Coffee — the choice drink for college students everywhere.
It's good for more than just a caffeine fix. I love coffee, coffee shops and the general taste of all things mocha. If you’re anything like me, you have no idea what to order when staring at that long list of chalkboard menu items.
Here’s a quick list of the coffee basics, so you can know what you love. Maybe you'll even get the name right the first time!
1. The roasts
This is probably more common coffee knowledge, but the three main types of roast are light, medium and dark.
Light roasts can be thought of as having the brightest personality. Their origins are more pronounced in taste and they have less oil then their darker counterparts. Most importantly, they have the most caffeine.
Medium Roasts are toasted longer and are less acidic than light roasts. This is where fancy coffee connoisseurs like to talk about body and aroma. All you need to know for taste is that it has a more balanced flavor, but the difference in taste between flavors and origins is going to be less distinct.
Dark roast beans are shiny, oily and toasted the longest of any of the roast types. Dark roasts can take a lot of milk and sugar and are normally used for espressos. Dark roasts have the least caffeine.
2. Cappuccinos, espressos and lattes — oh my!
Cappuccinos are espressos mixed with steamed milk and topped with foam milk. There’s not much coffee in them, but this is where flavor magic begins to happen. There's a lot of creativity that can go into cappuccino flavors. These drinks also have the ability to be quite artsy.
Espressos are those teeny tiny little cups of super concentrated coffee. It’s the backbone of what makes coffee. As an acquired (and usually expensive) taste, it's best for a super quick shot of coffee before going on with your busy schedule.
Lattes are almost just like cappuccinos except they are made with more steamed milk. These two drinks can get quite artsy. There are competitions that go down between baristas for art in the small canvas of foamed milk.
Americanos are espressos diluted with water.
Anything that says mocha contains chocolate. Enough said.
3. Tall, grande, venti
Tall is a small.
Grande is a medium.
Venti is a large.
Bonus tip: You can get almost anything iced.
On your next coffee shop visit, try something new, and don’t be afraid to ask questions about roasts and flavors. In addition to that, check out the flavored syrups usually sitting on the back bar. The flavors normally stand out more in an iced coffee, but are good added to a warm cup as well. Try mixing different flavors and ask for weird combinations. You might discover something you absolutely love.
