffee drinks: a field guide

How to read a coffee menu

A cafe menu can list twenty drinks, but there are really only a few decisions behind them. First, how the coffee was brewed: slowly with gravity or steeping, or fast under pressure as espresso. Second, whether it is served hot or cold. Third, what goes in with it: milk, foam, water, chocolate, ice cream or something stronger.

Once you see those three choices, most names stop being mysterious. A cortado and a latte are the same shot with different amounts of milk. Iced coffee and cold brew are both cold, but one was brewed hot. Below, we group every drink by family so the differences are easy to spot.

Brewed coffee

Ground coffee steeped in, or dripped through by, hot water. These drinks are usually served in a mug and range from clean and light to heavy and rich.

• Drip coffee. Hot water drips over a bed of medium ground coffee in an automatic machine and through a paper filter. The everyday American cup, usually brewed around 1:15 to 1:17.
• Pour over. The same idea done by hand, pouring water from a kettle over a cone dripper. More control over each step, and usually a very clean cup.
• French press. Coarse coffee steeps in hot water for about 4 minutes before a metal mesh is pressed down. Fuller body, because oils and fine particles pass through. See our French press ratio guide.
• AeroPress. A plastic plunger brewer that steeps coffee briefly, then pushes it through a paper filter by hand. Can make a regular cup or a short concentrate.
• Turkish coffee. Extremely fine coffee simmered with water, and often sugar, in a small pot called a cezve. Served unfiltered, so the grounds settle in the bottom of the cup.
• Cafe au lait. Brewed coffee mixed with hot milk, often about half and half. A gentler cousin of the latte that needs no espresso machine.
• Red eye. A cup of drip coffee with a shot of espresso added. Two shots is often called a black eye.

Cold coffee

• Iced coffee. Coffee brewed hot, then chilled, usually by brewing it straight onto ice. Bright and crisp. Our iced coffee guide has the ratio.
• Cold brew. Coarse coffee steeped in cold or room temperature water for 12 to 24 hours, then strained. Smooth, low in acidity, and usually made as a concentrate you dilute.
• Nitro cold brew. Cold brew infused with nitrogen and poured from a tap. The tiny bubbles give it a creamy, foamy texture without any milk.
• Iced latte. Espresso and cold milk poured over ice. No foam, since foam and ice do not mix well.

Not sure which cold drink you want? Our comparison of cold brew vs iced coffee goes through flavor, time and strength.

Espresso and espresso with milk

Espresso is made by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee at about 9 bar of pressure. It is a method, not a bean. Our guide to what espresso is explains the details.

Straight shots

• Espresso. A concentrated shot, about 1 oz for a single or 2 oz for a double, with crema on top.
• Doppio. Italian for double. A double shot served on its own.
• Ristretto. A shorter shot made with less water. Thicker and sweeter.
• Lungo. A longer shot made with more water. Lighter and often more bitter.
• Americano. Espresso topped up with hot water to about the strength of drip coffee. Pour the shot over the water and it is often called a long black.

With milk

• Latte. Espresso with plenty of steamed milk and a thin layer of foam. Usually 8 to 16 oz.
• Cappuccino. Espresso, steamed milk and thick foam in roughly equal parts. Classically about 6 oz.
• Flat white. A small, strong milk drink with thin, velvety microfoam. About 5 to 6 oz.
• Cortado. Espresso cut with about the same amount of warm milk. About 4 oz.
• Macchiato. Espresso marked with a spoonful of foam. Only 2 to 3 oz.
• Breve. A latte made with steamed half and half instead of milk. Very rich.
• Mocha. A latte with chocolate sauce or cocoa stirred in, often topped with whipped cream.
• Cuban coffee. Also called cafecito. A strong shot sweetened by whipping sugar with the first drops of espresso into a pale foam.

For sizes, foam and how to make each at home, see espresso drinks explained.

Regional, dessert and spirited drinks

• Vietnamese coffee. Dark, strong coffee brewed slowly through a small metal filter called a phin, then mixed with sweetened condensed milk. Served hot or over ice. Read more in what is Vietnamese coffee.
• Dalgona coffee. Instant coffee, sugar and hot water whipped into a thick foam and spooned over cold milk.
• Affogato. A shot of hot espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato. A dessert you eat with a spoon.
• Irish coffee. Hot brewed coffee with Irish whiskey and brown sugar, topped with lightly whipped cream. For an alcohol free version, keep the sugar and cream and skip the whiskey.

Coffee drinks at a glance

If you are making coffee at home without an espresso machine, everything in the brewed and cold families is within reach with a drip machine or a French press. Strong brewed coffee also stands in well for espresso in a homemade latte or mocha.