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Acidity - The sharp lively quality characteristic of high-grown coffee, tasted mainly at the tip of the tongue. The brisk, snappy quality that makes coffee refreshing. It is NOT the same as bitter or sour and has nothing to do with pH factors. Coffees are low in acidity, between 5 and 6 on the ph scale.

Americano - A shot or two of espresso that has been poured into a glass filled with hot water.

Aroma - The fragrance of brewed coffee. The smell of coffee grounds is referred to as the Bouquet.

Barista - A person who makes coffee drinks as a profession.

Bitter - The taste perceived at the back of the tongue. Dark Roasts are intentionally bitter. Over-extraction (too little coffee at too fine a grind) can cause a bad bitterness.

Bland - The pale flavor often found in low grown robusta coffees. Also caused by under-extraction (too little coffee or too course a grind).

Blend - A mixture of two or more individual varietals of coffee.

Body - The tactile impression of the weight of the coffee in the mouth. May range from thin to medium to full to buttery to syrupy.

Briny - The salty sensation caused by excessive heat after brewing (truck-stop coffee).

Caffe Americano - Espresso that is cut with very hot water to fill an American size cup.

Caffe Mocha - This can be prepared a variety of ways. Basically this is a chocolate caffe latte. Often prepared with whipped cream on top.

Cappuccino - A shot or two of espresso that has been poured into a cup filled with half steamed milk and half foam milk.

Cupping - While tasting wine is called "tasting", tasting coffee is called "cupping".

Demitasse - A small cup used for serving espresso. It is a French term meaning 'half cup'.

Doppio - A double shot of espresso. Also see solo.

Caffeine - The drug contained in coffee. A bitter white alkaloid derived from coffee (or tea) and used in medicine for a mild stimulant or to treat certain kinds of headache. Found in very small quantities in the coffee beans. Soluble in water and alcohol.

Crema - The caramel colored foam that appears on top of a shot of espresso during the brewing period. It soon dissipates after brewing. If your Crema is gone then you waited too long...or you received a bad shot! The crema makes a 'cap' which helps retain the aromatics and flavors of the espresso within the cup - the presence of crema indicates an acceptable brew.... Crema is due to colloids and lipids forced out into an emulsion under the pressure of a espresso machine.

Earthy - The spicy "of the earth taste" of Indonesian coffees.

Espresso - A brewing method that extracts the heart of the bean. It was invented in Italy at the turn of the century. A pump-driven machine forces hot water through fine grounds at around nine atmospheres of pressure. It should take between 18 to 23 seconds to extract a good shot. This will produce from 3/4 to one ounce of great liquid. This produces a sweet, thick and rich, smooth shot of espresso.

Espresso Breve - Espresso with half and half.

Espresso Lungo - A shot that is pulled long for a bit of extra espresso. While many believe this maximizes the caffeine, in most shops this merely produces a bitter cup. (Sometimes because of overextraction.)

Espresso Macchiato - Espresso with a minimal amount (or "mark") of steamed milk on top.

Espresso Ristretto - Literally "restricted" espresso. A shorter draw. The goal being a thicker and more flavorful espresso.

Exotic - Unusual aromatic and flavor notes, such as berry or floral.

Flavor - The total impression of Aroma , Acidity , and Body.

French Press - A device for making coffee in which ground coffee is steeped in water. The grounds are then removed from the coffee by means of a filter plunger which presses the grounds to the bottom of the pot. Also referred to as plunger pot, or cafetiere.

Froth or Foam - Milk which has been made thick and foamy by aerating it with hot steam.

Hard Bean - Coffee grown at relatively high altitudes, 4,000 to 4,500 feet. Coffee grown above 4,500 feet is referred to as strictly hard bean. This terminology says that beans grown at higher altitudes mature more slowly and are harder and denser than other beans and are thus more desirable.

Latte - Prepared by pouring milk into the espresso.

Macchiato - A shot or two of espresso that has been poured into a cup filled with steamed milk and topped off with foamed milk (about a 1/4").

Peaberry - Normally, each coffee cherry contains two beans. Occasionally, a cherry will form with only one bean. These are called peaberries and are frequently separated and sold as its own distinct varietal. New Guinea is one of the more popular ones.

Portafilter - The cupped handle on an espresso machine which holds the finely ground coffee during the brewing process.

Ristretto - This is the strongest and most concentrated espresso drink. It is made with about half the amount of water but the same amount of coffee as a regular espresso. It is pure, intense, and wonderful in taste. Ristretto in Italian means "restricted."

Solo - A single shot of espresso. Also see doppio.

Soft Bean - Describes coffee grown at relatively low altitudes (under 4,000 ft). Beans grown at lower altitudes mature more quickly and produce a lighter, more porous bean.

Spicy - The flavor of particular spices.

Sweet - Smooth and palatable coffee that is free from defects and harsh flavors.

Tone - The appearance or color of coffee. Usually in three tones - light, medium and dark.

Varietal - The term used for the coffee that comes from a geographical region. A Sumatra, Kenya, Costa Rica or a Java are varietals. As in wine, soil, climate and cultivation methods affect the taste of your coffee. The term varietal is actually a misnomer, since Arabica coffee plants are basically of the same species, unlike wine grapes which come from different species of grape vines.

Winy - A flavor reminiscent of fine red wine. Kenya AA coffee is one of the most notables.

"uh yea I'll have a shot of the espresso in a grande vanilla bean frappichino with a hint of nutmeg..."

XD sorry had to screw around with it...o.O though intresting lingo... 3nodding

Loved this topic, gave me some good info.
Thanks. 3nodding

I worked in a coffee shop for a while and I had a lot of weird orders from people who like to give baristas attitude because aparently since we were working in a coffee shop we were uncivilized and uneducated or something along those lines (I wanted to shove my BAF up some of their arses) but since I did get those orders I'll give you some definitions to add to your lingo list:

-Cafe Crema
usually a double shot of espresso pulled through the portafilter to fill a 12 ounce ceramic mug
(so gross by the way)

-Con Pana (some places call it Cafe Vienese)
espresso with a dollop of whipped cream on top. The cream suposedly imparts a dairy flavor and slightly sweetens the drink.

-Espresso pulled cabanna
Basically in a two shot portafilter basket one tamps the equivalent to one espresso shot then pours about half a teaspoon of sugar ontop and then tamps another shot of espresso ontop of the sugar. When pulled the espresso is super sweet and the crema is ultra thick. It's a cuban thing.

-Red Eye
Regular drip coffee with a shot of espresso

-Acrid
This is basically the opposite of a high acidity coffee and refers to the sour aftertaste that the coffee leaves in your mouth. Acrid flavors are generally seen as a flavor defect and are often the result of poor processing or low quality beans.

Breve
Espresso with equal parts of foam and steamed half and half. Most people just use the term for steamed half and half though...

Espresso Romano
Espresso served with a twist of lemon

Espresso Crème-
Espresso with an ounce of heavy cream.

Espresso Freddo-
Chilled espresso over ice

Espresso Medici-
Two shots of espresso poured over chocolate syrup and orange (and sometimes lemon) peel, usually topped with whipped cream

Granita-
Latte with frozen milk

and of course my favorite indulgence when black coffe just wont do

Zebra-
A half regular mocha, half white mocha.

It's especially good Iced.
Anyway I have a s**t ton more since I think my shop was like a hub for coffee snob weirdos but I wont bore you all.

People are werid anyway...but anyway great info

heart