30 Coffee Drinks You Need To Know About!

One of the most well known and sold beverages, the caffe latte (or latte, caffé e latte, or caffelatte, or caffellatte depending on where you are) is a classic and simple way to serve up a shot of espresso.

Simply put, a cafe latte is just a shot of espresso and steamed milk, which creates a light and creamy textured beverage.

Lattes are, at their core, really basic. Thus, many people and stores add flavors to enhance the experience (pumpkin spice, anyone?) which makes it one of the easiest beverages to customize, which people have been doing since the 17th century. Did you know that Cafe latte translates to “coffee and milk?"

The good news is that most coffee stores, chain or local, serve a version of a latte, so you're never far from one!

Ingredients to make Cafe Latte

Espresso (2 oz.)

Steamed Milk (6-10 oz.)

Another classic beverage on this list, the cappuccino is an espresso-based beverage that originated in Italy. The name for cappuccino comes from the Capuchin friars who wore dark brown habits, very similar to the color of dark brewed coffee or espresso after milk has been added.

The cappuccino is similar to the latte in that it has espresso and steamed milk, but cappuccinos also include milk foam.

Milk foam occurs when we are forcing water vapor and air into milk as we heat it, which separates the milk's protein chain, essentially separating the milk into liquid and foam. When added to a cappuccino, the beverage becomes lighter and less creamy than a latte.

Ingredients to make a Cappuccino

Espresso (2 oz.)

Steamed Milk (6-10 oz.)

Milk Form (2 oz.)

Sometimes called a “caffé Americano,” an Americano translates from Spanish into “American coffee” and is essentially a diluted shot of expresso. Espresso, which can be quite intense in coffee flavor, is diluted to the consistency and flavor of black coffee, making the Americano an easy way to throw back a high caffeine concentration.

The phrase Americano dates back to the 1970s. Still, it's believed to have originated during World War II when American G.I.s in Italy would water down their espresso with hot water to create the coffee they were accustomed to. Unfortunately, this story is unconfirmed, but the Americano stands as a popular way to consume coffee.

Ingredients to make an Americano

Espresso (2 oz.)

Hot Water (4 oz.)

Made popular in Valencia, Spain, the café bombón is believed to have been a beverage inspired by Malaysia. Condensed milk is sweeter and much thicker than regular milk, which creates a velvety beverage.

The visual aesthetic of a café bombón is as important as the 1:1 ratio of condensed milk to espresso, and it's often served in a clear glass mug. The condensed milk is added slowly to the espresso, where the coffee-consumer can watch as the milk sinks to the bottom of the espresso, slowly lightening the coffee's dark color.

Unlike many of the beverages on this list, café bombóns are often sold inside two different cups: the espresso glass and a little sachet of condensed milk so you can control how quickly it's added!

Ingredients to make a Café Bombón

Espresso (1 oz.)

Condensed Milk (1 oz.)

In general, espresso and coffee can be extremely acidic, which can be unpleasant to the stomach, especially if you're new to coffee! If this sounds familiar or if you're new to the daily practice of coffee consumption, a cortado might be the best option for you. A cortado is equal parts espresso and warmed milk.

The milk for a cortado is often steamed, but not to the point where the milk's proteins separate, thereby creating foam (but if foam does form, don't worry!). The steaming process doesn't make the milk texturized like many other beverages and, instead, cuts down on the acidity and bitterness that can accompany a shot of espresso. And, any leftover foam that might form can be dumped right on top - to your preference!

Ingredients to make a Cortado

Espresso (1 oz.)

Warm Milk (1 oz.)

Foam (top to taste)

You've likely heard of a red eye, but have you ever heard of a black eye? A black eye is a double shot of espresso with twice the amount of dripped coffee. No creamer is added. A black eye is a robust beverage that packs a punch of caffeine and has an intense coffee flavor, making it the perfect pick-me-up for anyone who is sleep-deprived.

