Types of popular coffee drinks - coffee making styles / methods

What are the most common types of coffee drinks ? How to prepare them ?

Coffee making styles can be divided according to many characteristics, but basically they can be splitted into two basic groups: slow-brewed coffees and quick-brewed coffees. Slow-brewed coffee is generally called "coffee" and quick-brewed coffee prepared under the pressure using a machine is usually called "espresso".

Common slow-brewed coffees are:

• Classic brewed coffee — made by pouring hot water onto ground coffee. It can be prepared by using a filter, percolator, French press etc.
• Moka coffee — made by using Moka coffee pot. It brews coffee by passing boiling water pressurised by steam through ground coffee.
• Turkish coffee — made by using very finely ground coffee beans without filtering.

Common quick-brewed coffees are mostly the espresso based coffees:

• Latte — is made with espresso and steamed milk.
• Cappuccino — is made with espresso, steamed milk and milk foam.
• Americano — is made by adding hot water to espresso, what gives it different flavor from brewed coffee.
• Lungo — is made by adding more water to espresso. It is similar to Americano, but different.
• Macchiato — is made with espresso and small amount of milk or milk foam.
• Mocha coffee — is made with espresso, chocolate and steamed milk.
• Vienna coffee — is made with espresso and whipped cream.
• Irish coffee — is made with espresso, whiskey, sugar and whipped cream.

There are also other coffee drinks like Frappé coffee, which is made with instant coffee, sugar, ice cubes, milk and water. Sometimes the Kahlúa liqueur, Baileys Irish Cream or ice cream is added to frappé. Coffees like Latte, Cappuccino, Vienna coffee are often topped with cinnamon or chocolate powder.

What is the difference between recipes for preparing Americano coffee and Lungo coffee ? Is it about the amount of water ?

The difference between Americano and Lungo is in whole preparation methods, what makes each of them the specific type of coffee drink.

Americano — is made by pouring hot water into an espresso. The common espresso and water ratios are 1:4, 1:2, but also 1:1. When espresso is added into hot water, the coffee drink is called Long Black, which is popular in Australia. For a Long Black is typical that crema stays on top, because espresso is added after water.

Lungo — is a type of espresso that has been made with more water than usual. All the water in drink is brewed and passed through the coffee grounds. Lungo is generally shorter and slightly more bitter than Americano.