Brooklyn Coffee Glossary — A Cheatsheet

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Drinks

Espresso.: A concentrated coffee shot pulled by forcing roughly 9 bars of pressurized hot water through finely ground, tamped coffee for 25–30 seconds.
Doppio.: A double espresso — two shots pulled into one cup, roughly 36–40 grams of liquid, the default size at most modern specialty bars.
Ristretto.: A "restricted" espresso shot pulled with the same dose of coffee but less water — typically 15–20 g of liquid, sweeter and more concentrated.
Lungo.: A "long" espresso shot pulled with more water than a standard espresso — typically 50–60 g of liquid, more bitter and less sweet than a regular shot.
Americano.: An espresso shot diluted with hot water, typically served at 6–12 oz, with the strength of brewed coffee but espresso's body and crema.
Long Black.: An Australasian-style Americano in which espresso is poured over hot water — preserving more crema and intensity than a standard Americano.
Latte.: An espresso-based drink with a large volume of steamed milk and a thin layer of microfoam, typically served at 10–16 oz.
Iced Latte.: A latte built over ice — espresso poured into a glass of cold milk and ice, with no steaming and minimal foam.
Cappuccino.: An espresso drink balanced in roughly equal thirds of espresso, steamed milk, and thick foam, traditionally served at 5–6 oz.
Iced Cappuccino.: A cold version of a cappuccino — espresso, cold milk, and a layer of cold foam over ice, served at roughly 6–8 oz.
Flat White.: An espresso-based drink with steamed milk and a thin layer of microfoam, typically served at 5–6 oz — drier and more espresso-forward than a latte.
Magic.: A Melbourne-style coffee drink — a double-ristretto poured into a 5 oz cup of textured milk, between a flat white and a piccolo in size.
Cortado.: A Spanish espresso drink that "cuts" the espresso with an equal amount of warm steamed milk, typically served at 4–4.5 oz.
Macchiato.: An espresso "marked" with a small dollop of foamed milk, traditionally served at 2–3 oz — not to be confused with the chain-coffee caramel macchiato.
Caramel Macchiato.: A chain-coffee invention — vanilla syrup, steamed milk, espresso poured on top, and caramel drizzle — closer to a flavored latte than a traditional macchiato.
Mocha.: A latte with chocolate added — typically espresso, steamed milk, and either chocolate syrup or melted ganache, served at 10–12 oz.
Affogato.: An Italian dessert drink made by "drowning" a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream in a hot espresso shot.
Cold Brew.: Coffee made by steeping coarsely ground beans in cold or room-temperature water for 12–24 hours, producing a smooth, low-acid concentrate.
Nitro Cold Brew.: Cold brew charged with nitrogen gas and pulled from a tap, producing a Guinness-like creamy head and a silkier mouthfeel than standard cold brew.
Espresso Tonic.: A summer drink built on tonic water over ice, with a fresh espresso shot poured on top — bitter, citrusy, and effervescent.
Shakerato.: An Italian iced espresso shaken vigorously with ice in a cocktail shaker until frothy, then strained into a chilled glass — no milk.
Frappé (Greek).: A Greek iced coffee drink made by shaking or frothing instant coffee, sugar, water, and ice into a thick foam, served tall over more ice.
Galão.: A Portuguese espresso-and-milk drink served in a tall glass — roughly one part espresso to three parts foamed milk, similar to a small latte.
Café au Lait.: A French coffee drink made with brewed coffee (not espresso) and an equal volume of hot steamed milk, traditionally served in a wide bowl-cup.
Café Bonbon.: A Spanish espresso drink layered over an equal volume of sweetened condensed milk, served in a small clear glass to show the two-tone layers.
Cà Phê Sữa Đá.: Vietnamese iced coffee — strong dark-roast coffee dripped through a phin filter onto sweetened condensed milk, then poured over ice.
Turkish Coffee.: Coffee made by simmering very finely ground beans with water (and optional sugar) in a small copper cezve, served unfiltered with the grounds settling at the bottom.
Dirty Chai.: A masala chai latte with a shot of espresso added — "dirtied" by the espresso, "double dirty" with two shots.
Babyccino.: A small cup of steamed and frothed milk — no coffee — served to children so they can join in the café ritual.