Typically, black eyes have several other names (a coffee by any other name...), some of which include a shot in the dark or a depth charge or a turbo. Regardless of what you or your local cafe calls it, a black eye is one of the most intensely flavored beverages on this list.

Ingredients to make a Black Eye

Espresso (2 oz.)

Dripped Coffee (4 oz.)

The galão is a beverage that hails from Portugal and is espresso with foamed milk, but not just an ounce or two of foamed milk. This beverage calls for three times the amount of foamed milk to espresso. Because of the amount of foamed milk, the galão is is served in a tall glass with a long-stemmed spoon on the side.

Foamed milk is light and airy and, when it's mixed with a third of the amount of espresso, it creates a beverage that is like a lighter version of a shot of espresso with a touch of that complex velvety espresso flavor that is easier on the palate.

Ingredients to make a Galão

Espresso (2 oz.)

Foamed Milk (6oz.)

The only single-ingredient beverage on this list, the lungo, is special. It's a coffee made by brewing espresso with a higher water ratio, usually twice as much, which results in a much larger coffee.

Espresso is pulled when brewed because we have to pull water through the espresso grounds. A normal shot of espresso is brewed when 18 to 30 seconds worth of water is pulled through the grounds, filling 25 to 60 milliliters. A lungo, in contrast, will fill anywhere from 130 to 170 milliliters. That's one big shot of espresso!

Did you know that lungo is Italian for long?

Ingredients to make a Lungo

Long Brewed Espresso (3 oz.)

Another classic and well-known beverage, the café macchiato is a popular addition to most cafes because it pairs well with different flavors. A macchiato, which means "stained" or "spotted" in Italian, is a single shot of espresso with a small amount of foamed milk.

The term "marked coffee" is said to have come from baristas needing to show the difference to serving waiters between espresso and espresso with a dab of milk in it. The dab of milk is to soften the acidity of the espresso and make it creamy, making it delicious and easy to consume.

Did you know that Café macchiato translates to "marked coffee?"

Ingredients to make a Café Macchiato

Espresso (1 oz.)

Foamed Milk (a dash)

A cafe mocha, or a "mochaccino" or "caffé mocha," is a rich chocolate-flavored version of a cafe latte. Typically made with hot chocolate or, even, chocolate syrup, a traditional cafe mocha is made from a chocolate flavoring and sweetener made from cocoa powder and sugar. The former, less traditional mixture of hot chocolate will create an equally delicious cafe mocha.

Technically: a cafe mocha is hot chocolate with a shot of espresso and the topping of whipped cream is to taste. As an added treat, cafe mochas are sometimes served with Amaretto cookies!

Ingredients to make a Cafe Mocha

Espresso (2 oz.)

Hot Chocolate (4 oz.)

Whipped Cream (over the top)

A ristretto is a short shot of highly concentrated espresso coffee, and it's the opposite of a lungo. It packs a higher concentration of caffeine and coffee flavor, making it an ideal beverage for people who want to maximize their caffeine intake while minimizing their sipping time.

A ristretto, which translates loosely to "restrict" or "narrow," is made when espresso is very finely ground and a small water volume is pulled through them. Because the espresso grounds are finely ground, water very slowly passes through, at around 15 seconds. This differs from classic espresso's extraction time of 25-30 seconds.

Ingredients to make a Ristretto

Espresso (0.75 oz.)

Flat whites are, on paper, simple beverages that take an incredible amount of skill to make. Consisting of just espresso with steamed milk, flat whites are a robust beverage with a creamy texture. They're comparable to lattes, but the smaller volume with less microfoam, creating a higher coffee to milk ratio.

This ratio allows espresso to be the dominating flavor in a flat white, whereas lattes have a less robust coffee flavor. Flat whites come from Australia. The first documented mention of them is in a review of Sydney's café Miller's Treat in 1983. Thank you, Australia!

Ingredients to make a Flat White

Espresso (2 oz.)

Steamed Milk (4 oz.)

Traditionally referred to as "affogato al caffe," the affogato is the first coffee-based dessert on this list and consists of a single shot of espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream or, more traditionally, vanilla gelato. When poured over the top of the scoop, the espresso melts the ice cream into a sweet and delicious desserty concoction.

