11 Espresso Drinks Explained
A coffee lovers’ guide to espresso drinks
Espresso is the base for many delightful coffee drinks without milk or with milk. If you are beginning your coffee journey, you may want to understand what a classic espresso is and to learn about the most popular espresso drinks. However, in this post we won’t cover cappuccino, late or other milky coffee drinks based on espresso – that’s for another time.
Here we prepared a short guide to espresso drinks (mostly) without milk. Let’s start with describing what is an espresso coffee, here is a short definition of espresso:
What is espresso
Espresso is a very strong black coffee drink made in an automatic coffee machine. The espresso brewing method uses hot water under high pressure (usually 9 – 10 bars) which goes very quickly through coffee grounds.
The above is a basic espresso drink, which can be served hot or cold and there are different espresso variations based on it. We talk about espresso drinks variations below, so keep on reading.
Espresso drinks from a coffee machine
Now let’s look at various espresso drinks and if you want to learn how to brew espresso, here we have an espresso brewing guide:
The 11 most popular espresso drinks based on a machine espresso include:
- Single espresso
- Espresso doppio
- Ristretto
- Espresso lungo
- Macchiato
- Espresso con panna
- Shakerato
- Espresso Romano
- Americano (long black)
- Cafe con Hielo
- Cafe Zorro
1. Single espresso
This is a single shot of espresso served in a shot glass or a small cup. A characteristic component of espresso is the crema on top. Espresso is often served with a small glass of water on the side and sometimes with a piece of chocolate. You can also add sugar according to your liking.
2. Espresso doppio (double espresso)
This potent coffee drink is made of two shots of espresso and in many coffee places it’s a standard espresso serving. Like single espresso, it’s served in a small cup or glass. Often a glass of water can be offered with it as well as sugar or chocolate.
3. Ristretto
What is ristretto coffee? Ristretto it’s an extra strong shot of espresso. The ristretto brewing method uses less water (half the normal amount) and finer grind of coffee to make the brew stronger.
4. Espresso lungo
Cafe lungo is a very strong espresso drink with a high caffeine content. To make espresso lungo we use a double amount of water. Is espresso lungo stronger than regular espresso? Yes, the same amount of coffee with a longer extraction time makes the coffee stronger than regular espresso.
5. Macchiato
What is macchiato coffee? Espresso macchiato, or simply macchiato is a single or double espresso with a dollop of milk foam on top to balance the sharpness of the plain espresso.
6. Espresso con panna
What is espresso con panna? It’s a single or double shot of espresso with a dollop of whipped cream on top. This rich coffee drink is creamy and milder than classic espresso, but because the cream is not mixed with the coffee, you can still taste the espresso drinking through the cream sitting on top.
7. Shakerato
Shakerato is a delightful black coffee drink based on espresso. It’s an espresso with ice, some sugar and a drop or almond liqueur mixed in a shaker. Shakerato is usually served in a martini glass and it’s a lovely, refreshing drink perfect for an afternoon break on a hot day.
8. Espresso Romano
What is cafe Romano? Cafe Romano or espresso Romano is a single or double shot of espresso with a slice of lemon or lemon juice added to it. Some people add sugar to it to make it more palatable as it has… well, a controversial taste.
9. Americano (long black)
Americano is a popular espresso-based long black coffee drink. It is usually served in a mug in which an espresso is topped up with hot water. However, sometimes long filtered coffee can be called Americano as well.
10. Cafe con hielo
What is cafe con hielo? This refreshing cold black coffee drink is an espresso (single or double) with sugar served over ice cubes.
11. Cafe Zorro
What is cafe Zorro? Cafe Zorro is a double espresso mixed with hot water (1:1 espresso to water ratio). It’s simply a slightly diluted espresso.
Frequently asked questions about espresso drinks
What is the difference between espresso con panna and macchiato?
Both drinks are based on the same espresso drink. The difference between macchiato and espresso con panna is the topping. In a macchiato we have a frothed milk, while on an espresso con panna we have a whipped cream on top.
Is moka pot coffee an espresso? Is AeroPress Coffee an espresso?
A common question about espresso drinks is whether other coffee makers using pressure can be considered espresso makers? E.g. is Italian moka pot coffee an espresso? Is an AeroPress coffee an espresso? Many coffee lovers argue that those aren’t espresso drinks. So the answer is: if we are going to stick to the definition which we mention at the beginning of this article, then no, moka pot or AeroPress coffee aren’t espresso type drinks. Why? Although they use pressure in the brewing process, the pressure is much lower. So we can call them espresso-style drinks.
Summary
Here we’ve explained the most popular espresso drinks without milk. In the next article we will talk about other brewing methods used to make espresso-style drinks and other black coffee drinks. There we will cover coffee making methods using pressure (AeroPress, manual press, Italian moka pot) as well as immersion brewing methods (French Press, filter coffee, Turkish coffee etc.)
If you’ve fallen in love with black coffee, here we cover more types of coffee drinks without milk:
What are your favorite espresso drinks? Have you got your own ways of preparing them? Share in the comments!