Brewing methods

Pour-over.: A manual brewing method where hot water is poured in a slow, controlled stream over coffee grounds in a paper or cloth filter.
Chemex.: A pour-over brewer with an hourglass-shaped glass carafe and a thicker, bonded paper filter that produces an exceptionally clean, bright cup.
V60.: Hario's conical pour-over dripper with a 60-degree angle, spiral interior ridges, and a single large hole at the bottom.
AeroPress.: A handheld immersion brewer invented in 2005 that uses a plunger and a paper micro-filter to push coffee through under light pressure.
French Press.: A full-immersion brewer where coarsely ground coffee steeps directly in hot water for about four minutes before a metal mesh plunger separates the grounds.
Drip coffee.: Brewed coffee made in a batch machine that drips hot water through a flat-bottom paper filter into a carafe — the standard "house brew" at most cafés.
Siphon.: A vacuum-pot brewer where heat drives water from a lower chamber up into coffee in an upper chamber, then pulls it back down through a filter as it cools.
Moka Pot.: A stovetop aluminum pot that brews concentrated coffee by forcing steam-driven hot water up through a basket of grounds into a top chamber.
Cold Drip / Kyoto-style.: A slow cold-water drip brewer — water drips one drop at a time through a bed of grounds for 3–8 hours, producing a clean, tea-like cold concentrate.
Phin Filter.: Vietnam's traditional single-cup metal drip filter — a small chamber that sits on top of a glass and brews 2–4 oz of strong coffee one cup at a time.
Espresso Machine.: The pump-driven, ~9-bar pressure machine — usually with a multi-group head and steam wands — that anchors every specialty bar's drink menu.

Origin & sourcing

Single-origin.: Coffee sourced from one specific country, region, farm, or even a single lot — never blended with beans from other places.
Microlot.: A small, separately processed and traceable batch of coffee — often from a single farm, varietal, or harvest day — sold at a premium for its distinct flavor.
Estate Coffee.: Coffee grown, processed, and milled on a single farm — with the farm name and producer typically printed on the bag.
Cooperative.: A producer-owned organization that aggregates coffee from many smallholder farmers, processes it together, and sells it under the cooperative's name.
Direct trade.: A sourcing model in which a roaster buys coffee straight from a farmer or cooperative, typically at prices well above the commodity market.
Fair trade.: A third-party certification that guarantees farmers a minimum price floor and a community-development premium on every pound of coffee sold under the label.
Specialty coffee.: Coffee graded 80 or higher on the Specialty Coffee Association's 100-point cupping scale, evaluated for flavor clarity, acidity, body, and defects.
SCA Score.: A 100-point quality score assigned by certified Q-graders using the Specialty Coffee Association's cupping protocol — 80+ qualifies as 'specialty.'
Q Grader.: A certified coffee taster who has passed the Coffee Quality Institute's rigorous sensory exam — qualified to score green coffee on the SCA scale.
Cup of Excellence.: An annual blind-tasting competition in producing countries that ranks the top coffees of a harvest — winners are then auctioned to roasters worldwide.
Third-Wave Coffee.: A movement that treats coffee as an artisanal product like wine — emphasizing single-origin sourcing, lighter roasts, and brew transparency.

Processing

Washed / Wet Process.: A processing method where the fruit is removed from the coffee cherry mechanically, then the seeds are fermented and washed clean before drying.
Natural / Dry Process.: The oldest processing method — the whole coffee cherry is dried with the fruit still attached, producing a heavier-bodied, fruitier, more fermented cup.
Honey Process.: A hybrid processing method where the cherry skin is removed but some sticky mucilage stays on the seed during drying — between washed and natural in profile.
Pulped Natural.: A Brazilian processing style where the cherry is pulped but no fermentation tank step is used — the seed is dried with mucilage still on, similar to honey process.
Anaerobic Fermentation.: A processing technique where coffee cherries (or pulped seeds) are fermented in sealed, oxygen-free tanks — producing intensely fruity, sometimes funky flavors.
Carbonic Maceration.: A processing technique borrowed from Beaujolais winemaking where whole cherries ferment in a CO₂-saturated environment, producing wine-like flavors in the cup.

Roast & extraction

Light roast.: Coffee roasted only until just after first crack — pale brown in color, with bright acidity and clear origin character.
Medium roast.: Coffee roasted past first crack but stopped short of second crack — medium-brown, balanced between acidity and roast-driven sweetness.
Dark roast.: Coffee roasted to or past second crack — dark brown to nearly black, oily on the surface, with smoky and bittersweet flavors that dominate origin character.
Crema.: The reddish-brown foam layer on top of a freshly pulled espresso — emulsified coffee oils, dissolved CO₂, and tiny bubbles, typically 2–4 mm thick.
Bloom.: The initial pour on a pour-over — just enough water to wet the grounds and let trapped CO₂ escape before the main brew begins, typically 30–45 seconds.
Channeling.: A defect in espresso where pressurized water forces a path through a weak spot in the coffee puck — leading to uneven, sour, under-extracted shots.
Pre-infusion.: A brief, low-pressure water soak applied to the espresso puck before full 9-bar pressure begins — improving extraction evenness and reducing channeling.
Dose.: The mass of dry ground coffee loaded into the portafilter basket before brewing — typically 18–20 g for a modern double espresso.
Yield.: The mass of liquid espresso that ends up in the cup — typically 36–40 g for a 1:2 ratio double shot from an 18–20 g dose.
Brew Ratio.: The ratio of dry coffee to water (or finished beverage) — e.g. 1:16 for a typical pour-over, 1:2 for a normale espresso.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS).: A measurement of how much coffee solids are dissolved in a brewed cup — read with a refractometer and used to calculate extraction yield.
Fines.: Very small particles produced by grinding — far smaller than the target grind size, they cause uneven extraction and bitterness if not controlled.