Most restaurants and cafes in Italy consider a cafe affogato, or "affogato," a dessert. It's a popular option, and it can easily be improved with a shot of amaretto, Kahlua, or your other favorite dessert liquor.

Ingredients to make a Cafe Affogato

Espresso (1 oz.)

Ice Cream (1 scoop)

Very similar to the cortado, which features espresso and warmed milk, a café au lait is French for "coffee with milk" wherein the main difference between the two beverages lies. Cortado's feature espresso, café au lait features coffee, and the milk that's served with it is served chilled. Since French press coffee is served hot, as most coffee is, the milk is lightly warmed or scalded.

Sometimes, because of their similarities, café au laits are served interchangeably with cafe lattes. This makes the café au lait a classic staple for most coffee connoisseurs.

Ingredients to make a Café Au Lait

French Press Coffee (3 oz.)

Scalded Milk (3 oz.)

An Irish coffee is an intense drink that consists of hot coffee, sugar, a shot of your favorite Irish whiskey, and topped with a bit of cream to lighten the load, so to speak. Unlike other drinks on this list that features cream stirred into the coffee, Irish coffee is traditionally consumed through the cream.

It's believed that Joseph Jackson first invented Irish coffee during World War II. He made the drink for his comrades to help them stay awake during the night. After the war, he traveled to his home of Donegal and brought back the Irish coffee, where it spread from there.

Ingredients to make an Irish Coffee

French Press Coffee (4 oz.)

Irish Whiskey (2 oz.)

Brown Sugar (1 tsp.)

Heavy Cream (2.5 oz.)

Want to know how to make French Press coffee?

You've likely heard of cold brew coffee, especially in the last few years since cold brew has increased in popularity, and it's by the far the lengthiest brewing process on this list. The process of making cold brew coffee involves allowing coarsely ground beans to soak in room temperature water for anywhere from 12-24 hours.

Cold brew coffee originated in Japan, where it has been a staple and traditional method of coffee brewing for centuries. The grounds, which never come in contact with heated water, therefore produce a different chemical profile to conventional brewing methods, which gives cold brew a lower acidy content.

Ingredients to make Cold Brew coffee

Ground Coffee (1 oz.)

Water (8 oz.)

And check out our guides on making delicious cold brew coffee with a french press and making cold brew coffee in a mason jar!

Greek in origin, a frappé is an iced coffee beverage that is made from instant coffee (traditionally spray-dried Nescafé), water, sugar, and milk and it was invented in 1957 in Thessaloniki. It became a hallmark of postwar, Greek, and coffee culture, a popularity that has permeated through to today!

A "Frappuccino" is a Starbucks' trademarked brand!

Frappés are popular today, too, and, because they're naturally very sweet, they can be mixed with different syrups and flavors. Different toppings are often popular for Frappés, too, making this sweet and cold treat great for the summer season.

Ingredients to make a Frappé

Instand Coffee (2 tsp.)

Sugar Water (0.5 oz.)

Cold Water (3 oz.)

Coffee Foam (3 oz.)

Nitro cold brew coffee is a unique beverage that starts with cold brew coffee. Time-consuming, I know, but worth it if you like a thick and luxurious coffee. Once you have your cold brew base, you infuse the brew with nitrogen. Infusing coffee with nitrogen is easy and can be done by you pouring coffee into a whipped cream dispenser, which infuses the nitro for you!

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The concept of infusing coffee with, well, any gas sounds crazy but it's actually quite simple and it gives the beverage a subtle sweetness that many nitro cold brew consumers enjoy. It's all about the mouthfeel.

Ingredients to make a Nitro Cold Brew

Ground Coffee (1 oz.)

Water (8 oz.)

Nitro (An infusion)

Tangy and a touch more acidic than standard beverages, mazagran is an Algerian coffee that primarily and heavily features lemon juice. When you don't have time to juice 1.5 ounces of lemon juice from the fruit itself, a faster method of preparation involves sweetened espresso being poured into a glass with ice cubes and a slice of lemon.

