The Glossary

Italian for “stained” or “marked.” A traditional macchiato is a single or double espresso with a small dollop of milk foam on top — roughly 3 oz, served in a demitasse, tasting predominantly of espresso with just enough milk to soften the edge.

The traditional cappuccino follows the rule of thirds: one part espresso, one part steamed milk, one part thick dry foam, in a 5–6 oz cup. In Italy it’s a morning drink — ordering one after 11am signals that you’re a tourist.

The origin is still genuinely disputed — Sydney in 1985 and Wellington in 1989 both have credible claims, and the debate has never been formally settled. There’s no need to pick a side.

What’s agreed on: a flat white uses microfoam (velvety, fully integrated milk) rather than a thick foam cap, making it feel like a smaller, stronger latte. The espresso ratio is higher than a latte, typically in a 5–6 oz cup. It sits between a cortado (less milk) and a latte (more milk).

Espresso pulled over hot water — or more precisely, espresso poured first, then hot water added on top, which breaks the crema layer. The name traces to World War II, when American soldiers stationed in Italy diluted espresso with water to approximate the drip coffee they were used to at home.

In practice, an Americano is stronger and more complex than most drip coffee, not weaker. The brewing method is different and it shows in the cup.

The Australian and New Zealand answer to the Americano — same two ingredients, opposite method. Hot water is poured into the cup first, then espresso is added gently on top, which preserves the crema layer intact rather than breaking it.

The order of operations is the whole point: Long Black means water before espresso; Americano means espresso before water. The crema on a Long Black sits on the surface instead of sinking in, giving it a different texture and a slightly different flavor profile.

Spanish, from cortar — to cut. A cortado is espresso “cut” with an equal or near-equal portion of warm milk, typically a 1:1 ratio in a small 4 oz glass. Unlike a cappuccino, there’s almost no foam. Unlike a latte, the milk doesn’t dilute the espresso so much as moderate its acidity. The result is strong but approachable — the espresso is still leading, with milk providing balance rather than volume.

The process of adjusting grind size, dose, and tamping pressure to hit a target extraction for a new bag of beans. Even the same roast from the same producer changes week to week as it ages off-roast — grind finer to slow the shot, coarser to speed it up.

A dialed-in shot typically hits 25–30 seconds for a 1:2 yield (18g coffee in, 36g liquid out). It’s considered an ongoing practice, not a one-time setup. Every new bag requires a fresh dial-in.

What happens when pressurized water finds a weak point in the coffee puck — a crack, a gap, or a low-density spot — and rushes through it rather than passing evenly through the grounds. The channel extracts at a much higher rate than the surrounding coffee, pulling bitter compounds fast, while the rest of the puck under-extracts and turns sour.

The resulting shot tastes both sour and bitter simultaneously, which is the classic tell. Channeling is typically caused by uneven distribution before tamping, inconsistent tamping pressure, or a puck that was too dry before water contact.

The visible color shift in the espresso stream as extraction progresses — from dark brown, through reddish amber, and eventually to a pale blond as the lighter, more soluble compounds run out. Experienced baristas watch for this transition to know when to cut the shot.

If the stream blondes too early (before 18–20 seconds into the pull), it signals under-extraction, a grind that’s too coarse, or channeling. Letting it run past blonding pulls bitter, thin material that dilutes the shot without adding flavor.

“Chai” simply means “tea” in Hindi, which makes “chai tea” a redundancy. Traditional masala chai is black tea simmered directly in milk with whole spices: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and black pepper. The spices steep into the milk, producing a drink that’s fragrant, complex, and not particularly sweet.

These are genuinely different products, not just different temperatures of the same drink. Cold brew is made by steeping coarse-ground coffee in cold water for 12–24 hours, then straining — no heat is ever involved. Because heat drives volatile acid extraction, cold brew is smooth, naturally sweet, and notably low in acidity.

Iced coffee is regular coffee — drip, pour-over, or espresso — brewed hot and then cooled or poured over ice. It’s brighter and more acidic, and it loses body and concentration as the ice melts. The two drinks taste quite different, and customers who care about acidity often have a strong preference between them.

Both terms describe how the fruit is removed from the coffee cherry after picking — and the choice shapes the flavor of the cup more than almost any other variable besides roast level.

In washed (or wet) processing, the fruit and mucilage are removed from the bean before drying. The result is clean, bright, and high in acidity, letting the origin character of the bean come through clearly. In natural (or dry) processing, the whole cherry is laid out to dry with the bean still inside. The bean slowly absorbs fruit sugars as it dries, producing a heavier body, lower acidity, and pronounced fruity or winey flavors. A washed Ethiopian and a natural Ethiopian from the same farm and harvest can taste dramatically different from each other.