Do you speak coffee? Every subculture has its own language, and coffee culture is no different. Take a look at the list of common coffee shop jargon below, and you will be up to speed in no time.
I tried to organize the definitions logically. Well, at least the order makes sense in my coffee-soaked brain. It’s not alphabetical so, if you’re looking for a specific term try using “ctrl f” to search. If you can’t find what you’re looking for let me know, I’ll add it to the list.
Coffee Bean Jargon
Cherry: The fruit of the coffee tree.
Arabica: One of two species of coffee grown for commercial use. Arabica beans make up most of the worlds coffee production. The statistics vary from site to site, but it’s safe to say Arabica beans make up more than half of commercially used coffee beans. They are said to be higher quality than robusta beans.
Robusta: Robusta beans make up the rest of the world’s coffee production. They contain more caffeine than Arabica beans and are used in highly caffeinated coffees like Death Wish. Check out my post, 5 ways to Hack Your Coffee, for more about Robusta beans and the brands that use them. You can also find Robusta beans in instant coffee and mixed in with some blends.
Peaberry: Usually there are two coffee beans inside of a coffee cherry but sometimes a cherry contains only 1 bean. These rare beans are called peaberries. Coffee made with peaberries is usually more expensive. Volcanica coffee offers a variety of Peaberry Coffee from about $16.99 a pound all the way to $94.99 a pound. You can view their peaberry coffee here.
Single Origin: Refers to beans that have been sourced from one particular place.
Blend: A blend is a mixture of two or more single origin coffees.
Green Beans: Unroasted coffee beans.
Coffee Roasting Jargon
Roasting is another part of the coffee universe that is full of coffee jargon that confuses everybody. Hopefully, these quick definitions will provide some clarity. The longer the coffee beans are roasted the more you will taste of the roast flavor and less on the inherent flavor of the bean.
You’ll often hear roast level discussed in relation to the first crack, and the second crack. During the roasting process, beans make cracking sounds at certain stages during roasting, and this gives coffee roasters an idea of where there are in the roasting process.
Light Roasts
The following three roasts are considered Light Roasts. There is no oil present, and you can taste the flavor from the coffee’s origin.
Cinnamon Roast: Don’t confuse this light roast with cinnamon flavored. Cinnamon Roast is the lightest of the roasts and usually considered to light by most coffee drinkers. Peaberries are often roasted to this level.
City Roast: Still a very light roast that retains the flavor of the coffee being roasted.
City Plus Roast: The roast is stopped between the first and second crack.
Medium Roasts
Full City Roast and Full City Plus are considered medium roasts. There is little or no oil present at this level. The coffee retains some flavor from the origin and the roast will begin to add its own flavor and body.
Full City Roast: Roasted right up to the start of the second crack. At this point, sugars in the coffee begin to caramelize adding sweetness.
Full City Plus: The roast continues a little bit further into the second crack. Less of the origin can be tasted at this point, and even more sweetness is added.
Dark Roasts
Vienna Roast and French Roast are considered dark roasts. Oil is present. Most of the coffee’s origin flavors are gone and you will mostly taste the roast at this point.
Vienna Roast: Roasted well into the second crack territory.
French Roast: Taken to the end of the second crack. These are dark roasted coffee beans. The flavors of the coffee bean are unrecognizable.
Espresso Coffee Jargon
Looking at the menu in a coffee shop can sometimes leave you scratching your head, and telling the barista, “I’ll just have a coffee.” There is a lot to choose from and each drink has subtle differences. This list includes some of the most popular drinks and will have you ready to conquer that coffee house jargon in no time.
Espresso: We’ll start with espresso because it’s the base for many of the other drinks. Highly concentrated coffee made by forcing near boiling water and steam through finely ground coffee.
Espresso is commonly mispronounced, “expresso.” The mispronunciation probably comes from the idea that the liquid is expressed through the coffee grinds.
Crema: The appearance of a dark, reddish-brown, thick foam with tiny bubbles on top of a freshly brewed espresso.