Supposedly, Mazagran originated from a fortress in Algiers, Algeria named, you guessed it, Mazagran where the French colonial troops consumed a drink that was coffee syrup and cold water during 1837. Occasionally it's served with rum, which is considered a Portuguese version of the drink.

Ingredients to make a Mazagran

French Press Coffee (3 oz.)

Lemon Juice (1.5 oz.)

Brown Sugar (1 tsp.)

Confused as to why there's no coffee listed in the ingredients? Well, kaffeost, or coffee cheese is simply the practice of serving coffee with cheese, but the act of making kaffeost makes this traditional Sami treat entirely unique because you make the cheese yourself - from scratch.

If you don't feel like making cheese from scratch—don't worry. You can take the less traditional route and pour hot, black coffee over cheese cubes from the store. The coffee won't be hot enough to melt the cheese cubes. Instead, the cheese will absorb the coffee and become a rich and moist little cheese sponge that tastes faintly of coffee. You can have your cheese and drink your coffee too!

Ingredients to make a Kaffeost

Whole Milk (67.5 oz.)

Heavy Cream (2 oz.)

Rennet (2 oz.)

Traditional Türk kahvesi, or Turkish coffee, is a traditional coffee beverage prepared like many beverages on this list, but instead of filtering the coffee grounds from the final product, Türk kahvesi grounds are left in the beverage. The grounds sink to the bottom of the cup and remain there while the coffee is consumed.

Using finely ground coffee mixed with sugar and water, the beverage heated to a boil in a Turkish post called a cezve, often over an open flame. Traditional Turkish coffee is sweet, rich, and has a unique texture thanks to the grounds that settle in the bottom.

Ingredients to make a Türk Kahvesi (Turkish Coffee)

Coffee Grounds (Heaping tsp.)

Cold Water (3 oz.)

Sugar (1 tsp.)

A classic Viennese coffee beverage, the einspänner is made with either hot coffee (or espresso, if you prefer) and cream that is whipped. You can use whipped cream from a can if that's your preferred method, but traditional einspänner is made from freshly whipped cream that is then piled high on top of the coffee.

The whipped cream creates a fluffier and more luxurious texture when stirred in with the coffee. This beverage gets its name from a single horse-drawn carriage as the coachmen would fill their glasses to the brim with whipped cream, which would keep their coffee warm as they worked and help prevent spilling.

Ingredients to make an Einspänner

Heavy Cream (8 oz.)

Hot Coffee (45 oz.)

Sugar (To taste)

Also dubbed Vietnamese egg coffee, cà phê trung involves an egg yolk beaten with sweetened condensed milk for a whopping 10 minutes to make a light and airy meringue-like substance. This substance, unique onto itself, is poured on top of hot espresso to create a flip-like coffee beverage.

Vietnamese egg coffee was first hatched in the 1940s during a milk shortage. Creative bartender Giang saw this as an opportunity to create a replacement for coffee. He used his expertise as a bartender to create a creamy replacement using eggs and sugar. Interested in trying it out? Be prepared to whip those egg yolks to perfection!

Ingredients to make a Cà Phê Trung

Espresso (12 oz.)

Egg (1 Yolk)

Sweet Condensed Milk (4 tbsp.)

A Mexican coffee traditionally served in an earthen clay pot, café de olla, which translates into "pot coffee," is a coffee beverage that takes on an earthy flavor thanks to the specific pot its served in. Piloncillo (or rapadura) is unrefined whole cane sugar that yields a more caramelized and natural flavor than its refined sugar sibling.

Earthenware is a porous material that, after use, tends to take on the previous flavor of the substance that sat in it previously. This coffee is commonly consumed in colder climates and rural areas.

Ingredients to make Café de Olla

Coffee (2 oz.)

Piloncillo (4-5 oz.)

Cinnamon Stick (2 in.)

