I think it's easy to point how this is pretty off in some ways, but if you think of it as being aimed at someone with no coffee knowledge, I think it's not a bad overview of how that person is likely to experience those types of drinks.
Here's a quick tidbit I always have in the back of my mind:
If it's an Italian name, it's espresso-based and if it's a French name, it's coffee-based.
Italian coffee, for example:
Americano - Espresso and water
Latte - Espresso and regular milk
Cappuccino - Espresso and steamed milk
Breve - Espresso and steamed half-and-half
French coffee, for example:
Café - Plain coffee, sometimes called Café Noir
Café au Lait - Coffee and regular milk
Café Cremé - Coffee and cream (or sometimes half-and-half)
Café Americano - Coffee and water, it's the French version of the Italian style.
What's the difference between coffee and espresso? Coffee is brewed and steeped. Espresso is created by forcing water through very, very densely-packed coffee grounds using high pressure. Coffee is typically enjoyed in cups and espresso is typically consumed in "shots" because of the strong flavor.
Yeah, my partner has to explain to me what the difference is between two drinks at least once a month. I just know I like the sweet ones and hazelnut goes good with most of em
My point is that a non-coffee drinker is going to drink that and think it tastes like black coffee. Their experience of it will be what's on the sign even if that's inaccurate.
Also just an FYI, an americano is espresso shots in water, not coffee. Similar to what you're describing, but a little smoother.
Exactly ... it's the kind of place with one cheap coffee machine that buys the cheapest ground bulk coffee they can find and probably spike the grounds with a bit of salt to make it palpable for their regular customers who all don't care about their coffee because they've been visiting the same place for over 20 years.
I know everyone is here for the same thing, and we've all been correcting this image since it showed up five years ago, but an Americano is not a black coffee.
It is however, coffee that is black, but if I ordered one and got the other, I'd know somethings up.
Also, I really don't know why people drink americano. To me they just taste like cigarettes, but I'm currently drinking chicory so my opinion is moot.
The only reason it exists is because Americans visiting Europe would ask for coffee, and many euro coffee shops only had espresso, so they just added hot water to espresso and that was close enough for the tourists.
I'm confused now, because espresso is also coffee? Like, it's all made from coffee beans. I agree that Americano is espresso with water, but to me that is absolutely a kind of coffee.
For whatever reason, at the time Italian coffee names became so popular 15 or so years ago, coffee became either super intense or a dessert. I'm old and I just want a mild coffee like I used to drink before the fashion, not a super strong one. Call me a lightweight if you want, I don't take pride in doing stimmulants.
As an American living in Europe for over a decade, Americano is the default I have to drink when I'm out unless I go to a hipster coffee shop. The main reason being practically no one does filter coffee, but almost every restaurant has an espresso machine.
And it tastes like cigarettes because even though every restaurant has an espresso machine it doesn't mean they clean it, and doesn't mean their staff knows how to use it properly. Water temps too high, too much coffee grounds, over compressed, lowest quality beans. Fucking everywhere. It's awful.
even though every restaurant has an espresso machine it doesn’t mean they clean it, and doesn’t mean their staff knows how to use it properly. Water temps too high, too much coffee grounds, over compressed, lowest quality beans. Fucking everywhere. It’s awful.
And this is why, as an Italian, I can't drink espresso anywhere in the world. 9/10 is just awful
It's color is black, but it's not black the type. Cold brew, espresso, and chickory are also blackthe color, but they're not what you ordered if you wanted black the type.
Americano - half coffee half water.
Solo - just coffee.
Cortado - coffee with a "cut" of milk.
Cafe con leche - half coffee half milk.
Leche manchada - milk "dirtied" with a dash of coffee.
For anyone that sees espresso and thinks express, as in something fast, it's actually meant to be pressed, as it's an Italian term. So that's hot water that went through pressed coffee powder.
So that's hot water that went through pressed coffee powder.
The "pressed" doesn't refer to the coffee powder but to the water: the water is pressed through the coffee grounds using high pressure (around 9 bars or so).
You get the warm bitter espresso then the cool sweet vanilla icecream. You need to eat it quick while it melts then drink it when it combines into a coolish sweet coffee thing.
Source : am french. I love me some Americano, but the default here is the espresso. You can also get a "long espresso" which is basically a diluted espresso, and is still not the same as an Americano (and this is where my coffee knowledge stops, so I'm not sure what the differences are exactly). I also have some Italian family and they would probably disown me if I said that the Americano is the "default" black coffee
Flat white is 2 espresso shots and equal parts steamed milk. A Latte is more steamed milk (idk the exact ratio if there is one), most places just fill up whatever latte cup they have which should be bigger than the flat white cup, and has a small amount of head/foam.
They are coffee extremists, but from the other side of the spectrum.
Equally or even more annoying than the "Venti Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino, extra cream, pinch of pumpkin spice, ..." crowd. Since that side at least doesn't force their views on coffee on other people.