46 Types of Coffee Drinks Explained

Let us introduce you to ‘Almost all‘ types of coffee drinks that exist. You might be wondering why we have added the word ‘Almost‘ – well, the obvious reason is – the world of Coffee is huge, endless, and is always evolving.

Even if we somehow successfully cover every imaginable type of coffee around the world, the people with caffeine blood will always be experimenting with something new to bring up more coffee combinations. Therefore, the different coffee drinks we can talk about are endless and there exists a new Joe at every corner of the coffee-loving streets. So, we used the term ‘Almost’, and that starves us to always discover more.

Along with the coffee drinks, we thought to have a small abstract about different types of beans as it is the basis to the start. So first, to the beans.

Different Types of Coffee Beans

Coffee has numerous variants and can be factually said countless. The choice of the coffee bean itself produces an enormous difference in the beverage and is the very canvas upon which each coffee drink is created. Beans from every top coffee-growing region have a different palate and can vary greatly based on the place of coffee origin, roasting, and brewing methods.

All over the world, the beans are majorly divided into two; the Arabica and the Robusta. Though there have been a few other species, they never sustained for long and faded.

Arabica

The most preferred types of beans are Arabica. They are popular for their complex flavor and sweet taste. These beans are generally considered high quality and grow at higher altitudes. Due to the growing conditions, the maintenance and labor costs are high.

Robusta

The other type that is popular after Arabica is Robusta. These beans grow at lower altitudes and the price of these beans is generally lower when compared to Arabica. Robustas even being lower priced, have a higher caffeine content as compared to Arabicas. There are high qualities Robusta beans that form a portion of many popular coffee blends.

Interested in discovering more about coffee beans, well here is our article about the Best Coffee Brands!

Different Types of Coffee Drinks

Being with so much diversification, the coffee brewing methods in themselves are vastly different for many coffee drinks. When you go to a popular café and the coffee shop menu has you confused with so many kinds of coffee drinks, this article might enlighten you about coffee more.

To help make it easier to understand a little bit more about coffee, bookmark this page and re-read it whenever you have some moments for a glance back at the article to discover again the diversity in coffee drink types. A little re-read can help one achieve mastery and we all know, a repeated action on things you enjoy only perfects you!

So that was all philosophy, now let’s head over to the variety of coffee drinks that exist in reality.

Types of Regular Coffee Drinks

First, we will go through the very basic kinds of coffee drinks that are the easiest to brew at home with simple gear. It can be a French Press, a Pour-over, or more common, a drip coffee maker. Most of the countries where coffee is the way to wake up, at the very least, have any of this brewing equipment for their basic cup of coffee.

Regular Black Coffee – The very basic form of coffee that is brewed straight from your Drip Coffee Brewer, French Press, Percolator, or a Chemex. If you drink that without adding up anything, it’s Black. This can be made with a regular brewer or even with a k-cup coffee maker easily. It’s also a base for many drinks we will be talking about next.

Black Coffee With Milk – Just add some milk to the Black and the taste changes amazingly. If you are not a Black lover or your taste buds don’t allow that, simply add some milk.

Black Coffee With Milk & Sugar – The combination of Milk, Sugar, and Black is the favorite of many. We definitely suggest trying this as it is among the very basic coffee which anyone can make at home.

Turkish Coffee – A tradition of brewing coffee from the Middle East. In this method, the coffee grounds are boiled with sugary hot water into a piece of unique equipment called a cezve. The mixture is boiled until some crema kind of foam is formed. The more the crema, the better the taste.

Cold Brew Coffee – In this method, instead of hot water, cold water is used. The mixture is left for a longer time for extraction. Most people leave the preparation overnight to have a great cup of coffee in the morning.

Iced Coffee – Though the name sounds something as same as Cold Brew, both have different preparation methods. Here, the coffee is made as a regular hot brew and after that, it’s served cool.

Types of Espresso Drinks

Espresso is the most popular type of coffee drink that exists and is made using specialized equipment. It is the base for many specialty drinks that we see in the coffee shop menus. Let’s discover what is it and the many variations.

Espresso – It is prepared by forcing pressurized boiling water from tightly packed finely ground coffee. The result is a concentrated liquid which is a blend of dissolved and suspended flavors with a little crema on top. The size of a basic espresso is 25 ml which can be further enhanced as a single or double espresso.