Single Shot: 1 ounce serving of espresso.
Doppio or a Double Shot: 2 ounce serving of espresso.
Triple: 3 ounce serving of espresso.
Pull: To brew a portion, or a shot of espresso, for example, “I’m going to go ahead and pull that shot.”
God Shot: A perfect shot of espresso.
Spent Puck: Leftover grounds from brewing espresso in the shape of a thick disc.
Americano: Add hot water to your espresso and you have an Americano. Basically watered down espresso. The ratio for a standard americano is 1:1. So, if you use 3 oz of espresso, you’ll also use 3 oz of hot water.
Macchiato: Espresso with a small amount of milk. In Italian, macchiato means stained so, this drink is literally an espresso stained with milk.
Cappuccino: Equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and foam.
Latte: A latte is similar to a cappuccino except it has less foam and more steamed milk. Made with 1 part espresso, 2 parts steamed milk and just a little bit of foam on the top.
*TIP* If you had a cappuccino and a latte side by side, the latte should feel heavier since it contains more milk, and the cappuccino contains more foam.
Skinny Latte: A latte made with non-fat steamed milk.
Cafe Mocha: A latte mixed with chocolate syrup or hot chocolate.
Coffee House Jargon: Ordering
Place your order like you know what you’re talking about by using some of the terms listed below.
Barista: The person making your coffee
Cuppa: Means a cup of coffee.
With Legs: This means to go. I’m not cool enough to say something like this, but hey, maybe you can pull it off.
Black: Most of the time I drink my coffee black, and by that I mean no cream no sugar, just pure coffee. Other people say black coffee means no milk or cream, but has nothing to do with sweetener. When I order a large black coffee I usually end up having to reiterate no cream, no sugar, so maybe I’m wrong.
Decaf: Aka unleaded. Just forget about decaf, okay?
Half-Caf: Equal portions of regular, and decaffeinated coffee.
Iced Coffee: Coffee, however, you like it, but served over ice. Sometimes made double strength so it doesn’t get diluted by melting ice.
Cold Brew: Made with room temperature or cold water and ground coffee. The ground coffee needs to steep for 12 to 24 hours. This produces a smoother tasting coffee.
Brewing Coffee Jargon
The act of brewing coffee itself has it’s own set of coffee jargon.
Bloom or Bloom Pour: Coffee brewing term. The coffee is saturated and given time to grow.
Center Pour: Pouring the water directly in the center of the brewing device.
Draw Down: Peiod of time during the brewing process when the coffee begins enterning the decanter.
Fines: Coffee dust, or finely ground coffee particles that cause unwanted bitterness in your coffee. Blade grinders and other inconsistent coffee grinders cause fines. For inexpensive quality burr grinders, check out this post: Burr Grinders under $50.
Microfoam: The tiny milk bubbles on top of properly frothed milk that has a velvety texture. The barista creates microfoam with the steam wand on the espresso machine and uses it in espresso-based drinks like cappuccinos and lattes. Baristas use these tiny milk bubbles to create latte art.
Cupping: The process used by professional tasters to evaluate coffee. Sounds like a pretty good job, right? Tasters evaluate coffee based on its body, aroma, and acidity.
Body: Describes the way the coffee feels in your mouth. Sometimes called “mouthfeel.”.
Aroma: Smell of the coffee.
Acidity: Tanginess of the coffee.
Starbucks Coffee Jargon
This scene from Role Models pretty much sums up the frustration with coffee jargon.
Short: The smallest coffee from Starbucks, 8 ounces. AKA a small.
Tall: A 12 ounce coffee from Starbucks.
Grande: A 16 ounce coffee from Starbucks.
Venti: A 20 ounce coffee from Starbucks. Makes perfect sense watch the video.
This list includes some popular coffee jargon, but there is a lot more out there. You can also check out the glossary at coffeereview.com. They put together a pretty cool resource. Let me know if I missed any terns that you like to use or have heard. Thanks for reading.