Optional Aniseeds (A few)

A frequently debated subject, bulletproof coffee is a high-calorie beverage that is meant to replace breakfast for people following a keto diet. In place of a dairy or non-dairy creamer, bulletproof coffee uses a high-quality fat blended into the coffee using a standard blender (any blender will due).

The butter is intended to add filling fats to the beverage and fuel the day's start. Whether or not bulletproof coffee or butter coffee, as some people refer to it as is a beverage for you, it's certainly a beverage for many!

Ingredients to make Bulletproof Coffee

Brewed Coffee (12 oz.)

High-Quality Fat (1 tbsp.)

Sweetener (To taste)

Kopi joss is an Indonesian specialty, frequently served on roadsides and in food stalls by careful vendors who have mastered the art of kopi joss for their many patrons. But what makes kopi joss so special? You take a sizzling chunk of charcoal and drop it directly into a cup of hot black coffee.

The charcoal is carefully warmed over a bed of hot coals until it is glowing red. Then it is carefully plunked into the coffee, where it sits for a minute or until it cools down before a long-stemmed spoon removes it. Charcoal, in small doses, can be healthy for you when it's dunked in hot coffee; it helps to neutralize the acidity of the beverage. As for the taste, many report that it has a smokey, carbon-y flavor. If you decide to try your own kopi joss, be very careful!

Try as I might, I couldn't find a recipe for this beverage.

While this might seem like an easy coffee beverage, the cafecito, or the Cuban coffee, is a staple way to end any meal in Cuba and it's more than just an espresso beverage. Instead of mixing sugar into the coffee itself after you top your mug off, you splash a bit of your brewed joe into a bowl and quickly whisk the two together until foam forms. Then, top your coffee with the foam.

It's said that a well-made cafecito has a sweet crema floating over a strong coffee but, in truth, there's crema involved because there is no dairy product involved. Some sources also reported sugar being dumped directly into the coffee grounds themselves. Regardless, a cafecito is sweet and strong.

Ingredients to make Cafecito

Espresso (2 oz.)

Sugar (4 tsp.)

A traditional Vietnamese coffee, the ca phe sua da is made from coarsely ground dark roast coffee, Vietnamese grown, of course, that is mixed with sweetened condensed milk and a touch of sugar to subdue the acidity. A few recipes that I discovered called for the coffee grounds to have ground chicory, which is often a coffee substitute, but this would inconclusive.

A ca phe sua da is served over a few ice cubes, making it a chilled coffee and the perfect addition to any warm-weather day. Once the coffee has been drip-brewed, the coffee is then poured quickly over the ice, cooling it down to a consumable temperature and allowing the coffee itself to stop cooking in the heat.

Ingredients to make Ca Phe Sua Da

Ground Coffee (4 oz.)

Condensed Milk (0.5 oz.)

Sugar (To taste)

Ice Cubes ( To preference)

If you want your chai tea to have an extra kick to it, a dirty chai tea latte might be the perfect beverage for you. Chai, traditionally masala chai, is a tea beverage that originates in India. Chai is made from cinnamon, clove, and black tea, and it has an aromatic and spicy scent. A chai latte is chai tea with steamed milk in it.

But what makes a dirty chai latte dirty? A shot of espresso! A dirty chai latte is a base of chai tea with a shot of espresso poured in and then topped with steamed milk. They're spicy, creamy, and delicious.

Ingredients to make a Dirty Chai Latte

A Chai Latte

Espresso (1 shot)

In Italian, a piccolo latte or a piccolo commonly refers to a small latte, but it's much more than just a petite version of the favored latte. In fact, this single shot of espresso more closely resembles a blend of a latte and a ristretto. A little-latte-'stretto, if you will.

A small beverage doesn't mean you're giving half the caffeine for the same flavors and body of a larger latte, though. In fact, in smaller quantities, the piccolo is said to pack more flavor and more body than its larger counterpart. Twice the size, double the flavor!

Ingredients to make a Piccolo Latte

Espresso (1 oz.)

Whole Milk (1.5 oz.)