40 Most Popular Types of Coffee Drink Around The World

The coffee world is enormous, and the list of different types of coffee drinks is endless.
People usually have their favorite coffee, and they might always have it when they come to the local coffee shop. However, sometimes you might want to try something new, but you do not know what these coffee taste like or what their content is, and you are so timid to ask. In the end, you will stick with the regular coffee you drink.

There are also circumstances when you travel to a different region, and the menu on the local coffee shop is entirely new to you.

Please do not worry; in this post, I will help you to expand your coffee horizons with the list of “almost” every type of coffee on the planet.

Traditional brewed Coffee

1. Basic Brewed Coffee

• This is the most basic coffee that you can find in almost any coffee shop in America. You can brew it at home with an inexpensive Drip Coffee Brewer, French Press, Percolator or a Chemex.
• Common Customization: add milk, cream or sugar to your preference.

2. Ice Brew Coffee

• Content: regular hot brew + ice
• Common Customization: add milk, cream, sugar or flavour syrup

3. Cold Brew Coffee

• Instead of brewing coffee by hot water, Coffee ground will be brewed in cold water in a certain amount of time before it is filtered and served. It is very easy and simple method and you can do it at home without equipment.
• Common Customization: drink it hot or with ice. Can add milk, cream or sugar to your preference

4. Turkish coffee

• Prepared by boiling super finely ground coffee in the special pot called cezve or ibrik with sugar water. This method is very popular in Middle Eastern and South-eastern European
• Common Customization: It is usually boil with sugar, but you can request no sugar or less sweet

5. Café Au Lait

• It is a brew coffee with steamed milk. The ratio is usually 1:1.
• Common customization: instead of milk, you can use soy or almond milk. Flavor syrup such as vanilla or caramel can also be added.

6. Mazagran

It is a traditional Portuguese coffee drink. A cup of Mazagran is prepared by pouring French press coffee over ice and a slice of lemon will be added.

Espresso Coffee

Espresso is a coffee that originated from Italy and started getting popularity since 1980. This coffee is prepared with espresso coffee machine by using pressure to force a small amount of nearly boiling water to go through the temped fine ground coffee bean. This process is also called “pulling a shot” in the barista world.

If traditionally brewed coffee takes a few minutes to hours to prepare, espresso needs less than 30 seconds. Since the coffee is extracted under pressure within a short amount of time, espresso is thicker and has high caffeine content per unit volume compared to other traditional coffee. One shot of espresso is typically 25ml to 30ml.

Espresso is the base of many different types of coffee, which we will discuss further below.

Basic espresso drink

1. Short black or single espresso

• It is 1 shot of espresso which is served in small espresso cup. It is also called single espresso
• Common Customization: If you believe it is not enough caffeine for you, you can order double espresso or doppio for 2 shots in 1 cup, triple espresso or a triplo for 3 shots.

2. Ristretto

• Ristretto means “restricted” in Italian. It is a shorter version of espresso. Instead of 25ml -30ml, ristretto coffee only has 15-18ml. There are usually 2 common ways of making ristretto. First way is stop at 15 seconds when extracting espresso. Second way is to grind the coffee finer and keep the same amount of time as making espresso. Ristretto is more concentrated, sweeter than espresso.
• Common Customization: same as espresso, you can order double ristretto or doppio ristretto for 2 shots.

3. Americano

• Americano or Caffè Americano is derived from American Spanish. It is espresso with hot water added on top. The strength of the coffee depends on the number of espresso shots and amount of hot water
• Common customization: number of espresso shots, sugar or flavours syrup

4. Long Black or Lungo

• Opposite of ristretto, long black is a longer version of espresso. It is also called lungo which means “long” in Italian. It is prepared by extracting the same amount of coffee ground as espresso in double amount of time. As a result, we get double amount of coffee in 1 cup. This drink is popular in Australia and New Zealand.
• Common customization: long black is usually served with double shot of espresso but you can request for single shot. Sugar and flavor can also be added.

5. Caffè Crema

• Caffè Crema is an extra long espresso drink which is popular in Northern Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It has similar brewing process as long black or lungo, but it significantly longer. A cup of Caffè Crema is usually 180ml.
• Common customization: Sugar and flavour syrup can also be added.

6. Café Zorro

• It consists of double shots of espresso with hot water added in a 1:1 ratio. It is similar to Americano, except the ratio.
• Common customization: None

7. Café Cubano

This espresso coffee drink is originated from Cuba thus it also called Cuban espresso. This is actually an espresso shot sweetened with by Demerara sugar whipped with first and last drops of espresso.

