How to order a coffee in different countries of the world
Although the records of the existence of coffee as a drink date from the thirteenth century, the origin is still not clear. It is estimated that it began to be cultivated in Ethiopia and Arabia and then its consumption spread throughout the world. Of the more than 100 species of coffee plants, only two of these beans are used to prepare the drink, these are Arabica (mainly produced in America) and Robusta (mainly produced in Africa and Asia).
Now, knowing this, how do we order a coffee to our liking? Depending on the country and even the city you are in, there are hundreds of ways to call them, some original and others with different names for the same drink. Likewise, as preparing it is already an art, it will depend on the ingenuity, skill, creativity, and subjectivity of the barista who prepares it.
Argentina
In Buenos Aires, as in many countries, coffee is a classic, so there are a series of traditional bars called Remarkable Bars (Bares Notable) where you can order some of the following varieties of coffee (due to the way it is made).
Cortado: A cup of black coffee, "cut" with milk. The ratio would be ¾ of coffee for ¼ of milk and a thin layer of foam on the surface. Other variants are "Just cut" where the proportion of milk is lower or "Cut half and half" which would be like a coffee with milk but in a small cup or jug.
Tear: Milk with "a tear" of coffee, that is, with a droplet that barely darkens the tone of the milk.
Coffee with milk: The proportion of the drink is simple: half coffee, half milk. There are also variants according to taste, asking for "More milk than coffee" or "More coffee than milk" and the proportion is according to the subjectivity of the barista.
Cappuccino: There is cappuccino and Italian cappuccino. It depends on where you order it, it will come with cream, cinnamon, and chocolate grated (Italian), or as a kind of long cut layered in different shades of brown. Italian will always be more expensive.
Americano: This coffee is often the source of recurring confusion. The "American" is, by definition, a lighter coffee, served in a small jug, that is, in a cup higher than the cup, lower than that of cappuccino, and narrower than that of coffee with milk. Asking for an Americano should be asking for a long coffee.
Double coffee: Depending on the location, a “double coffee” can be a black coffee in a cup for coffee with milk (which is usually the size of a teacup).
Coffee with cream: It is usually an espresso with whipped cream.
Short: If you want a more loaded black coffee than normal, it is advisable to ask for a “strong espresso” or a short one where only a quarter of the cup is served.
Bombón Coffee: It is usually served in a glass and is a quarter of condensed milk and the rest is espresso.
Italy
Caffè or espresso: if you only order a coffee, this is what you will find in Italy, a single espresso –made with an espresso machine–, with a small amount of water and strong, served in a small cup.
Caffè macchiato: espresso coffee with little hot milk –macchiato broth– or cold –macchiato freddo–. It is similar to cut coffee and is served in a medium cup.
Cappuccino: one of the most famous Italian drinks. It is hot milk steamed to obtain foam with espresso coffee, usually a little long served in a large cup. Sometimes it is decorated with a little cocoa.
Caffè latte: similar to coffee with milk, that is, like a cappuccino but without foam, also served in a cup.
Marocchino: espresso with cocoa powder and foamed milk, served in a small glass cup.
Mochaccino: espresso with hot chocolate and milk with foam.
Caffè Viennese: it is like a mochaccino but with whipped cream.
Caffè con la panna: espresso with whipped cream.
Caffè freddo (literally cold coffee): What you do is place the caffè lungo in the refrigerator or, freshly made, cool it quickly with ice in a cold glass and filter it to remove the ice. It is served in a small crystal glass.
Caffè corretto: it is an espresso with some liquor, usually grappa or brandy, but also sambuca, mistrà, fernet, rum, etc.
Caffè d'orzo: it is not actually coffee, it is a similar infusion but instead of coffee beans it is made with barley beans, also roasted and ground like coffee. It is served in a medium cup, larger than that of espresso and smaller than that of cappuccino.
Spain
Barraquito: Long-cut coffee, with liquid milk and condensed milk, cinnamon sticks, lemon rind, and a splash of Licor 43 or Tía María. Tenerife.
Belmonte: Coffee with condensed milk and brandy. Murcia and Almería.
Black and white: Iced coffee with meringue milk. Valencian Community.
Asian coffee: Coffee alone with condensed milk, brandy or rum flambéed, and sprinkled with ground cinnamon. Cartagena.
Carajillo: Coffee with marc brandy, brandy, or rum. Barcelona.
Carajillo bombón: Coffee with brandy and condensed milk. Madrid.
Time coffee: Cold coffee with lemon slices and cinnamon sticks.Valencian Community.
Catalan: Coffee with Catalan cream. Barcelona.
Celta: Coffee with brown sugar, pomace, three coffee beans, and a lemon wedge. Variant of carajillo in Galicia.
Complete: Coffee, brandy, and cigar. Castile and Leon.
Cortado condensed: Coffee cut with condensed milk. Canary Islands.
Ebaki: Long latte with a lot of sugar. Saint Sebastian.
