What do coffee menus mean and how to order your drink

What do coffee menus and the items in there mean?
Have you ever gone to a coffee shop and stared hopelessly trying to figure out what everything meant, then order the same as your friend (a cortado) and hated it?

You are not alone.

That was my exact experience when I visited my first specialty coffee shop ever. To this day, I don’t like cortados… I think that experience scarred me for life.

I get it, coffee menus are overwhelming, and often, confusing. Some have very descriptive items, others simply say Drip, Espresso + Milk (and various sizes/prices next to it).
So, if you want to know what each drink is, read on for a few basics to guide you through the weird names and lingo from the coffee world!

Let’s start with a few things that are pretty standard in coffee menus:

Most specialty coffee shops will do 2 shots of espresso in all their espresso-based drinks, unless the customer specifies otherwise. The major difference between the drinks will be the amount of milk, milk temperature, and milk texture (thin/wet or thick/dry).
When it comes to syrups/sweeteners, most shops will not add it to your drink, unless you specify it.

And now, some standard drinks almost everyone can agree on. Except Starbucks – they have their own culture and way of naming their drinks.

Espresso Based Drinks

[pssst: want to know your coffee personality? Take our quiz here!]

Espresso
Usually a double shot of espresso (around 2 oz) with no milk. This can be single-origin, which means it came from one region alone, like Colombia or Ethiopia. Or, it can also be a blend – a combo of various origins, like Colombia and Ethiopia together.
Macchiato
A double shot of espresso marked by a little bit of steamed milk. This is the drink with the least amount of milk, with a dryer (foamy) texture.
This is the stronger tasting espresso-based drink that has milk.
Cortado
(AKA my nemesis – that first sip of it scarred me: I wasn’t expecting how strong it would taste. On top of that, when I started working in coffee, it was also the hardest to pour when doing latte art.
I’m ok though, I just need a moment…
Equal amounts of espresso and steamed milk. Think of it as a mini latte – the milk will be thin like a latte, but only about 2oz of milk, for a total of a cute little 4oz drink. The milk will be steamed enough to warm up it up but not hot, so that customer can sip on it immediately.
Because there’s less milk, this will be stronger tasting coffee.
Cappuccino
More milk than cortado, thicker milk consistency. And a bit warmer than the cortado. Usually, the total size will be between 6-8oz.
Flat White
Of Australian origin, it is the same size as the cappuccino but with milk consistency equal to the latte (much thinner/less foamy). The size/structure of it may vary based on the coffee shop, but everywhere I’ve worked, this is what with tend to do… in essence, it is a small latte.
Latte
The largest of espresso-based drinks, it will be an average of 12 ounces and will also be the one with the highest temperature. Milk is thinner (wet), and it’ll have the most amount of milk.
This is the drink that most people prefer to add syrups to, making more of a treat.

Other Drinks in Coffee Menus

Drip
Think hot black coffee. This is usually batch-brewed, made for high quantity at once (40 cups or more) into large coffee pots.
This can be dialed in and it is made based on the coffee shops preferences with the help of tools to make them consistent. If the shop doesn’t have/use the tools, and only dial them in based on taste, they can be more hit and miss, so the quality/consistency may vary from one specialty shop to another.
Pour overs
Think hot black coffee also, but this method is by manually brewing one by one. The advantage to this is that there’s more control as they are made to order. The disadvantage is it takes more time to make (depending on whether there are more of these ordered) and what their staff looks like on a busy day. If baristas are slammed, or aren’t focused while making it the quality and result of that cup of coffee can suffer.
Cold Brew
This can be done in various methods like immersion, kyoto, pressure brewed, nitro infused, etc. But the basic concept is that it’s brewed over a long period of time (12-18 hours) based on the coffee shops preference, and with cold or room temperature water.

psst… want to get in on our once-a-month secret posts? Sign up below, and then continue reading!

Other coffee lingo you might’ve heard…

…and that’ll help you understand coffee menus more

Red eye: drip coffee with a shot of espresso in it.
Dopio: double shot of espresso. AKA shot of espresso. AKA just espresso – rarely do coffee shops just pull one shot of espresso at a time, so two shots pulled at once is the standard.
Cortadito: a cortado with sugar
Cafe con leche: this one is tough. It literally translates into coffee with milk, so you’d think that means drip with a splash of milk. But sometimes it means espresso with steamed milk and sweetened (sometimes with condensed milk), often the size of a cappuccino. If you’re ordering one, hopefully they’ll clarify with you what it is you want, but to be safe, it’s cool to let them know what exactly is your preference and definition of cafe con leche.
Dial in: The procedure to get the coffee to the best possible specs to make it taste balanced and oh so good.
If you’ve never worked in coffee, a little background: coffee is affected by many factors, like ambiance temperature and humidity, amount of coffee, amount of water, the time it’s brewed, the pressure it’s brewed under, how it’s roasted, the origin, etc. So in order to get it to the best extraction point, baristas dial it in at the start of their shift, and then throughout to keep it consistent as changes take place. Sometimes coffee is temperamental (if say, the shop is packed, a lot of the variables I just mentioned change) so you may not always get a perfect shot, but know we’re trying out best by adjusting settings to conform to the variables we may not be able to control.

Go get yourself a drink!

Now that you understand coffee menus, head to your local coffee shop and get yourself a drink.

If you’re looking for some quality coffee in Tampa Bay, here are 3 amazing places (with a full list coming soon):

King State: It may seem a little biased but I loved their coffee long before I started working there
Bandit: If you’re in St. Pete, this is the spot to check out
Elevation: A new spot in Carrollwood. Sweet staff, good coffee, what else do you need?

And if you’re into make coffee yourself, check out the Tools for Home Baristas post. In it, you can find all the tools necessary for brewing great coffee at home!