The great thing about espresso coffee is the range of drinks developed for this particular brewing process. Each drink has that great espresso taste but each is differentiated to facilitate particular tastes popular in the marketplace

On the one end of the scale there is the straight espresso shot or shots. This is for the purists. These folks want the pure, undiluted, unfangdangled espresso taste. Be warned, a straight shot of espresso has a very strong rich coffee taste.

One step away from the espresso shot is cappuccino. This is one of my favorite drinks. Along with the espresso shot or shots, it has about one-third steamed milk with the rest being made up with the foam created in the process of steaming the milk.

Don’t be misled. The foamed milk is an integral part of this drink. It’s like the cream on top of a well-served Irish coffee. The hot liquid of an Irish coffee should be sucked through the cold cream atop the drink. The espresso in cappuccino should be drunk in combination with the foamed milk. Without the foamed milk you really don’t have a cappuccino.

One last thing on cappuccino’s. If you order one & the cup comes back heavy send it back to the Barista. Inexperienced Barista’s are often incapable of foaming the milk effectively. They end up with way too much hot milk & not enough foam.

Next week we’ll go onto the latte’s, mocha’s, caramel mocha’s & other espresso hybrids.