Espresso gained its popularity in the 1980s but at that time, it was just available in popular cafes only. Lately, home brewing equipment came up in affordable brackets that made it easy for coffee connoisseurs to brew their favorite coffee drinks at home.

Normale – is the context of espresso, which can be called a standard way of extracting an espresso shot. By extracting approximately 1 Oz of coffee using 7 grams of ground coffee beans, you have extracted a single shot normale.

Ristretto – A strong form of Espresso that is made from the same amount of coffee grounds, but is extracted with half the amount of water in the same time interval. The grounds here used are extra fine resulting in an extra concentrated shot.

Doppio – It is a double shot extracted via a double coffee filter in a portafilter. Nowadays, Doppio has become a standard drink in place of a basic espresso shot.

Americano – The last major variation of espresso was derived to cope with the strong taste of espresso. The Americano coffee is prepared by adding hot water to a single or double shot of espresso as required. This coffee drink is famous in America and slightly in nearby areas.

Lungo – Lungo is often confused with Americano, but it’s not at all the same. Lungo is a long shot prepared by extracting double the amount of water with the same amount of coffee grounds. In the figures, it means, 50 ml of water is extracted with 7 grams of coffee.

Caffè Crema – An extra-long espresso drink served in Northern Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It has a different flavor profile than Lungo and Americano due to the difference in extraction ratios. Rough brewing ratios of ristretto, normale, lungo, and caffè crema are 1:2:3:6 and the average water part per shot is 6 Oz (180ml).

Café Zorro – This is a double shot of espresso which is added to hot water in a 1:1 ratio.

Café Cubano – Originated in Cuba, this drink is also known as Cuban Espresso. This is actually an espresso shot sweetened by adding demerara sugar whipped with the first and last drops of espresso.

Café con Hielo – A regional coffee drink in Spain. If you will order this coffee there, you will be served with a cup of espresso along with another cup of ice cubes and sugar. To drink, add sugar to espresso as per your preference, and stir to dissolve. After that, pour the coffee over the ice cubes and what you have now is Café con Hielo.

Guillermo – Two shots of espresso are poured over lemon slices and topped with some ice cubes. This results in the extraction of more caffeine, but with dissolved off-notes of coffee. It’s a less popular coffee drink but is preferred by people demanding more caffeine.

Moka – A coffee brewed in a Moka pot is often known as a Moka cup. Though it’s called an espresso, in true words, it’s not. The pressure in the pot is very less as compared to that of an espresso machine.

Red Eye – A cup of regular brewed coffee topped with a single shot of espresso is Red Eye

Black Eye – Double shot of espresso topped over a cup of drip coffee is Black Eye.

Dripped Eye – Three shots of espresso topped up over a regular coffee cup is Dripped Eye.

Lazy Eye – Two shots of espresso topped over a regular cup of Decaffeinated coffee is Lazy Eye.

Espresso and Milk Drinks

We have just covered the espresso and its slight variations in the above part. The next part now contains the combinations of milk with espresso to produce Specialty drinks. If you love the layer of foam in your coffee, the next combinations are a must for you.

Cappuccino – Introduced in the 17th century by Italians, Cappuccino has gained immense popularity in the whole world. All the baristas and coffee bars have this drink at the top of their menus. It is generally a combination of espresso, hot milk, and steamed milk foam. The bottom 1/3rd of a cup is filled with espresso shot followed by the next 1/3rd with hot milk, and the last portion with steamed milk foam produced by steam producing espresso machine.

Latte – The actual name of Latte is Caffe latte which got shortened with time and now is popularly known as just – Latte. It is a combination of espresso shot and steamed milk. The standard drink is 1/3 cup of double espresso shot and 2/3 portion of steamed milk. US and UK are top regions who consume these drinks in large figures. Often you will find some attractive coffee arts over your Latte, commonly known as Latte art.

The above image illustrates a latte – the top is decorated with latte art which can be easily done by steamed milk after few practices. The milk is dominant in the Cafe latte as the portion is high here. It is a marvelous drink and is been loved all over.

Piccolo Latte – Often known as Baby Latte, a Piccolo is a Ristretto shot of 15-20 ml topped with 60 ml steamed silky milk and foam on top.

Mocha – This is a drink for chocolate lovers. Mocha, which is originally Mochaccino was derived in the coastal town Mocha, Yemen. The drink resembles Latte with an addition of chocolate in the form of either syrup or sweet cocoa powder.

