Love coffee? Well, it often amazes a non-coffee fan that there really are lots of coffee variations available today. For the coffee lovers, it also fascinates them how these varied coffee preparations are prepared in such a way that they elicit a distinct taste and an obvious change in their look. Nevertheless, these coffee variations came into being because of the numerous blending and mixing techniques that are being used by cafes and coffee lovers alike.

Two coffee variations often make it to the top as the most popular coffee orders for coffee lovers. These are the café espresso and the latte. So what makes these coffee treats a must have?

Foremost, the café espresso or plainly espresso is a concentrated coffee drink that is prepared by forcing pressurized hot liquid into finely grounded coffee beans. What makes this beverage espresso is the manner in which it is prepared — and that manner is by using the espresso machine. The mechanism of the espresso machine really tells all the details on why this drink becomes an espresso. This machine simply keeps the liquid at a desirable temperature, maintains the ideal pressure and observes the length of time the coffee is extracted. In the absence of an espresso machine, this same drink can also be prepared using a simple pot on the stove but will obviously make a substandard blend.

Because of the brewing and mixing processes it underwent, the resultant coffee mixture in the espresso often has a higher coffee concentration and has a much thicker overall consistency as compared to other coffee preparations. Thus, they are more flavorful and stronger. Moreover, it is due to this concentrated nature that espressos are used as the base ingredient for other coffee preparations like lattes and mochas. No wonder, an espresso is ideally served using a small container (almost the same size as a standard shot glass) because it is just so coffee-rich.

Talking about lattes, these drinks are prepared by using the said espresso and adding milk in the process. This additional component is steamed with a resultant hot milk bearing a fairly thin crown of froth. It also is safe to say that lattes relatively use more milk than most of the other coffee preparations.

1. Espresso is a very concentrated, flavorful and strong coffee variation compared to café latte.

2. Espresso is usually used as the base ingredient in preparing lattes and not vice versa.

3. Lattes are espressos added with hot milk whereas espressos are never added with milk.