8. Café con Hielo

This coffee is originated in Spain. Basically, Café con Hielo is an espresso with sugar and served over cup or glass of ice cube.

9. Moka

Moka coffee is just simply coffee made from Moka Pot. Although it was classified as espresso coffee drink however it was made by using Moka Pot . The pressure in the Moka pot is far lesser than espresso machine, thus the coffee concentrate is also lesser than regular espresso.

Milk-based espresso drinks

1. Cappuccino

• Cappuccino is originated from Italy in 17^th Today, it is one of the most popular espresso drinks in the world. A regular cup of cappuccino coffee consists of 3 parts: 1/3 espresso, 1/3 of steamed milk and 1/3 of micro milk foam.
• Common Customization: Chocolate powder on top, if you want more foam you can order dry cappuccino

2. Galão

This espresso- based beverage is from Portugal and can be considered as extra dry version of cappuccino which consists of espresso and milky foam. The ratio for this coffee is ¼ of espresso and ¾ of milk foam

3. Latte

• Latte is the short form of its full name “caffelatte”. In Italian, caffe means coffee and latte means milk, caffelatte means coffee with milk. Similar to cappuccino coffee, latte consist of 3 parts: espresso, steamed milk and foam. However the ratio is different. A regular cup of latte will have 1/3 of espresso, 2/3 of steamed milk and just about 1cm of micro foam. At some coffee shops, creative and skilled baristas will pour your latte with different picture on top such as heart, fern or tulip.
• Common customization: vanilla or caramel syrup are common add-on for latte.

4. Piccolo Latte

• It is a smaller version of caffè latte in term of volume and it is commonly served in the espresso cup or small glasses. There are debates on how to make a perfect piccolo latte. Some say it should have 1 full shot of espresso (25ml), 60ml of steamed milk and foam while others say it should have 1 shot of Ristretto (15ml), 60ml of steamed milk and just a hint of foam on top.
• Common customization: none

5. Flat White

• It was first introduced in 1980 and the origination of this espresso coffee is still a debate between Australia and New Zealand.
• Flat white is similar to latte in term of components (espresso, steamed milk and milk foam) and often confuses both coffee drink and even barista. However, there are 2 main differences between latte and flat white which are espresso to milk ratio and the foam level. Flat white is served in the smaller cup than latte with same number of espresso shots. The foam layer in flat white cup is only 0.2-0.5cm while a cup of latte will have a 0.5-1cm.
• Common customization: flat white is usually served with double shot of espresso, but you can request for single shot. For those who does not like milk foam can order no foam.

6. Caffe Breve

This is an American variant of a latte. In this coffee, 50% of milk will be replaced by cream. So a cup of breve will have espresso, steamed mixture of milk and cream (ratio 1:1) and foam on top.

7. Mocha

• Caffè Mocha is also called mocaccino, mochaccino or mochachino which is derived from the city of Mocha, Yemen. The regular cup of mocha will typically have espresso, chocolate syrup or chocolate power, steamed milk and milk foam. The foam level of Mocha is kind of in the middle between Cappucino and Latte (less than Cappucino and more than Latte). It is a perfect entry level caffeine beverage since the sweetness of the chocolate will reduce the bitterness and acidity of espresso and give the rich and creamy flavour.
• Common customization: Caffè Mocha can be made with dark chocolate or white chocolate. Whipped cream can also be add on top on request. In some place, especially in Australia and New Zealand, Caffè Mocha can be served with chocolate power or cinnamon power on top and marshmallow.

8. Café Borgia

This coffee drink is kind of similar to Caffe Mocha. Café Borgia is made with espresso, chocolate, steamed milk, whipped cream and top with orange zest on top instead of cocoa powder. At some places citrus flavour syrup is also added.

9. Macchiato

• In Italian, Macchiato means “marked” or “stained”. As its name, Caffè Macchiato is an espresso with a small amount of steamed milk foam on top and usually served in espresso cup. It is also called espresso macchiato.
• If you are a fan of Starbuck coffee chain, you will definitely find it is total different from their macchiato. Starbuck’s macchiato is latte macchiato, NOT espresso macchiato which consist of hot milk with a shot of espresso, and optional flavour added (caramel, vanilla, etc)

10. Cortado

Cortado is very popular drink in Spain, Portugal and Latin America which is also called Manchado or Cortadito in Cuba, or Antoccino in Italy. A cup of regular Cortado typically consists of espresso shot and steamed milk with the ratio 1:1.

