Mocha Latta

dunkin donuts? i'd understand if it were like cup o joe or some actual coffee shop or something, or hell, even a tim hortons....

but dunkin donuts? yuck...


anyway i'm a barista at starbucks, and while among the coffeeshop world different drinks can mean slightly different things (i.e. macchiato) but there are a few basic espresso drinks that you can expect to be generally similar from shop to shop.

a latte is made by first adding the desired number of shots of espresso into your cup. you then fill it most of the way up (leave about half an inch or so) with steamed milk, and top it with a layer of milk foam.

a cappucino is very similar, only after you put in the espresso you fill the cup about half full with steamed milk, and the whole top half of the cup is just heaps of milk foam. it's great

macchiato means "marked," and so its no surprise that among different shops it can mean various different drinks. i've heard of people making a "macchiato" by marking the espresso with a dollop of milk or cream or something, but at starbucks it implies marking the foam with espresso. a doppio macchiato is milk foam only, and two shots are poured on top, which sink to the bottom. a caramel macchiato is made like a latte, but with shots poured on top instead of at first

they get fancy and people do all sorts of variations on them. its extremely common to add one or more flavors of syrup to the espresso shots before adding milk in order to make a sweeter flavored beverage. you can put whipped cream on top of a latte instead of milk foam. soy milk is pretty popular, and is particularly good for steaming and using in chai lattes.

a single shot of straight espresso is a solo espresso. two shots (standard) is a doppio espresso. three is triple, then quad, and so on. espresso has a VERY intense flavor. i'm not too sure how i feel about it straight, but maybe mixed with a little milk. i prefer cappucinos or lattes, but lately i've been going with soy.

espresso is simply a type of coffee beverage made by a much different type of machine than your ordinary at home drip brewer. you use very fine ground coffee and high temperature pressurized water to extract the flavor and caffeine. you can get about the same amount of caffeine as a large cup of coffee into a shot glass, basically...

while the flavor of straight espresso puts off a lot of people, it is an acquired taste for most. it does get a lot milder and infinitely more pleasant with the addition of steamed milk and flavoring.

 

Okay, now my mouth is REALLY watering. Oh coffee, how I love thee.

 

well dont let the gift certificates go to waste! if you're trying to avoid caffeine, all espresso drinks can be made with decaf espresso, and there should always be decaf drip coffee brewing alongside the others. and then there are plenty of coffee-free drinks, too. but someone paid money for those gift certificates and the company's already made it's money, so you might as well get something out of it!

 

Yeah tazoberry with cream. I don't care if it's pink and looks incredibly gay, that shit is good.