Do you know what kinds of ingredients are in your coffee? Most people don’t know what to choose when they first buy coffee because they don’t know what’s inside in each kind of coffee. Will that be too bitter? Will that be too sweet? If you know ingredients in each coffee and proportion of them, these questions would be answered by yourself.
Now, I will list some popular coffee and explain what’s inside.
Americano
2/3 water
+ 1/3 expresso
Americano is one of the most popular choices in American’s life. Since it only contains water and expresso, it just has 15 calories in a 16oz cup of coffee. If you are on diet and you can tolerate its bitter taste, Americano will be your best choice.
Latte
1/6 Foamed Milk 
+ 1/2 Steamed Milk 
+ 1/3 expresso
Latte is a shortened form of the Italian word caffè latte, which means “milk coffee”. It is the simple combination of milk and coffee. In contains 190 calories in each 16oz cup of latte.
Cappuccino
1/2 Foamed Milk 
+ 1/6 Steamed Milk
+ 1/3 expresso
The biggest difference between cappuccino and latte is the proportion of foamed milk and steamed milk. There is less steamed milk and more foamed milk in a cup of cappuccino. So it has lower calories in a 16oz cappuccino, which is 120.
Flat White
1/2 Steamed Milk
+ 1/2 expresso
Flat white is more popular in Australia and New Zealand. You may wonder what is the difference between flat white and latte. According to Eileen P, Kenny, who is a barista, coffee writer, and the creator of Birds of Unusual Vitality, there are two stunning differences between those two types:
“Typically, in the specialty coffee world, a flat white has just a little bit less microfoam than a latte, and often less volume, but is still creamy milk over the same amount of espresso,”
“The other difference is that a latte is generally served in a glass — though this differs from cafe to cafe — while a flat white is served in ceramic, also often in a smaller ceramic than a cappuccino, but again, this varies place to place.”
If you want to learn more about flat white, you can read Wait, What Exactly Is a Flat White? We asked an Aussie and Kiwi. You may find more answers.
Mocha
1/6 Cream
+ 1/3 Steamed Milk
+1/6 Chocolate Cream
+1/3 expresso
If you want to have a sweeter coffee, mocha will be your best choice. And it has higher calories as a result, which is 360.
One of my friends once asked me, “I think hot chocolate is too sweet, but coffee is too bitter, what should I have?” Now you know the answer is a cup of mocha.
Caramel Macchiato
1/6 Caramel Sauce
+1/6 Foamed Milk
+1/3 Expresso
Caramel macchiato is my personal favorite coffee. Since it will be a little bit sweet with the caramel sauce, and a little bit bitter because of the expresso, everything is just right when I drink it. Although its calories is not very low, which is 250, you can still try it to feel the combination of caramel, milk, and expresso.
In this blog, I only introduce ingredients of some popular coffee. Actually, there are a lot more different kinds of coffee with different ingredients and proportion. Here is a passage named 12 Different Types of Coffee Explained that you may want to read about other coffee’s ingredients.
Next week, I will explain what is the appropriate time to drink coffee and tea in a day. Remember to come back and enjoy the journey with me!
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