Flavor & tasting

Acidity.: The bright, sharp, often citrus- or fruit-like sensation in coffee — a positive quality at moderate levels, perceived on the front of the tongue.
Brightness.: A roaster's synonym for positive acidity — the lively, sparkling quality that makes a light-roast cup feel vivid and alert rather than flat.
Body.: The weight, thickness, and tactile fullness of a coffee in the mouth — independent of flavor, ranging from tea-like to syrupy.
Mouthfeel.: The tactile experience of a coffee in the mouth — silky, syrupy, tea-like, creamy, drying, prickly — separate from flavor and aroma.
Aftertaste.: The flavors that linger after swallowing — a long, sweet aftertaste is one of the strongest signs of a high-quality coffee.
Sweetness.: An attribute on the SCA cupping form — the perception of sugar-like, caramelized, or fruit-derived sweetness in a coffee, with no added sugar.
Tasting Notes.: The descriptive words a roaster prints on a bag — "blueberry, dark chocolate, citrus" — meant to describe what the coffee tastes like, not what is in it.
SCA Flavor Wheel.: The Specialty Coffee Association's standardized vocabulary for describing coffee flavor — a circular chart organizing notes from broad categories to specific descriptors.

Gear & equipment

Burr Grinder.: A grinder that crushes coffee between two ridged metal discs (flat or conical) — produces a much more uniform grind than a blade grinder.
Tamper.: A flat-bottomed tool used to compress ground coffee in the portafilter basket into a level, dense puck before locking into the espresso machine.
Distribution Tool / WDT.: A tool — usually a small disc with prongs or a hand-held bundle of fine needles — used to break up clumps and even out grounds in the portafilter before tamping.
Portafilter.: The handled metal device that holds the coffee basket and locks into the espresso machine's group head — the front-facing tool of espresso work.
Bottomless / Naked Portafilter.: A portafilter with the bottom spouts removed — exposing the underside of the basket so the barista can see the shot pour and diagnose channeling.
Refractometer.: A small handheld optical instrument that measures total dissolved solids (TDS) in a brewed coffee — used to calculate extraction yield.
Milk Pitcher.: A stainless-steel pitcher with a precise spout, used to steam, texture, and pour milk for espresso drinks — typically 12 oz or 20 oz.
Group Head.: The brewing assembly on the front of an espresso machine where the portafilter locks in — water enters the puck through the group head's shower screen.
Steam Wand.: The metal pipe on an espresso machine that injects pressurized steam into milk — used to texture and heat milk for cappuccinos, lattes, and flat whites.
Knock Box.: A small bin with a padded bar across the top — the barista knocks a spent espresso puck out of the portafilter against the bar, into the bin.

Culture & craft

Barista.: A trained coffee professional who pulls espresso, dials in grinders, steams milk, and runs the bar at a café — Italian for "bartender."
Latte art.: Decorative patterns — hearts, rosettas, tulips, swans — poured into the surface of an espresso drink by streaming microfoamed milk through the crema.
Tamping.: The act of compressing freshly ground coffee evenly into the portafilter basket before pulling an espresso shot, typically with about 30 lb of force.
Cupping.: The standardized industry method for tasting and evaluating coffee — small bowls of coarsely ground coffee, hot water, a spoon, and a scoring form.
Yemeni coffee houses.: Cafés specializing in Yemeni and Arabian coffee traditions — often serving qishr, qahwa, and adeni shai alongside specialty espresso, frequently open late.
Third place.: Sociologist Ray Oldenburg's term for a community-anchor space — neither home (first place) nor work (second place) — like a neighborhood café.

Brooklyn corridors

Vanderbilt Avenue Corridor.: The Prospect Heights spine running from Atlantic Avenue to Grand Army Plaza — one of Brooklyn's densest stretches of independent neighborhood cafés.
Lafayette Avenue Coffee Strip.: Fort Greene's coffee corridor along Lafayette Avenue — a mix of long-tenure neighborhood cafés and newer specialty bars within a few blocks of Fort Greene Park.
Williamsburg Southside Cluster.: The cluster of cafés in Williamsburg south of Grand Street — a mix of third-wave specialty bars and Yemeni-influenced late-night coffee houses near the bridge.
Bushwick L-Train Coffee.: The cluster of specialty cafés strung along Bushwick's L-train stops (Morgan, Jefferson, DeKalb) — anchored by Sey Coffee and Variety, with newer shops radiating outward.
Smith Street Brownstone Cafés.: The Carroll Gardens / Cobble Hill coffee strip along Smith and Court Streets — a brownstone-lined corridor of neighborhood cafés and bakery-coffee hybrids.