The
Espresso Bar
By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet
Most of the coffee recipes and drinks that
are popular at coffee shops and cafes today are based on espresso from the Old World . Espresso is not a coffee roast—it’s the way
coffee is made by shooting hot water through ground coffee to produce an
intense, flavorful beverage. An Eat, Pray, Love film image of an Italian
espresso bar (I adore this scene, a place I'd love to be in the real world) shows a crowded bar-like atmosphere with people standing and
ordering their cappuccino to mocha to the barista, much like a real bar. Here
is an espresso bar from A to Z:
- Caffe Americano - this drink transforms espresso into more of an American brewed coffee. Start with one shot of espresso and add hot water to make a full 6-8 ounce cup. This results in a smooth, diluted version of espresso coffee.
- Caffe Latte – start with a single or double shot of espresso in a 10 to 12 ounce cup. Tilt the cup and pour about 8 to 10 ounces of steamed milk slowly down the side. This floats some of the espresso to the top causing a swirling appearance. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon to garnish. As a common variation, latte can be flavored with Italian syrups such as hazelnut.
- Caffe Mocha – made by adding powdered or chocolate syrup to a shot of espresso and blended. Add steamed milk to the espresso and chocolate mixture and top with whipped cream.
- Cappuccino – is made with 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 frothed milk. Powdered cocoa or cinnamon can be sprinkled on the top as a garnish. To layer the milk and espresso, it’s necessary to allow the frothed milk a moment to rest and separate.
- Doppio – a double shot of espresso. Doppio means “double” in Italian. A double shot would be about twice that of a single shot, or 2 to 3 ounces of liquid.
- Espresso Con Panna – similar to macchiato, but whipped cream is used in place of the foamed milk. “Con panna” means “with cream” in Italian.
- Espresso Romano
– a single shot of espresso served with a twist of lemon peel. Contrary to the
name “Roman”, this is not an Italian tradition. The lemon peel garnish is
actually a
- Espresso Macchiato – starts with a shot of espresso and then a small amount of foamed milk is spooned over the shot. Macchiato means “marked” in Italian referring to the espresso being marked with a spot of foam.
- Mochaccino – similar to cafĂ© mocha, but top with peaked milk foam instead of whipped cream.
- Ristretto – the short or ristretto is a basic espresso shot extracted to a volume of only ¾ ounce of liquid. This restricted pour magnifies the essence and intensity even more than a normal espresso being marked with a spot of foam.
- Straight Shot – a single straight shot of espresso, without any other ingredients, about 1 to 1.5 ounces of liquid. Espresso, when made right, will have a rich layer of golden crema on the top… Be sure to drink the espresso right away—the crema will only lst about 2 minutes and then it will dissolve into the liquid.
(Source:
Courtesy of Gourmet Coffee Zone.)
[Excerpt from The Healing Powers of Coffee: Nature's Surprising Superfood]
To create high quality, frothy steamed milk and foam first make sure to use milk that you have just taken from a sufficiently cool refrigerator. Though you can use low fat milk, you will get a better taste with one or two percent milk, and whole milk creates the best foam of all.
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