Medium: Coffee with milk in the middle of the morning, in a medium cup. Madrid.
Mixed: Hot coffee with cream or strawberry ice cream or horchata granita (a sugary drink made from “tiger nuts” - hazelnut sedge tubers). Valencian Community.
National (formerly also called Russian): Iced coffee topped with a large ball of mantecado (vanilla ice cream). Valencian Community.
Aragonese Quemadillo: 3 coffee beans burned in rum, with milk. Saragossa.
Quemadillo de Ron: Sugar, flambéed rum, milk, coffee and coffee beans. La Rioja and Navarra.
Rebento: Carajillo with native rum. Majorca.
Resolí: Aguardiente de la Sierra, brandy, sugar, coffee, dried orange peel, and cinnamon. Basin.
Soldao: Coffee, Cointreau, and soda (flavored carbonated water). Saragossa.
Lemon Sigh: Lemon slush with a coffee sigh. Valencian Community.
Suspiro horchata: Horchata with a sigh of coffee. Valencian Community.
Tallat: Coffee cut with milk. Barcelona.
Three-phase or three-color: Coffee, brandy, and milk. Barcelona.
Bombón Coffee: A good amount of coffee alone with a generous dose of condensed milk on top. It is served in a crystal glass.
Café con Leche: With less strength and more milk than Cortado is one of the most popular in Spanish bars.
France
Café au lait or coffee with milk: One part coffee for one part milk is served in a large cup.
Café crème: The quintessential Parisian coffee. One part coffee for one part whipped cream
Café noisette: The typical "cut" or an espresso with a few drops of milk, served in a small cup.
Café Hélène: An espresso with a touch of hazelnut cream.
American coffee: an espresso plus 2 extra parts of hot water.
Café château: Concentrated espresso coffee in a small glass, with a few drops of cherry liqueur and a small portion of Chantilly cream.
Brûlot charentais: Espresso flambéed with cognac.
Café au caramel: Long coffee with a part of liquid caramel and another of whipped cream.
Café français: Espresso with cognac.
Italian coffee: With drops of Amaretto liqueur.
Brazil
Café com Leite: Filter coffee with hot or boiled milk. It can also be an espresso with steamed milk and a thin layer of milk foam.
Mocha: Drink with chocolate syrup, steamed milk, milk foam, and a dose of espresso.
Cappuccino: The real cappuccino has 3 equal parts of espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam. The foam is dense and creamy. Some may add cinnamon or chocolate to it
Italian Cappuccino: Contrary to Argentina, this is the same as the previous one but without chocolate or cinnamon.
Pingado: A cup of hot milk with a small amount of coffee (a pingo of coffee). It is usually served in an American jug.
Medium: Espresso coffee with steamed milk and a thin layer of foam less creamy than in Cappuccino.
Café con Panna: Coffee with whipped cream.
Café com Chantilly: Very common throughout Brazil, it is a dose of espresso covered with Chantilly cream..
Greece
φραπές / Greek frappé: The well-known frappé has its origin in the Greek frappé, very popular during the summer. It consists of a generally instant coffee served with ice and covered in foam.
Swiss
Schümli: Swiss term for a common single coffee. The most common is that it is served in a cup, accompanied by a chocolate and the typical milk cream in a small bottle.
Kaffee Fertig: This is how coffee mixed with strong liquor, brandy style, is called in Switzerland.
Austria
Schwarzer: Black coffee, without milk or sugar, in Austria.
Franziskaner: That's what a mild coffee made with whipped cream is called in Austria.
Wiener Melange: Viennese variety of cappuccino. It is a mild variety of coffee served with milk foam, although because the term Viennese coffee has become popular to call coffee with cream, both names are often confused.
Colombia
The parakeet: It is just a coffee with a hint of milk. It is drunk from a small cup or plastic glass, depending on the place and the formality of the occasion (on the street or in a local). In Valle del Cauca, the word parakeet is used to name scrambled eggs.
Carajillo: it is another variety that despite being already popular in several Hispanic countries, in Colombia it is a classic in the cold season. Unlike in Spain, for example, where the carajillo has brandy in it, here the coffee is mixed with the local rum.
Venezuela
Guayoyo: normally filtered coffee prepared with a high proportion of water.
Vietnam
Cà phê sữa đá: The term means “coffee with milk and ice”. It consists of filtered coffee in a small individual utensil, to which condensed milk is added and served over ice.
Australia and New Zealand
Flat white: A kind of equivalent to cappuccino. It is a short coffee to which is added milk foam prepared with steam, served in medium cups.
India
Kaapi / Madras Filter Coffee: This is how the most popular coffee in the southern regions of India is known. The drink can be mixed with chicory, and it is served with milk and sugar, being able to incorporate many types of spices.
Hong Kong
Yuanyang / Ying Yong: Drink created from a mixture of coffee and black tea with condensed milk. It can be taken hot or cold.
