I love coffee. All types. A lot of the time though, I don't know exactly what I'm ordering. I just go for the cool word that i'm feeling that day in the coffee shop. If i'm feeling really pumped; macchiato. If i'm feeling relaxed; latte. If i'm feeling pride for my country; americano. I could never keep the differences straight in my mind and the world of coffee can often be confusing. So I've done my research and here are some of the differences.
Espresso
This is the strong stuff. If you order straight espresso chances are it's going to be in a small cup and if you were expecting a large drink, you may be disappointed. To make it, hot steam is forced through ground coffee. There are espresso shots that go in to these other drinks to give them the caffeine and coffee flavor.
Latte
Espresso itself doesn't have milk but if you add steamed milk, it becomes a latte. Lattes have more milk than most other coffee drinks and depending on the place you go, it may not taste like coffee at all. This is when you would order an extra shot of espresso to give it a kick. Usually, coffee shops that aren't a chain will make it taste more like coffee and not drown the coffee flavor with the milk.
Cappuccino
A cappuccino is like a latte but stronger. It has less milk and the milk is more frothy and creamy in this drink. The top layer is often milk foam.
Macchiato
This is even stronger than a cappuccino. The macchiato is the one where you can see the layers of the drink before stirring it up. It means "stained" in Italian. They call it this probably because it has just a little bit of milk. The milk is usually foamed on the top. A lot of times, places make what's called a "latte macchiato" but still call it a macchiato. The difference is an extra layer of steamed milk at the bottom.
Americano
A simple way to remember this drink is "America- no milk." This is espresso with water.
Cortado
A shot of espresso with a small amount of steamed milk. It's like a creamy espresso. Strong.
Flat White
Like a cortado but with an addition of milk foam.
Mocha
Anything with mocha in the name means it has a chocolate flavoring basically.
So what's the difference between these and the coffee usually made at home?
All of the coffees above are made from espresso. When making it, the coffee is ground more finely and tightly compacted. There is a small amount of water and steam that is forced through it. The coffee made in a coffee pot or using a pour over method (drip coffee) is made by pouring the hot water through the thicker ground coffee. This results in two very different flavors.
Most of this info came from google. I am not a coffee scientist. I aspire to be.
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