Coffee Terminology: Your One Stop Java Dictionary
Writing this, I realise that the wording and jargon used in the world of coffee is actually a dialect all of its own; you know when you call some every-day type of item by a name you know it – and the person you’re speaking to just blankly stares back? Don’t let yourself become that person. Who wouldn’t want to know the real-deal coffee lingo that comes often only with experience? Take notes 🙂
Coffee Machine Terminology
Bean-to-Cup Coffee Machine: Any type of coffee machine which requires coffee product input of only fresh, whole coffee beans to produce a coffee based drink of your choice.
Automatic Coffee Machine: A machine which takes the hard work out of brewing a cup of coffee; these type of machines usually include internal grinders, milk frother’s and steamers.
Capsule Coffee Machine / Pod Coffee Machine: The smallest automated coffee machine on the market at present – this machine requires a small tank of water to be filled; a specific pod / capsule is inserted and punctured (automated process) and heated water brews the coffee in a very similar manner to an Espresso.
French Press: Manually-operated plunger brewing system. The jug is filled with filter coffee and hot water, allowed to brew, and later has a fine filter plunged through the jug to separate and contain the filtered coffee.
Coffee Machine Parts Names
Drudge Drawer: After you have ground your coffee beans, you are left with what is known as “coffee grounds”; an almost powder-like substance that your cups of coffee have been brewed through. The drudge drawer is the removable container that collects the coffee grounds.
Brew Group: This can either be an internal or external canister where your ground coffee is first compressed and then brewed.
Bypass Doser: If you look in your bean hopper, you may see a separate little hole. This hole can be filled with ground coffee that is not part of the majority of the coffee. For instance, if you have coffee beans in your hopper and someone wants a decaf, you can add the ground decaf coffee to the bypass doser and make a single serving of that different coffee type.
Heating Drawer: The flat space, usually at the top of the coffee machine, which is used to keep your coffee mugs hot. Active heating drawers have their own dedicated heating system, while Passive Heating Drawers make use of residual heat from the coffee machine’s brewing system.
Metallic / Ceramic Burr Grinders: A burr grinder makes use of two abrasive surfaces which grind against each other in a circular motion. Extra space between the discs results in coarser grinds, and less space means a finer grind. You can control the level of your grind much better with this type of mechanism, and ceramic grinders give off far less heat.
Blade grinder: A blade located at the bottom of a funnel / jar which chops the coffee into smaller pieces. This type of grinder does not allow for consistently sized coffee grounds.
Bean hopper: The internal or external canister that houses your coffee beans and is usually directly linked to the coffee grinder.
Panarello Steam Wand: This arm is attached to the Espresso machine’s steam arm to assist in making milk froth – an excellent aide for first time users.
Knock Box: A small (usually stainless steel) drawer kept close to the Espresso machine for users to easily empty the used coffee grounds into.
Coffee Brewing Process Terminology
Tamping: Usually a stainless steel flat-ended handle used to compact and flatten ground coffee before brewing.
Bar: The amount of pressure used by Espresso machines to brew your coffee – by forcing hot water through the ground coffee. Espresso machines usually use 9 bars; 1 bar is equal to 14.5 PSI.
Coffee Lingo: General
One-Touch: This means you can, by one touch of a button, brew a milk and coffee based drink without having to move your cup around so as to reach another spout.
Grind Size: Coffee beans can be ground up to almost any size. The size of the grind can influence the taste and aptness of the coffee greatly. The finer the coffee grind, the better your Espresso will be. Coarser grinds are better suited to long / drip coffee’s.
Coffee Size Names
Tall: Small
Grandé: Medium
Venti: Large
Trenta / Burj: “I haven’t slept in 4 days”, or XL.
Demitasse: A small cup that contains 80 – 100ml of liquid, usually used to serve cappuccino’s. It directly translates into French for “half cup”.
Doppio: Directly translated into Italian – this is two full shots of Espresso (around 90ml)
Coffee Types
No Fun: A decaf coffee or latte.
Espresso: By definition, Espresso means “pressurised” – aptly describing the method by which it is brewed. A single shot of Espresso is 45 ml and is typically 5 -7 grams of ground coffee, brewed by extremely high pressure and high temperature through the machine.
Espresso Lungo: Espresso brewed for a longer time – resulting in a weaker, yet more caffeinated and more bitter drink.
Espresso Romano: Directly translated into Italian – Espresso with a squeeze of lemon.
Macchiato: Originally meaning “marked with spots”, it is a single or double shot of Espresso, topped with either cream or milk.
Crema: The creamy / frothy-looking substance produced by only brewing coffee; the thin layer of creamy-looking bubbles formed atop your Espresso.
Latte: Espresso with steamed milk and froth atop (more milk than froth)
Café Au Lait: Brewed coffee and warmed milk
Cappuccino: Espresso combined with milk and foam (more foam than milk)
Mocha Java: Originally meaning “from Ethiopia and Indonesia” – this name has adapted and changed many time over the years. Mocha was originally found in Ethiopia and was known for its acidity; Java was Indonesian and added volume to the coffee. This combination is often considered the “Best Blend” and the name has carried itself through the years as such.
Cappuccino: Espresso with more foam than milk.
Quad: An Espresso with four shots of coffee. AKA I never want to sleep ever again.
Turkish Coffee: Coffee ground into a fine powder and mixed manually with hot water. It is a particularly strong coffee, and it is customary to have Turkish Delight sweets served with this coffee to cut through the strong taste.
There you have it – a list of the most commonly used (and least known) coffee terminology.
Do you have any unique coffee terminology you use?
Feel free to share with us! 🙂