They generally contain milk froth on top as in Cappuccino. There are many varieties of Mocha with variations in chocolate syrup flavors and the most common are the dark and white chocolate Mochas.

Macchiato – Cafe Macchiato is prepared by adding a spot of foamed milk to an espresso shot. The spot of milk can be said as little milk or just a hint of milk to change the taste of a plain espresso shot. The top can be decorated with latte art to make it look good.

The very well-known place for Macchiato is Ethiopia where the best of this drink is made.

Cortado – An espresso shot served with just a small splash of milk. It’s a Spanish drink also known as café manchado in some parts.

Cortadito – Cafe Cubano added with warm milk in 1:1 ratio is Cortadito. This term is often confused with Cortado but they have a slight difference.

Café Bombón – Espresso with sweet condensed milk is referred to as Cafe Bombon. For sweet tongue, this is a great drink to try.

Cafe Con Leche – An espresso shot served with separate hot milk. Usually, hot milk is added in a 1:1 ratio of espresso.

Carajilo – Espresso served with alcohol and no milk is Carajilo. It’s a Spanish form of coffee popular over there, but now in some other parts of the world too.

Flat White – A double shot of espresso with steamed milk in a ratio of 1:2 is Flat white. There is no layer of milk foam on top of this drink. This drink is popular in the US and is now gaining a lot of popularity in the UK as well.

Café Au Lait – Different from other drinks, this one has regular coffee made via Drip or French Press as the base. Then steamed or hot milk is added in the same ratio.

Caffe Breve – This is an American variant of a latte – a milk-based espresso drink using a steamed half-and-half mixture of milk and cream instead of milk topped with foam.

Antoccino – A single shot of espresso topped with steamed milk in a ratio of 1:1 is Antoccino.

Cafe Affogato – This can be said as Italian coffee or dessert. It’s prepared by pouring an espresso shot over a scoop of vanilla gelato.

Vienna – Here, milk is replaced with cream, so it’s basically a cream-based beverage. The preparation involves infusing whipped cream over two standard shots of espresso until the cup is full.

Café Borgia – Something like Mocha preparation, this drink involves espresso, then hot chocolate, whipped cream, and some orange zest at the top. Instead of chocolate shavings, orange zest provides some citrus touch to the drink.

Cha Phe Sua Da – Finely ground Vietnamese-grown dark roast coffee is individually brewed by a metal french press drip filter into a cup containing about a quarter to half condensed milk. It is then stirred, and ice cubes are poured over.

Galão – A hot coffee drink from Portugal in a combination of espresso and foam milk. About a quarter of the glass is filled with espresso and is topped with foam milk for the rest of the 3/4th cup.

Frappé – It’s a Greek drink that is made by stirring Instant coffee granules with a small amount of water. Then a little sugary water, cold water, and ice cubes, and after that, some milk foam is added.

For specialty drinks, a piece of specialized automatic equipment is great for a hassle-free experience as the guesswork things are the machine’s responsibility!

Espresso + Misc Addons Drinks

Bulletproof coffee – A single cup of black coffee with 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil is blended till the output becomes creamy.

Espressino – This is a drink made with equal parts of espresso. Cocoa powder is added at the bottom of the cup and over the final shot. A layer of Nutella is also spread on the walls of the cup.

Espresso Romano – An espresso with some twist of lemon is called Romano. A proper way to best taste this drink is – add some lemon juice at the bottom of your cup and rub the lemon around the rim. Then drop the espresso to taste a different side of coffee.

Irish Coffee – A coffee, or more specifically French Press coffee with half ratio of Irish whiskey and topped with some heavy cream.

Liqueur Coffee – The coffee here is brewed with 25 ml of liqueur and sometimes added with cream.

Mazagran – A Portuguese drink, made by pouring hot French press coffee over ice and infusing a lemon slice.

FAQs

In The End

The above article covered many various kinds of coffee that are highly popular. We did our best to provide readers with insights into all the major variations of coffee drinks that are spanned throughout the world.

Each coffee type has its uniqueness. While we may not have listed every single imaginable coffee type, we certainly went into detail about the vast majority of coffee beverages that typically constitute a decent Café Menu anywhere in the world.

We do hope that the above information has increased your know-how about coffee. You now might make a few calls to your friends and make plans to meet up to visit your local coffee shop to taste the ones you haven’t tried yet and for that we say cheers!