Types of Italian coffee｜What is the difference between Americano latte and cappuccino? Which one tastes better?_Coffee Beans_FrontStreet Coffee

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For more knowledge about specialty coffee, please pay attention to: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee）

Some friends complained to Front Street Street that they couldn’t read the coffee menu when they went to a coffee shop. They knew the words in it, but when they were put together, they didn’t know what they meant. I checked Front Street and found out that my friend was referring to the Americano, latte and cappuccino that often appear on coffee shop menus. Taking this opportunity, Front Street will introduce to you what these coffees are!

Americano

Americano is Americano, the coffee Americans are used to drinking. When we understand it from this perspective, it is easy to know what it is. In the past, Americans generally liked to drink drip-type light coffee. For example, when we watched American TV series, we saw an American-style drip coffee machine in the company's tea room. It has a heating and keeping function. Put coffee powder on it and press the start button. It will automatically work and drip-filter the coffee liquid. When someone needs it, they will take out the coffee pot and pour it into the cup, and then continue to drip. Therefore, the coffee is getting weaker and weaker, but Americans at the time didn't care. They needed a cup of caffeinated water more.

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There are also people who use Chemex coffee pots to make coffee, which is also a type of drip coffee. The common feature is that it is light. Europeans, who mainly drink Italian coffee, generally drink strong coffee. At the end of World War II, after the US military landed in Italy, they were not used to drinking espresso coffee while stationed, so they diluted it with water and drank it. Later, Italians immigrated to the United States and brought Italian coffee to the United States. In order to cater to American tastes, the coffee was made lighter and larger, which became American coffee.

Therefore, the Americano we see on coffee shop menus is made from espresso and water. The ratio of coffee to water is generally between 1:5 and 1:8.

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Latte

Latte is actually the general name for milk coffee. The word "latte" comes from the Italian "Latte", and Latte means milk. If you order a latte in an Italian coffee shop, the waiter will bring you a cup of milk. If you want to drink latte, you should say "Coffee Latte".

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The latte at the beginning had no milk foam, just a mixture of milk and espresso. As the coffee machine is equipped with a steam wand that heats milk, the barista will inevitably create some milk foam when heating the milk. Later, with the emergence of latte art, latte became composed of thin milk foam, milk, and espresso.

cappuccino

Cappuccino coffee existed long before the emergence of espresso machines in the modern sense, and the earliest written records were in the 1930s. The name Cappuccino comes from the fact that the liquid surface of the coffee is a circle of white milk foam in the middle with a circle of brown fat milk foam around it, which looks like a Franciscan priest looking down and wearing a robe. This kind of robe is called "Capuchin".

When Front Street looked through the classic cappuccino recipes, the most widely circulated method is "1:1:1", that is, the ratio of coffee, milk, and milk foam is 1:1:1. If calculated based on the normal size cappuccino cup (180ml), then the espresso is the Italian standard 2 shots (60ml), and the milk and milk foam also occupy 60ml each. The coffee produced in this way will have a milk foam thickness of 2.5cm. It will still be foamy after two sips, and will be very concentrated coffee when you drink it.

Therefore, Front Street believes that this "1:1:1" is indeed the recipe for cappuccino, but it belongs to the production ratio before the emergence of modern espresso machines in 1947. As early as 1905, a real espresso machine appeared, but it was an ancient type with a pressure of about 3-5 bar. The espresso produced was only thin or had no crema, and the concentration was not as high as it is now. Therefore, in order to reflect the coffee flavor of cappuccino, the amount of coffee base must be larger. It is reasonable to mention 1/3 cup size.

Since there were no steam wands to froth milk at that time, making latte coffee at that time simply boiled hot milk and then mixed it with coffee. There was no milk foam. To make cappuccino, you need to use physical methods to create fine foam, and the essence of cappuccino is that the delicate milk foam provides a full and delicate taste. First pour the milk and a small amount of milk foam will blend evenly with the coffee in the cup. When it reaches 2/3 of the cup, use a spoon to spoon the delicate milk foam into the middle of the cup until the cup is 11 minutes full. Finally, the white milk foam in the middle will be brought out by the spoon to make a small point, just like the white pointed hat worn by the priest.

With the emergence of modern espresso machines with stronger pressure, the quality of espresso has been qualitatively improved, so the cappuccino formula derived from espresso naturally needs to be adjusted appropriately. The Italians made adjustments based on the appearance characteristics and flavor of cappuccino. Most cappuccinos are based on 1 shot (30ml).

The standard cappuccino cup size is also 180ml. As for the amount of milk foam, there is no specific quantity, but the taste is required to be dense and delicate, so the milk foam is generally controlled at about 1-2cm. Since there is already a steam wand to froth the milk, in order to improve the production efficiency, a spoon is omitted to scrape the milk froth, so there will be no "little pointed hat" shape, but the 11-point standard is still retained.

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Front Street briefly describes the differences between Americano, latte and cappuccino.

Structurally, Americano = espresso + water

Latte = espresso + milk + thin milk foam

Cappuccino = espresso + milk + thick milk foam

In terms of type, Americano is black coffee, while latte and cappuccino are milk coffee.

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In terms of taste and taste, the coffee beans used must be combined. Here we use the classic Italian blended coffee from Front Street for comparison. The American coffee ranges from strong and slightly bitter to gradually becoming lighter. Latte shows the sweet taste of chocolate milkshake and the body of coffee, like a cup of coffee-flavored milk. Cappuccino has a dense texture, like taking a bite of coffee-flavored marshmallows. With the milk as a backdrop, the aroma of coffee is more prominent when you drink it.

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So how exactly are these coffees made?

Whether it's making a latte, an Americano or a cappuccino, there's one thing it can't escape: espresso. Each coffee shop uses different espresso beans and extraction methods, so the taste will be different. Take the products produced by Front Street Store as an example:

The espresso beans used in the Front Street store are the Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans developed by Front Street based on flavor. It is a blend of Yirgacheffe red cherries and Honduran sherry wine barrel coffee beans. With the aroma of sherry and the flavors of chocolate, vanilla cream and sherry, it has excellent taste in both the concentration itself and the Americano or milk coffee. Suitable for those who pursue coffee flavor.

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Front Street's espresso extraction plan is to extract 40 grams of espresso liquid from 20 grams of coffee powder. The powder-to-liquid ratio is 1:2 and the time is 30 seconds.

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The preparation method of Front Street Americano is 40g of coffee liquid and 180ml of water to make a 220ml cup of Americano.

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The preparation method of Front Street Latte is 40 grams of coffee liquid plus 210 ml of hot milk (thin milk foam), combined with latte art to make a cup of 250 ml latte.

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The preparation method of Front Street Cappuccino is 40 grams of coffee liquid and 150 ml of hot milk (thick milk foam), making a cup of cappuccino that is 11 points full.

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You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.

The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.

FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.

FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473

Types of Italian coffee｜What is the difference between Americano latte and cappuccino? Which one tastes better?

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