What's the difference between Espresso, Lattes and Cappuccinos?

Coffee sure is complicated these days! I remember one of my first trips to a coffee shop and feeling a little overwhelmed, and admittedly a little stupid. Around me people seemed in their element ordering 'mocha-wocha-frappuccinos' and 'double-quadra-lattes' and thinking nothing of it. OK, so those coffees don't exist. But it can feel that confusing at times as the choices seem endless and there are a huge variety of different names for the coffees. I remember picking a cappuccino on one of my first trips – mainly because I could pronounce it. This has since became a firm favourite of mine.

So I thought it would be helpful to distinguish between 3 of the more popular coffees ordered and what you can expect when you order one.

Espressos

Espresso is a really concentrated form of coffee. Very finely ground beans have water forced through them at pressure to produce a strong and quite bitter drink. You usually only get a single or a double shot of espresso served to you. So don't be surprised if your coffee comes in a tiny mug. This caught one of my friends out who was pretty much expecting a cup of black coffee. Espresso is definitely an acquired taste, as I suppose most coffee is, but worth a try if you're curious. Good thing it that if you don't like it there's not much to drink!

Cappuccinos

Like I said this is one of my personal favourites. I think this is because the cappuccino is a quite a mild drink, not bitter and the foam top is always pleasant to drink! A good cappuccino is made with a base of espresso and some steamed and frothed milk. This is then poured over the espresso which forms a milky coffee underneath a creamy foam head – very nice! It is so different to the instant espressos you can buy from vending machines or in those little sachets. These are quite often fizzy with a bubbly top (instead of a foam) and sometimes sweet or quite bland. A good cappuccino has a very nice flavour and a creamy foam and is leagues away from the instant stuff.

Lattes

I guess in a lot of ways I think of these as the hot chocolate of the coffee world, because they come with different flavourings and sometimes a huge heap of cream – just like a luxury hot chocolate. The base of a latte is, yes thats right, our friend the espresso. This is stirred into foamy milk to make the drink. It is then flavoured with a syrup such as vanilla, chocolate or hazelnut to give it a rich taste. Finally, in some stores, freshly whipped cream is placed on the top along with a few chocolate sprinkles to produce a very hefty drink! It's a bit rich for me, but a particular friend of mine will always be happy to consume one of these!