11. Café con leche

Café con leche is exactly the same as cortado coffee, but instead of have the coffee already mixed with milk, you will have a cup of espresso and a separate cup of hot milk in the same amount of espresso.

12. Café Bombón

It is originated in Valencia, Spain and now it is popular throughout the country. Café Bombón is similar to Cortado, however instead of steamed milk, it has sweet condensed milk and the ratio is still 1:1. It is perfect drink for those who love sweet shot of caffeine. 

Combination of traditional brew and espresso

1. Red Eye

A single shot of espresso is added to the cup of regular brewed coffee.

2. Black eye

A cup of regular drip brewed coffee with 2 shots of espresso is called black eye. It is also called Sling Blade, Shot in the Dark, Cafe Tobio, Autobahn, or Hammerhead

3. Dripped Eye

If you believe black eye is still not strong enough for you, you can go for dripped Eye which includes triple shots of espresso in a cup of regular brewed coffee. Dripped eye coffee is also called green eye or dead eye coffee.

4. Lazy Eye

For those who do not like too much caffeine, you can go for lazy eye coffee which is regular cup of decaffeinated coffee topped with 2 espresso shots.

Other coffee around the world

1. Cafe Affogato

• It is an Italian coffee- based desert. The word “affogato” in Italian means “drowned” which refer to a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream is drowned by double shot of espresso.
• Common customization: traditionally cafe affogato is made with vanilla gelato or ice cream, but some cafe also offers other flavour such as coconut or berry ice cream. Double espresso can also be replaced by single espresso on request.

2. Frappé

• Café Frappé is one of the most popular ice coffee drink in Greek. It is a combination of instant coffee, sugar water and crushed ice. The word “Frappé” come from old French word “frapper” which means “to hit” and that is what you feel when you have this drink.
• Outside of Greece, Café Frappé has many different variants. In Bulgaria, water is replaced by Coke. In Denmark, water is replaced by cold milk and in Italy, Frappé means milkshake.
• In the US, the word “frappe” (without an accent) means thick milkshake in New England. Besides, the famous Frappuccino drink from Starbuck is also another variant of “frappe”. It is a combination of milkshake and coffee.

3. Carajillo

• Carajillo is a coffee cocktail which originated from Spain. It is a combination of espresso with 1 type of alcohol which can be brandy, whisky or rum.
• Today Carajillo is quite popular around the world with many variants. In the US, Carajillo is a mix of espresso with both rum and triple sec (orange- flavour liqueur) and served in a mug with caramelized sugar on the rim. In Mexico, espresso is usually mixed with Licor 43 (sweet vanilla- citrus flavour liqueur) and served over ice.

4. Espresso Romano

Espresso Romano or Roman espresso is actually espresso with lemon twist. Despite the name, it has nothing related to Italy and hard to find in Italy. A regular cup of espresso Romano usually consists of 2 shots espresso and a twist of lemon served on side. At some place, a hint of lemon juice is added to the cup before pulling espresso shot into it. Rubbing lemon around the rim is also common.

5. Espressino

• It is an espresso based coffee drink which originated from Italy.
• There are 2 variants from the south and the north Italy. In the south Italy, cocoa power was added to the bottom of the cup, after that espresso will be pulled into it and then top with steamed milk. While in the northern Italy, espressino is made by replacing cocoa power at the bottom with Nutella and garnish with cocoa power on the top

6. Vienna

Vienna is a cream-based coffee beverage. It is prepared by pulling 2 shots of espresso into a regular medium size cup, then top up with whipped cream until the cup is full. Chocolate power can be sprinkled on top to garnish.

7. Irish coffee

• Irish coffee is a cocktail drink that has coffee in it. It consists of 3 main ingredients which are coffee, Irish whiskey and thick cream. Traditionally, Irish coffee are made with French press coffee, however today it is also made with espresso or coffee capsule.

8. Vietnamese coffee

• This traditional coffee is brewed from coarse ground coffee by using small metal drip filter with boiling water. Hot water will go through the coffee and drop slowly into the cup.
• Variation: There are many version of this coffee such as: hot black (Vietnamese coffee), ice black (Vietnamese ice coffee), with condensed milk (Ca phe sua), with Ice and condensed milk (ca phe sua da)

9. Oliang Coffee

• This is Thai traditional brew coffee which is prepared from a mixture of coffee, brown sugar, and various grains and seeds like cardamom, corn, soybeans, rice, and sesame seeds.
• Common customization: sugar can be replaced by condensed milk. It can be drunk hot or with ice