Coffee Break: Job Aid for Your Daily Grind
Every morning starts the exact same for me. When I arrive at the office I remove my bag, I take out my computer (never start it because I never turn it off!), and then I find my coffee buddy. We take the first 20 minutes walking to the coffee shop and getting our daily brew and starting rumors.
Some people grab coffee before coming to work, some while at work, some even work from a coffee shop, I know I would like to! But the fact is most people drink coffee or a similar beverage every morning. And why not, coffee is great! The smell, the taste, the buzz, just a great way to start a morning. Don’t forget, coffee can also help you get it done or put two days into one!
But how much do you know about your coffee? You may know how to order your drink, but what about if your picking up drinks for other people? Or maybe your somewhere new and their menu isn’t as detailed, how do you order what you want? Clearly this is a vast topic that could consume an entire blog! However, I love the short concise job aid, and hopefully I can give you enough lingo to help you flirt with that cute barista you neglect to tip every morning.
Coffee / Drip - Everyone knows what this is. Dark roasts are bold, generally more bitter, lighter roasts are mild. French roast is a bold dark roast and a breakfast blend is lighter, generally called medium roast. Be sure to ask for room or say no room depending whether you add cream or not. I like mine black!
Espresso - Coffee’s small hyper brother, espresso is going to use pressure to push water through a very fine grind. This is going to give you a strong tasting coffee and is the base for many other coffee drinks. Espresso is very under-appreciated in America. A good espresso captures the complexity and taste of a coffee bean. If you never have, I suggest you try plain espresso, at least once!
Doppio - Much like an espresso, this is often two shots with a shot of hot water.
Cappuccino- Espresso with Steamed Milk and Froth, generally equal parts milk and froth. With this drink your going to have the wonderful espresso taste but toned down by the milk. Important concepts concerning Cappuccinos are if you want it Dry or Wet. Dry or wet refers to the amount of froth you want. Dry means more froth and less milk, means the coffee will be stronger tasting, and vice versa for wet. If you have only drank latte’s you will notice Cappuccinos are often less full and lighter, that is due to the increased froth.
Latte- This is the American drink. Starbucks has taken the cappuccino and turned it into the American hamburger of coffee (not that that is a bad thing). What I mean is most coffee shops take a latte and create several different drinks. Add Chocolate and you have a mocha, caramel gives you a caramel latte, Honey gives you Boston latte, etc…
Macchiato - Means stained or marked. Traditionally is espresso with a small bit of milk froth or hot milk. Of course, at Starbucks and the like, their caramel Macchiato is much closer to a latte than a true macchiato.
Caffe Americano / Lungo - This is one of my favorite. It is quite simple, it is generally espersso with water. This is going to give you the same strength as regular coffee but a totally different flavor.
Chai- Not coffee at all but definitely a favorite among many people. Chai is a tea that is often sweetened and added with milk. This makes very much like a latte and can often be combined with sweeteners like a latte i.e. chocolate, honey, caramel, etc…
For Here - If your sticking in the cafe for your drink, order it in a “for here” cup. I think any coffee drink tastes better in a nice mug or glass.
Extra Hot - If you plan on traveling alot before enjoying your drink, tell the barista, make it extra hot! I’ve never had one tell me no due to liability reasons.
That is some of the basics, almost everything else in the coffee shop is a variate of those standard mixtures. Hopefully this helps you next time its your turn to get coffee for the office people. I suggest you try everything once. Whats your favorite morning drink?
(photo hat tip Modite, Thanks!)
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January 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 am
eSpresso.
nice post. can we expect a followup on doing it yourself, both coffee and espresso?
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:57 am
Definitely Alex - Thanks for the suggestion.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:00 am
is that a pun?
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 am
Alex - Sorry, not a pun, just a misspelling!
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Oh man… this post is great. My two liquid loves right now are beer and coffee. I even bring fresh roasted coffee in twice a week. I use a standard Bodum French Press but lately I’ve been using my Aeropress a lot more. Be sure to check out the Aeropress (by Aerobie) for some freakin’ good coffee without the sediment of the press! I’ll post an article on Cubicle Brewing. Even though it makes you a huge douche to brew your own coffee at your desk, it’s worth it for the taste.. mmm.
January 24th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Not only does coffee perk you up and taste great, there are also a good deal of health benefits - high in antioxidants, reduces risk of heart disease, increases your cardiovascular capacity.
Don’t forget about Cuban coffee as well….it’s like espresso but brewed into a paste of sugar….a definite extreme pick me up.
January 24th, 2008 at 6:33 am
@ Grant - One person I know in our office brews his own, it is kinda strange, but we have the worse coffee machine ever here. It is called Flavia and it does single serving coffees and teas and is quite possibly the worse thing ever. I’d rather drink Skol vodka straight.
@ Andy - There are some health benefits. Unless of course you suffer from chronic heartburn, then, the delicious warm nectar can be a painful habit. Thanks for the comment, I’m going to have to look into the Cuban coffee, never really seen it!
January 24th, 2008 at 7:29 am
My wife and I are coffee nerds. We’ve got 3 machines in the house. The regular pot (which has a built in grinder, so coffee is as fresh as it can be), a 40 cup urn (for study marathons), and the Tassimo. If you haven’t seen one, look into it. Single cup coffee, expresso, latte, tea, etc. Glorious.
January 24th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
You should turn your computer off sometimes. Your IT guys will thank you.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Norcross - Thanks for the idea, the Tassimo is going to be on the wedding registry!
Dan - yeah, your probably right, also if I turn off my computer I may remember my password to turn it on more often!
January 28th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Thanks for the advice!!
I’ve really been wanting to order a venti triple hot smoking lava skinny orange mocha frap but didn’t think I could get the logistics right…you just wait cute barista, if you get it right I might just tip you enough to enter my social class
January 31st, 2008 at 4:01 pm
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