Different types of Coffee
Authentic espresso needs to be brewed in an espresso machine which forces steam and boiling water through finely ground Italian roast coffee. The professional machines found in fine restaurants use a complicated system of steam pipes and springs which produces a brew that is hard to replicate with home kitchen espresso machines.
Americano
Americano (also café américano) is a style of coffee prepared by adding espresso to hot water, giving a similar strength but different flavor than regular drip coffee (the strength of any Americano can be varied by increasing the number of shots of espresso added). Like espresso, Americano tends to be an acquired taste, and many drinkers prefer it black and unsweetened to fully appreciate the differences in taste from regular coffee.
Cappuccino
Cappuccino is espresso served with steamed frothy milk. Like espresso this is best enjoyed with a professional machine which are expensive. On the home machines most espresso makers have a milk steaming attachment to froth up and heat the milk. Combine equal amounts of Italian espresso and hot milk. Top with cinnamon or nutmeg.
In Italy, cappuccino is generally consumed early in the day as part of the breakfast, with a croissant, better known to Italians as cornetto, or a pastry. Generally, Italians do not drink cappuccino with meals other than breakfast. In other countries it is consumed throughout the day or after dinner.
Cafe Mocha
Milk and coffee mixing in a LatteA Café Mocha is a variant of a cafe latte. Like a latte it is typically one third espresso and two thirds steamed milk, but a shot of chocolate is added. Typically the chocolate is in the form of an Italian syrup, although less sophisticated vending systems use instant chocolate powder. Whipped cream, dustings of cocoa and marshmallows may also be added on top for flavor and decoration.
Latte Coffee
What in English-speaking countries is now called a latte, or even more incorrectly a latté, would be referred to in Italy as "caffè e latte" (in colloquial Italian "caffellatte"), literally "coffee and milk", similar to the French "café au lait" and the Spanish "café con leche" . Caffellatte is today part of the defined international coffee menu, besides cappuccino and espresso. The Italian origin is still the inspiration, but the US and European ways of serving may differ (bean roast/amount of milk). In Europe, it is also common to use the French term "Café au lait", while in the US this is defined as regular coffee with warm milk. As recently as 1980, if you ordered a "latte" in an Italian coffeehouse in North America, you would expect to get a glass of milk -and if you ordered a "caffellatte," you would get a beverage with far less milk in it than has now come to be called a "latte."
Outside Italy, where it is mainly made at home with a stove top 'moka' and heated milk, a latte is prepared, since the early 1980s, with approximately one third espresso and two-thirds steamed milk, with a layer of foamed milk approximately one quarter inch thick on the top. The drink is very similar to a cappuccino; the difference being that a spoon is used to separate the layers of foam and steamed milk in a latte, while the milk in a cappuccino is free-poured (lattes also typically have a far lower amount of foam).
A latte can be differentiated from a cappuccino and a flat white by the proportion of milk to froth. A latte is recognised as having about one-third espresso, with steamed milk added, and holding about one centimeter of froth exhibiting latte art. A cappuccino is one third espresso, with one-third steamed milk added, and holding about one-third froth. A flat white is a serving fill of about one-third espresso, with steamed milk then added, and holding no froth.
