Latte, Macchiato, Cappuccino : how many different coffees one can prepare by combining espresso with milk ?

Espresso is, for sure, a very “flexible” coffee: adding only milk, one can prepare many different, delicious beverages.

There are so many Espresso variations can easily confuse someone who is not familiar with the coffee world. Adding milk to espresso, makes things even more complicated : Cappuccino, Macchiato, Latte or Flat White? The differences between the various combinations of espresso and milk depend not only on the milk and coffee ratio but also on the milk itself. Though extremely popular, milk – based espresso beverages can trick even coffee enthusiasts with their trivial differences.

Macchiato: Macchiato, which name in Italian stands for “scarred”, is an espresso with the addition of a teaspoon of milk foam. Adding milk foam to a single espresso, a Short Macchiato is prepared, while doing the same in a double espresso, we transform it into Long Machiato. Throughout the world there are various variations of macchiato and many barista use different proportions, but traditionally the macchiato consists of a large spoonful of milk foam on the top of an espresso. If we add a little more milk foam, we end up in the Spanish variation of the beverage, called Café Cortado

Latte: In Italian, 'Latte' means milk, which is absolutely indicative of the taste and composition of the particular coffee beverage. Although many confuse Latte with Macchiato, the essential difference lies in the fact that while preparing Latte, one has to add steamed milk to the espresso, in addition to the milk foam, which results in a fairly different flavor, as the coffee is more “milky”. The usual analogy for Latte requires two parts of milk for one part of coffee, while Latte's traditional serving is made in a low glass. In its smaller version (usually adding milk to a ristretto instead of an espresso), the beverage is simply called Piccolo Latte.

Cappuccino: Cappuccino was named after the hood of the Franciscan Monks, as it name can literally be translated as a "little hood". The boundaries between Latte and Cappuccino are often inconspicuous, especially if the barista is not entirely familiar with the small differences in the making of these drinks. Generally speaking, cappuccino contains less milk than Latte and more foam, it is served in a cup and it usually topped with a little bit of cocoa powder of cinammon. The ratio of coffee and milk should be 50:50. Extremely popular in Greece, cappuccino in Italy is accustomed with breakfast and it is rarely served after 10:00 AM

Flat White: Flat White is nothing more than the Australian version of cappuccino. An urban legend says that as Australian cow's milk was not suitable for milk foam, Australians preferred to incorporate froth into the espresso, inventing Flat White, which is the ... flat version of the cappuccino.

Mocha: There are many different recipes for the beverage known as Mocha, but all contain espresso, milk and chocolate. Most of the time, cocoa powder or chocolate syrup is added  to a cappuccino, resulting in a light, chocolate-flavored coffee beverage.

Con Panna: It does not contain just milk, but it is worh mentioning it here. Espresso Con Pana is nothing more than an espresso wtih a genereous dose of whipped cream - panna means cream in Italian.