There are a number of different types of coffee-based drinks available and figuring out the differences between them can be a challenge.
This post will show you the differences between coffee, Cappuccino, espresso and Frappuccino, how to make them and how they taste.
| Drink | What it is | Taste | Caffeine Content |
| Coffee | A hot drink made from coffee beans that have been roasted. Brewed coffee is where hot water is poured onto ground coffee beans which then filters through and drips into a mug. | With water it is less intense. Tastes Sweet and slightly bitter. | A cup of brewed coffee (8 oz) has 95mg of caffeine |
| Cappuccino | Espresso topped with steamed milk and then a layer of milk foam. | Creamy, sweet with a strong coffee taste. | 12 fl. oz serving has 154 mg caffeine |
| Espresso | Pressurized water pushed through finely ground coffee resulting in a dense drink of coffee. | Intense, bitter and rich. | 64mg of caffeine per 30g serving |
| Frappuccino | An iced or chilled Cappuccino blended with other cold things such as milkshake and flavorings sold and made by Starbucks. | There are a number of different flavors available. The taste will depend on the flavor. | 9.49 mgs per fluid ounce |
Coffee
Inside the berries are seeds known as coffee beans. These coffee beans are then roasted and finely ground. When hot water is passed through the ground coffee beans, the oil from the coffee beans then mixes with the water which then results in a beverage known as “coffee.”
Coffee is a term that will generally refer to a drink that has been made from roasted coffee beans.
Coffee can be made in a number of ways.
It can be made by pouring hot water over ground coffee that is contained in a paper filter. The coffee then dissolves into the water and drips down into a mug below the paper filter. This is known as “drip coffee” and it is one of the most popular forms of coffee.
Another, popular, way to make coffee is to use a French Press. This is where ground coffee and hot water are both put into a pot that has a plunger. After waiting for a few minutes you push the plunger down so that the coffee grounds are pushed to the bottom of the pot and pour what remains into a mug.
You can watch the video below to see how it is done.
Coffee made with a french press or via the drip method tastes sweet and slightly bitter but it will greatly depend on how much water you add to the coffee and how much coffee you use.
Espresso
Espresso is the result of pushing pressurized water through finely ground coffee.
It is a very dense form of coffee. Even though per ounce it has more caffeine in it espresso actually contains less caffeine than drip coffee. This is because espresso is consumed with a much smaller serving size than with drip coffee meaning that overall it contains less caffeine.
Compared to drip coffee, espresso has a much more dense texture to it and a sweeter and slightly more bitter taste.
You can watch the video below to see the difference between coffee and espresso.
Since it is necessary to push pressurized water through the coffee, in order to make espresso, it is necessary to use a special machine designed to do so. The machine that I would recommend most would be this one on Amazon.
If you use a traditional espresso machine, then in order to make the espresso, you will need to get the coffee beans, grind the beans, put the grind into a portafilter, put the portafilter into the machine and then to push a button to push the water through the ground coffee.
The advantage of doing it this way is that you will be able to have a lot of control over the taste of your espresso and after some trial and error you should be able to make an espresso that you really like.
However, having to go through all of these steps can be tedious and not ideal if you’re in a hurry. This is why there are specially designed espresso machines available where all you need to do is to put a pod into the machine and then to push a button.
The advantage of doing it that way is that it is much faster, easier and you will be able to get a much more consistent tasting espresso. However, you will have less control over the way it tastes but there are many flavors available for you to choose from so this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
The pod-style espresso machine that I would recommend the most would be the Nespresso Inissia which you can find here.
The way that an espresso tastes will greatly depend on the type of beans used, their roast and freshness, the temperature of the water pushed through it, how finely the coffee beans are ground and the amount of coffee used.
If the coffee is ground very finely, it has a dark roast and it is made with a lot of coffee beans then it will generally result in the coffee tasting more bitter.
Whereas, if the espresso is made with a less fine grind, single origin beans, a light roast and a small amount is used to make the espresso then it will normally cause it to taste more sour.
Cappuccino
Cappuccino is where steamed milk and milk foam is added to espresso. This gives Cappuccino a creamy, sweet and coffee like taste.
Cappuccino can be made with traditional espresso machines or pod-style espresso machines and they will both often come with milk steamers so that you can make a Cappuccino. Some machines will even come with options allowing you to make an espresso using the machine automatically. One such machine would be the Keurig K-Cafe.
Below, is a video showing how to make a Cappuccino using a pod system machine.
Frappuccino
Frappuccino is an iced or chilled Cappuccino that is also blended with other things such as milkshake, iced tea, syrups
The Frappuccino is a very popular drink and its flavor will depend greatly on the flavor that you choose.
Two of the most popular ones are the Mocha and Vanilla flavors which you can see here.
